ILRF sponsors Wal-Mart Sweatshop Workers speaking tour around the US

[Omaha Steve]

FULL story: http://www.laborrights.org/projects/corporate/walmart/calendarofevents1005.htm

Stop Wal-Mart Sweatshops Globally

Wal-Mart is in the newspapers everyday because of their streamlined supply chain but there is a downside to Wal-Mart’s so-called efficient business model. And this downside is felt by workers around the world toiling for long hours to produce Wal-Mart’s products that are sold so cheaply.

Workers from Swaziland, Colombia, Nicaragua, and the Philippines have come to the US to share their stories. These are amazing opportunities for you as a consumer to connect with a worker that spends much of waking hours producing garments for large retailers like Wal-Mart.

This speaking tour is part of an ongoing campaign to hold Wal-Mart accountable for their sweatshop conditions around the world sponsored by International Labor Rights Fund. Please email [e-mail] if you are interested. Also please note that there is an honorarium fee for this speaker.

Here are just a few of the stories from workers around the world

Below are some stories of Wal-Mart sweatshops workers from around the world. And behind these stories are families and hardship that continues to live on. Some of the stories are anonymous in order to protect the workers.

Chinese Worker #1
I am a worker at a toy factory in Shenzhen, China that makes toys for Wal-Mart. I was forced to work overtime, paid below the minimum wage, and denied full overtime pay. I had to work so much overtime I was not allowed to take holidays off, weekly days off, or daily rest periods mandated by the labor laws of China. My factory also withheld the first three months of my pay which has prevented me from leaving my job because if I left, I wouldn’t be entitled to the pay the factory owes me.