The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) supports the following call for letters protesting the treatment of 250 Vietnamese wimmin by a sweatshop on American Samoa. The wimmin paid $4000-$8000 to travel to American Samoa and work for an official wage of less than $2.55 per hour for Daewoosa Samoa, which contracts with major Amerikan retailers JC Penny and Sears. Once there, the wimmin worked and lived in terrible conditions and were not paid even the $2.55 they were promised. Daewoosa has now closed its doors, stranding many of the wimmin in American Samoa without jobs of money to get back home. All workers, internationally, should have certain basic rights protected, such as the right to organize freely, an international minimum wage and an international maximum work week length. Individual struggles and broad reforms aimed at securing these rights are just, winnable, and progressive. --mim4@mim.org MIM homepage: www.etext.org/Poltics/MIM CA events homepage: www.etext.org/Poltics/MIM/cal --- ACTION ALERT! February 6, 2001 Troubled Garment Factory on American Samoa Shuts Down Leaving Workers Stranded without Work or Food Court Trial Continues for 250 Vietnamese Women Alleging Sweatshop Conditions on American Samoa ***LETTERS needed (see below)*** Information provided by Vietnam Labor Watch and Sweatshop Watch. 250 courageous Vietnamese women garment workers began their court trial in American Samoa (a US territory in the South Pacific) seeking justice for the sweatshop conditions and human rights violations they endured. As the trial began, the workers learned that the company they sew for [Daewoosa Samoa] shut down, announcing it had only $500+ in its bank account and could not continue operating. The Vietnamese women live in a compound owned by Daewoosa, which also provided their meals. Local charities have stepped in to provide the workers with food, but some fear these charitable sources will not last much longer. The company's other workers, who are Samoan, are also left without work. The workers sewed garments carrying the J.C. Penney, Sears and MV Sport labels, among others. None of the corporations are known to have taken any action to guarantee the workers their unpaid wages. Advocates say American Samoa may become the next Saipan, another U.S. island littered with sweatshops, where young immigrant women are also toiling for poverty wages under slave-like conditions. The retailers who profit off the backs of these women workers must ensure they are paid fairly, and they must protect against this type of abuse. Daewoosa Samoa opened in late 1998; it is currently the only garment factory on the island. The factory contracts with a "management" company in Vietnam to provide labor. Young Vietnamese women pay recruitment fees of up to US$5,000 for the opportunity of a job; and their families sometimes mortgage their houses or farms to send their family member to work in Samoa. The company withholds money for inedible, substandard food and crowded, pest-infested housing. At times the workers labor for several months without any pay at all. Yet, because American Samoa is a U.S. territory, the clothes these workers sew carry "Made in the USA" labels. Vietnam Labor Watch released a new report which describes the conditions that the Vietnamese garment workers experienced while working for Daewoosa Samoa. The report was compiled from interviews with over 70 workers, and can be found at http://samoa.saigon.com or http://www.vlw.org. Some of the report's findings include the following: * As a result of company's refusal to pay the workers and not honor the terms of the contracts, many workers reported that their family's homes and farms have been repossessed by creditors because they were not able to repay the loan for the recruitment fee to come to American Samoa. * A Christian missionary witnessed the abuse at Daewoosa first-hand: "Upon arriving at Daewoosa, we observed three or four girls sitting immediately inside the security gate. The Korean guards began kicking and hitting the girls. About five minutes later, approximately thirty Vietnamese girls came to the gate crying and begging for help. Many of the young women were scratched, bruised, and bloody. When I asked what was going on, the guards started hitting the girls again." * Another worker described the retaliation they have faced. "Those who know some English to protest these treatments or talk back become targets for harassment and intimidation. Those who took part in the trial, [the boss] ordered work not [to be] given [to] them." * Even though the bank account of Daewoosa showed a balance of $538, on December 7, 2000, according to a Department of Labor report (Dec 14, 2000), during a meeting with OSHA & DOL investigators, Mr. Kil-Soo Lee, the owner of Daewoosa, "produced a paper bag of money and proceeded to spread stacks of bills across the front of his desk." The workers' struggle began in March 1999, when the women organized a work stoppage after enduring nearly 8 weeks without pay. Four women were labeled as "trouble-makers" and fired. The compound was locked, but one woman was able to escape and begin raising awareness about their plight. In December 1999, the workers filed a class-action lawsuit against Daewoosa seeking unpaid wages of over $325,000 and justice for the violations of human rights and labor law they endured. The workers are represented by attorneys Virginia Sudbury and Christa Lin, based in Samoa. The trial, which began on January 18, is expected to continue into February. Daewoosa's labor problems are well known to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In 1999, the DOL investigated the factory and fined Daewoosa $24,140 and ordered them to pay $151,500 in back wages. In June 2000, the DOL fined Daewoosa $213,000 for repeated violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which includes minimum wage & overtime standards, and ordered them to pay $367,000 to 213 workers. In December 2000, the DOL confiscated Daewoosa's garments, under the "hot goods" provision of the FLSA, which prohibits the selling or shipping of goods made in violation of the FLSA. The DOL investigation is continuing, and the Justice Department recently began its own investigation. Daewoosa is in a receivership, and may be taken over by another company, New York-based Morgan Cooper. Some workers may continue to stay in Samoa and work if the factory re- opens. Other workers wish to return home to Vietnam, but face retaliation if they break their three-year work contract. Vietnam Labor Watch and Sweatshop Watch are working to ensure the workers' safety and well-being and are raising funds to help provide for their basic needs, including food. WEB SITES: Additional information is available at http://samoa.saigon.com, http://www.vlw.org, and http://www.sweatshopwatch.org. LIST SERV: The samoaviet list serv provides regular updates on the Vietnamese workers' situation in Samoa. To subscribe, visit http://www.egroups.com/subscribe/SamoaViet. To view the archives, visit http://www.mail- archive.com/samoaviet@egroups.com ACTION REQUEST Please send letters to the following retailers, urging their immediate attention to resolving the workers' situation. The workers are demanding to be fairly paid for their work, and some wish to return home to Vietnam. * J.C. Penney Company, Inc. * Sears Roebuck & Company --- SAMPLE LETTERS J.C. Penney Company, Inc. Allen Questrom, Chief Executive Officer 6501 Legacy Drive Plano, TX 75024 Fax: (972) 431-1362 Tel: (972) 431-1000 Dear Mr. Questrom: I am writing to express my concern about sweatshop conditions and labor abuses on the island of American Samoa. I understand that workers at the Daewoosa Samoa garment factory sewed J.C. Penney clothing without receiving minimum wage or overtime pay, and in some cases, no pay at all. I urge you to make sure these workers are fairly paid and to protect the rights of all workers who sew your clothes. Because Daewoosa has shut down, leaving workers stranded without work, food or the means to return to their homeland of Vietnam, I also urge you to ensure the safety and well-being of these workers. I thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to hearing your response. Sincerely, --- Sears Roebuck & Company Arthur C. Martinez, Chairman/CEO 3333 Beverly Rd. Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 Fax: (847) 286-7829 Tel: (847) 286-2500 Dear Mr. Martinez: I am writing to express my concern about sweatshop conditions and labor abuses on the island of American Samoa. I understand that workers at the Daewoosa Samoa garment factory sewed Sears clothing without receiving minimum wage or overtime pay, and in some cases, no pay at all. I urge you to make sure these workers are fairly paid and to protect the rights of all workers who sew your clothes. Because Daewoosa has shut down, leaving workers stranded without work, food or the means to return to their homeland of Vietnam, I also urge you to ensure the safety and well-being of these workers. I thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to hearing your response. Sincerely,