Labor

Major League Baseball Balks on Sweatshop Allegations

by Jonathan Rosenblum — July 31, 2006 - 12:16pm

For years, a group of fans and antisweatshop advocates has called on the Pittsburgh Pirates to source their souvenirs from factories that ensure fair labor conditions. The Big League response has been something of a greaseball: Major League Baseball (MLB) is "proud of the accomplishments of our licensees [who] provide gainful employment to tens of thousands of people" under "what we understand to be" full compliance with labor laws, wrote Ethan Orlinsky, general counsel MLB Properties (MLBP).

Main Source: 
The Nation (U.S. Online Edition), July 14, 2006

BBC Archives Reveal Spooks Vetted Staff

by Bob Burton — July 5, 2006 - 3:14am

Archived internal BBC documents from the 1980's, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph under Freedom of Information legislation, reveal that the British spy service, MI5, was used to vet existing and potential staff at the public broadcaster. The paper reported that the documents revealed that "at one stage it [MI5] was responsible for vetting 6300 BBC posts - almost a third of the total workforce." The BBC adopted "categorical denial" as its "defensive strategy" to deflect questions about the practice by unions.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, July 3, 2006

Did Sister Ruth Neglect to Reflect on McDonald’s?

by Jonathan Rosenblum — June 15, 2006 - 10:22am
  • Topics: Corporate Social Responsibility, Third Party Technique, Labor, Social Justice

    • I first met Sister Ruth Rosenbaum at the University of Wisconsin’s Living Wage Symposium in 1999. Her Hartford-based Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA), established in 1995, had produced impressive reports on miserable wages and working conditions in Haiti and Mexico, and I soon assigned them to students in my course on global sweatshops.

    Publicis PR Affiliate Seeking to Mute Bad PR?

    by Jonathan Rosenblum — May 30, 2006 - 11:40am

    Last July, labor activist Junya Lek Yimprasert took up the cause of five women workers dismissed by the Thai subsidiary of the global PR firm Publicis Groupe. She described alleged sexual discrimination and intimidation at the firm's Bangkok office to reporter Stephen Frost of CSR Asia (PDF).

    Main Source: 
    Thai Labour Campaign, October 2005

    "Independent" Labor Report on McDonald's Puréed in Tomatoland

    by Jonathan Rosenblum — May 19, 2006 - 10:32am

    When does an independent labor advocacy group's work turn into corporate PR? The Connecticut-based Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA) finds itself right on the line. CREA recently announced partial results of a study of Florida tomato suppliers, crediting one McDonald's supplier with exceeding industry best practices, including pay sometimes higher than $18 an hour.

    Main Source: 
    Center for Reflection, Education and Action, April 19, 2006

    Wal-Mart Seeks Boosters Among Biz Partners

    by Diane Farsetta — May 12, 2006 - 10:14am

    The Wal-Mart-launched and -funded advocacy group, Working Families for Wal-Mart, is recruiting "Wal-Mart suppliers to join the public relations offensive -- a move that some vendors say puts improper pressure on them," reports Michael Barbaro. While Working Families for Wal-Mart "describes itself as autonomous ... at least half of the steering committee's members have business ties to Wal-Mart" or the group itself.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, May 12, 2006
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