A green economy is one that works for people and the planet – it includes both social and economic justice, both community and environmental health.

If you can't earn a living wage, if you are forced to work in unsafe conditions, if you don't have the right to self-determination – you are not working for a company that is part of the green economy.

That's why, together, we stand against sweatshops and for fair trade. If you recently downloaded our newest Guide to Ending Sweatshops, you read our article about the problems at the TOS Dominica factory in the Dominican Republic.

To sum up:  In 2006, non-unionized workers at TOS Dominica (a facility owned by Hanesbrands, Inc., and with Wal-Mart as one of its main customers) were forced to sign an egregiously unfair contract, which violated several provisions of Dominican Labor Law.

According to a report by the Workers Rights Consortium, a labor rights monitoring organization, workers were told by factory management, "If you don't want to sign this [new contract], there's not a place for you in this company."

Consequently, workers were stuck with an agreement which decreased their salary by 13.5 percent, removed regular salary increases, stripped healthcare and life insurance benefits, and altered their workday to include mandatory, unpaid overtime in 12-hour shifts.

What followed was even worse:  firings and various retaliations against workers who tried to unionize to protect themselves against future abuses.

At the time we published our Guide to Ending Sweatshops, we started a petition drive to urge Hanesbrands and Wal-Mart to respect worker rights. 

Now we've learned that the President of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, Jessica Mathews, sits on the Hanesbrands board.

So, now we're asking workers' rights advocates to sign our letter to Ms. Mathews, calling for her to use her power as a Director to urge Hanes to respect workers' rights and negotiate fairly with workers at TOS Dominica. 

Your letter will also be forwarded to Hanes' Executive Vice President and Vice President of Social Responsibility.

Click through to our Web site to learn more about this issue and to sign our letter today.
It's great to be working with you,

Alisa Gravitz
Executive Director
Co-op America

P.S.  Please download our Guide to Ending Sweatshops, and consider a donation to our Corporate Responsibility Program. 

(You can also order print copies of the Guide, for the cost of shipping, by calling 800-58-GREEN.)

http://www.coopamerica.org/PDF/EndingSweatshops.pdf

Take action; sign petition/letter
http://www.coopamerica.org/takeaction/haneswalmart/