A New Day for Liberian Firestone Workers
Monday, July 30, 2007
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Fresh off the Stop Firestone Call-In Day, representatives of the
AFL-CIO Solidarity Center and United Steel Workers (USW) will participate in a
brown bag lunch discussion Tuesday on the recent union election victory at the
Firestone Liberian rubber plantation. The July election marks the first time
workers at the plantation elected their own representatives. Prior to the July
election, Firestone plantation managers only recognized another union that
“provided little or no representation for workers,” reports James
Parks of the AFL-CIO Now Blog. This election gives the “democratically
elected union representatives overwhelming support to make improvements to their
wages, living and working conditions,” says USW International President Leo
Gerard. Firestone has come under fire for its treatment of workers. According to
the Stop Firestone Coalition,
Firestone pays workers low wages, sets quotas that require workers to work 21
hours a day, provide poor living conditions for workers, and encourage child
labor. “It’s shameful to see how a successful and highly profitable global
corporation treats its employees,” Gerard says. Last Thursday, hundreds of
callers across the nation participated in a Stop the Firestone Call-In Day to
demand Firestone end its exploitation of Liberian workers. “The Call-In was a
big success because it mobilized people across the country to speak up against
Firestone,” says International Labor Rights Forum Campaigns Assistant Tim
Newman. “It is clear that the company is aware of the rising tide of public
concern.” Liberian rubber worker, photo from the AFL-CIO Now
Blog website