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Record Protests Sweep Bangladesh

Sarah Lazare Common Dreams
Over 50,000 demand 'dignity' in garment industry where majority-female workforce faces dangerous conditions and some of lowest wages in world

Tidbits - September 5, 2013

Portside
Reader Comments: NBC Nightly News Report - Grassroots Opposition to Military Action Against Syria; AFL-CIO and ILWU; March on Washington; 40th anniversary of Chile coup; Announcements: No one should die for fashion - Sept 6-New York; Veterans For Peace Speak Out-New York-Sept 9; #femfuture Retreat-Oct. 20 - 22 - Rhinebeck, NY - Scholarships Available; Sept 21st: Draw the Line against Keystone XL; Chilean posters-1970-73 Exhibit-New York-Sept. 23; STOP WARS - Yard sign

labor

How Unions Avert Tragedies, Save Lives

A building collapse in Philadelphia kills 6 - a non-union contractor with a shady history faces scrutiny - see 2 articles below. The factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 workers is another glaring example of workers without union protection at the mercy of greedy employers and corrupt politicians. But this cycle can finally be broken if demands for change start to focus on workers’ right to form trade unions - see opinion column below.

labor

Striking Dubai Workers Face Mass Deportation

Chris Arsenault ALJAZEERA
Backed by security forces, bosses at Arabtec - a massive construction firm with interests across the oil-rich Gulf states - ended a strike on Monday, but the fallout continues as more workers are receiving deportation orders. The strike ended after management refused to accept demands for increased wages from people earning about $200 a month to complete mega-projects in 40 degree Celsius heat.

Retailers Key to Bangladesh Worker Safety

Mike Hall AFL-CIO Now
A coalition of faith organizations, investors and labor groups—including the AFL-CIO—is urging major U.S. retailers, including Walmart, Gap, Sears and others, to sign on to a binding workplace and fire safety plan to prevent tragedies such as the recent building collapse in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 garment workers and two 2012 fires that claimed the lives of more than 400 Bangladeshi clothing workers.

labor

Bangladesh Garment Workers: Two Updates

AFP, Omar Rivero
Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of garment workers Monday as they demanded a wage hike at a protest in a manufacturing hub outside the capital Dhaka. Several European retailers have agreed to compensate victims' families, and sign onto the Fire and Building Safety Agreement, but U.S. retailers refuse. See the list of 14 North American retailers who refuse to sign on.
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