Petition drive seeks to end child labor

As department stores and malls set up holiday displays to woo consumers into beginning Christmas shopping early, a coalition of concerned citizens, religious groups and educational institutions is working to put an end to child labor and sweatshops where many of the gifts that will be purchased for Christmas are assembled.

The national Holiday Season of Conscience kicked off its efforts in the Albany Diocese with a recent petition drive at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland. One thousand signatures were gathered in one day, according to Susan Zucker, coordinator of the Capital District Labor-Religion Coalition. The local goal is to collect 5,000 signatures.

The petition drive is part of a national campaign to pressure the Clinton Administration into establishing independent agencies to monitor sweatshops and child labor abuses more consistently and effectively.

Speaking out

The petition, which was also circulated at local colleges and churches, calls for an end to child labor, the payment of subsistence wages and an end to the blacklisting of workers who try to organize to defend their rights.

It also asks companies to respect local laws which require young people to attend school, to respect human and worker rights, to pay wages that are tied to the basic cost of living, and to open plants to independent monitoring by respected local religious and human rights organizations.

According to the National Labor Committee, a human rights organization which focuses on the protection of worker rights, Americans spend $184 billion a year on apparel, 60 percent of which is imported. Many of the items are made by people earning pennies an hour.

According to an NLC brochure, "workers in Haiti sewing Disney garments are paid just $.06 for every $19.99 `101 Dalmatians' children's outfit they make." Workers in Guatemala earn 37 cents an hour, 13 cents in China, 6 cents in Burma, 20 cents in Vietnam and 27 cents in Indonesia.

The NLC also states that these Third World workers often labor in factories with temperatures of 100 degrees, have no clean drinking water available, and are discouraged from taking breaks to go to the bathroom.

Effort urged

Debra Steinroeder, a Siena College, Loudonville, student and intern for the Albany diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice, is encouraging catechetical leaders, school principals and campus ministers to get involved in the Holiday Season of Conscience.

"Child labor has become the profitable route for several multinational corporations, such as Nike and Reebok," she said. "They are exploiting and violating the human rights of children who do not have a strong voice to stand up against the multinationals. The Vatican was among the first signers of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. These include the right to a basic education, and the right to play and recreation.

"While students [in the U.S.] are being educated for professional futures, other young people have not even received basic literacy because they are assembling clothing or working in agriculture."

Steps to take

In addition to signing the petition, there are other things people can do to voice their concern about child labor and sweatshop abuses, said Andrew Feffer, an associate professor at Union College in Schenectady.

"You can call your Congressperson and ask them to advance legislation against sweatshops. Or call the White House," he said. "We'd like people to recognize that they are not powerless. There are options."

Maureen Casey of the New York State Labor and Religion Coalition, an organization co-chaired by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, suggested that people "ask where things are made" and encourage stores to find products not produced in sweatshops.

Patricia Cumo of the Communication Workers of America agreed, saying: "Ask where things were made and how things were made. Things can be made in the U.S. but in a sweatshop. The location is not important but [the conditions are.] Look for a union label and make demands that we as consumers want the union label."

(Videos are available through the Commission on Peace and Justice to use in parishes, schools and catechetical programs to educate Catholics on these issues. For more information, call 453-6695. Also, Charles Kernaghan, executive director of the National Labor Committee, will be near Wal-Mart on Washington Ave. Ext. in Albany, Nov. 14, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for petitioning and leafleting. His visit is coordinated by the Capital District Labor-Religion Coalition. Call 459-5400.)

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