Sweatfree
Campaign News

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ADOPT ANTI-SWEATSHOP PURCHASING POLICIES
Four local governments in New York have passed sweatfree purchasing policies — Suffolk County and the cities of Schenectady, New Paltz and Albany. Click here to read more about the Albany policy which took effect in March 2007. For infomation about the national Sweatfree Consortium Campaign supporting adoption of such policies, visit SweatFree Comunities.

BEST WISHES
Mark Looney, who joined the Coalition in 2005 as Sweatfree Outreach Coordinator, left his position at the end of May 2007 after almost two years of tireless and effective advocacy for worker justice.

WOMEN'S SEWING COOPERATIVE TOUR VISITS ALBANY
The New York State Labor-Religion Coalition hosted two stops on a nationwide tour by members of the Nueva Vida Women's Sewing Cooperative in Nicaragua. Workers spoke about the first ever "fair trade zone" on October 15, 2004. Click here for details.

ANTI-SWEATSHOP SPORTS EQUIPMENT LAW SIGNED
New York State Gov. Pataki signed a law on September 22, 2003, giving school districts and public colleges authority to refuse to buy sports equipment from companies that don't promise to meet fair labor standards. Click here for the news release and for information about the Sept. 24 news conference.

The law removes barriers to "sweatfree" purchasing of sports equipment by public schools, K through post-graduate. School boards as well as SUNY, CUNY and community college administrators are now able to require certification that apparel and sports equipment are manufactured according to fair labor standards without child labor. The bill extends anti-sweatshop laws approved in 2001 and 2002. To see the text of the law (Chapter 562 of the Laws of 2003), click here.

FIRST SUNY CAMPUS JOINS WRC
SUNY Cortland has officially joined the Worker Rights Consortium, making the college the first within the SUNY system to so affiliate. Contact the campus office of the New York Public Interest Research Group to learn more about this accomplishment for the anti-sweatshop movement, made possible by the 2002 state anti-sweatshop law.

VICTORY FOR ANTI-SWEATSHOP COALITION IN CALIFORNIA
A new policy that goes further in rejecting public subsidies of sweatshop conditions and covers more workers than any other law in the country was signed into law in mid-October, 2003, according to Erica Zeitlin of "No More Sweatshops!" : Campaign for the Abolition of Sweatshops and Child Labor.

As part of the Sweatfree Communities network that includes this LA-based organization, the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition applauds this historic measure. The law applies not only to Sacramento agencies but to public schools and community colleges. It mandates "sweat-free" guidelines for procurement of garments, laundering services and other supplies and materials from contractors and subcontractors. Click here for the No More Sweatshops! news release.

SWEATFREE LA SCHOOLS
The Los Angeles, California Unified School District adopted a "sweatfree schools" procurement policy on January 14, 2003. Click here for the article from the publication of the National School Boards Association.

A task force is defining details of the policy including issues such as non-poverty wages, verification/ enforcement and overall costs. According to former state Senator Tom Hayden, the policy reflects a growing consensus that public tax dollars should not be used to subsidize sweatshops but to encourage better opportunities for millions of workers making less than $2 per day. The policy affects procurement for everything from soccer balls to cheerleader uniforms purchased for use in the District's 670 schools and 700,000 students.

Click here to read more about the Sweatfree Campaign.