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SWEATSHOP FREE GOVERNMENTS

Governor Paterson acts to stop tax $$ for sweatshops
New York state has joined the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, a major step in ending sweatshop conditions in factories that supply the state with apparel:

The Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, comprised of states, cities, counties, local government agencies, and school districts, as well as human rights advocates and labor rights experts, will pool resources of public entities to investigate working conditions in factories that make uniforms and other products for public employees. Cities and states will hold vendors to ethical standards, and create a market large enough to persuade companies to deal responsibly and ethically with their suppliers and workers. Learn more at www.buysweatfree.org

Subsidizing Sweatshops I and II

In advance of the release of Subsidizing Sweatshops II on tax day, April 15, 2009, New York's Office for General Services put 12 government contractors on notice for serious human and labor rights violations. Commissioner John C. Egan wrote that the companies will be expected to remedy the sweatshop conditions found in their supplier factories rather than "cut-and-run," washing their hands of the sweatshop problems. Four factories that provide products to brands that supply the State of New York were investigated:
Eagle Industries (factory investigated, Eagle in New Bedford, MA)—OGS letters sent to four companies that supply Eagle Industries products to NYS
Lion Apparel (factory investigated, Alamode in Siguatepeque, Honduras)—OGS letters sent to two companies that supply Lion Apparel products to NYS
Armor Holdings (factory investigated, Safariland in Tijuana, Mexico)—OGS letters sent to five companies that supply Safariland products to NYS
Rocky Brands (factory investigated, Genfort Shoes in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, China)—OGS contacted Lehigh Safety Shoe Company, LLC, which is owned by Rocky Brands.

The full report, including quotes from workers and detailed recommendations for each case, is available at www.sweatfree.org/subsidizing. Also, see the Labor-Religion Coalition's "No Tax $$ for Sweatshops" media release and examples of similar events across the country coordinated by SweatFree Communities.

Subsidizing Sweatshops I: “NY buys ‘sweat’pants, group sez” and similar headlines followed the July 1, 2008 release of the Subsidizing Sweatshops report from SweatFree Communities. The report documents the pervasiveness of sweatshops in the apparel sector including abuses in factories producing for three vendors with NYS contracts. The report also documents horrendous work conditions in factories supplying Fechheimer Brothers, a company that contracts with the City of Schenectady for apparel for firefighters. In 2007 the Schenectady City Council passed a sweatshop-free purchasing policy for public employee uniforms.

"New York’s sweatshop-free purchasing laws have failed to achieve their intended effect—as evidenced by the report,” said Labor-Religion Sweatfree Coordinator, Jordan Wells. “A new approach is required.”

Before releasing the report, SweatFree Communities asked government purchasing officials to contact their vendors. The New York Office of General Services was among the entities to take immediate action. Also, in an August 2008 veto message for a flawed bill that would label articles of sweatfree apparel, Governor Paterson mentioned the need for “procurement policies, heightened enforcement and sanctions or cooperation with other states and localities… .” Clearly, government leaders share a vision of effective sweatshop-free government purchasing.

The full Subsidizing Sweatshops report (including case studies of 12 factories in nine countries) and a follow-up article, “Companies Respond and We Reply” are available at www.sweatfree.org.

At least five local governments in New York have passed sweatfree purchasing policies. To learn more about the policies and their implementation, visit the links below.

° Suffolk County
° Albany County PDF
° City of Schenectady PDF
(and a sample resolution from the Schenectady Central Labor Council PDF in support fo the Sweatfree Purchasing Policy)
° City of New Paltz
° City of Albany PDF

What is New York state doing to end taxpayer support for sweatshops?

In 2002, the state legislature authorized sweatfree apparel purchasing by state agencies and authorities. (For text of the original law, click here PDF . It was renewed in 2006, text here PDF .)

As of September 1, 2008, however, New York state has no comprehensive sweatshop-free apparel purchasing law. The New York State Department of Labor issued a report on September 15 citing the need for better tools, such as the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium to ensure sweatshop-free apparel purchasing by state entities.

  • "Report on the Impact of the September Eleventh Bidders Registry and the Apparel Workers Fair Labor Conditions and Procurement Act on State Procurement" from the New York State Department of Labor
  • Letter from Commissioner Smith to Governor Paterson summarizing findings
  • Labor-Religion news release about the report
  • New York Daily News article about the report

Consortium a positive approach for enforcement

There’s great potential in using humane government procurement practices to build a system of fair trade and create positive alternatives to global sweatshops. A Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium will pressure companies into making changes by demanding more transparency, pooling resources for factory monitoring and coordinating enforcement of sweatfree purchasing policies. Its cost is estimated at 1% of the state’s annual apparel budget.

"New York can lead other states and cities on the path to sweatfree public purchasing—by enacting a Sweatfree Code of Conduct that enumerates worker rights principles for inclusion in state apparel contracts and by formally affiliating with the Consortium,” said Labor-Religion Director Brian O’Shaughnessy.

 

Last Updated:04/26/2010
© Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State

 

  
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