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Pakistani Teen Malala Yousafzai Shares Nobel Peace Prize With Indian Kailash Satyarthi 10OKT14

THE Nobel Committee should be congratulated for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzi and Kailash Satyarthi. Both have shown amazing bravery and an unwavering commitment to peacefully challenging and changing the world and improving the lives of millions in their countries around the world. While India and Pakistan are again involved in military clashes over Kashmir the Nobel Committee has sent a strong message to both these countries and to the world that a commitment to peace, not military domination, produces the most tangible and enduring positive changes in the lives of people worldwide. God bless Malala Yousafzi and Kailash Satyarthi!!!!! From +NPR .....

Pakistani Teen Malala Yousafzai Shares Nobel Peace Prize

by Scott Neuman

October 10, 2014 5:14 AM ET

Malala Yousafzai poses for photographs in New York. Yousafzai, who survived being shot by the Taliban because she advocated education for girls, has been been named one of two recipients for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

Frank Franklin II/AP

Updated at 8:20 a.m. ET
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who was attacked by Taliban militants for promoting education for girls, will share the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian campaigner against exploitation of children.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee says on Nobelprize.org:

"Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Gandhi's tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children's rights.
"Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzai has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls' rights to education."

Kailash Satyarthi (in while) greets U.N. officials at a meeting in Geneva in 1998.

Donald Stampfli/AP

Yousafzai, 17, defied the Taliban in her town of Mingora in Swat Valley, near the volatile western frontier dividing Pakistan and Afghanistan. In October 2012, Taliban militiamen boarded a school bus she was on, singled her out and shot her in the left side of the head. Two other girls were also wounded in the attack.
Left in critical condition, Yousafzai received an outpouring of international support and was moved to the U.K. for treatment.
"Malala battled for her life, and came back to become an international ambassador for the rights of girls to be educated," NPR's Julie McCarty says.
In July 2013, Yousafzai addressed the United Nations, telling delegates that the Taliban "thought that bullets would silence us, but they failed.
"The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions," she said defiantly, "but nothing changed in my life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born."
She is a previous recipient of the Sakharov Prize and was first nominated for the Peace Prize last year. She now lives in Birmingham, England, but the Taliban have threatened to target her again.
Yousafzai is the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.
Satyarthi, 60, is a long-time activist against child labor and for better education of children in South Asia. In his 20s, he gave up a career as an electrical engineer and "dedicated his life to helping the millions of children in India who are forced into slavery by powerful and corrupt business- and land-owners," PBS writes.

"His original idea was daring and dangerous. He decided to mount raids on factories — factories frequently manned by armed guards — where children and often entire families were held captive as bonded workers.
"After successfully freeing and rehabilitating thousands of children, he went on to build up a global movement against child labor. Today Kailash heads up the Global March Against Child Labor, a conglomeration of 2000 social-purpose organizations and trade unions in 140 countries."

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights calls Satyarthi "India's lodestar for the abolition of child labor."
"Since 1980, he has led the rescue of over 75,000 bonded and child slaves in India and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation. Kailash has emancipated thousands of children from bonded labor, a form of slavery where a desperate family typically borrows needed funds from a lender (sums as little as $35) and is forced to hand over a child as surety until the funds can be repaid," the RFK Center says.
Speaking to NPR in 2011, Satyarthi decried the rise of female feticide — or so-called selective abortions — in India, explaining: "The parents feel that the boy is a help for the future, where the girl is a liability.
"If we spend money on her, then we have to spend money on her marriage, dowry probably, and then if something goes wrong, then we are always sufferers. So better that that girl is not born," he said, explaining the reasoning of some parents in India.

สับปะรดสามารถที่ดินคุณในคุก DOLE มันเป็นเวลาที่จะลุกขึ้นยืนเพื่อ 2SEP14 สิทธิมนุษยชน

 
เปิดเผยการใช้แรงงานเด็กที่ผิดกฎหมายและผิดกฎหมาย ปฏิบัติด้านแรงงานข้ามชาติที่ไม่ควรที่ดินคนในคุก แต่นั่นคือสิ่งที่จะเกิดขึ้นเว้นแต่โดกองกำลังสมาคมอุตสาหกรรม TPIA / ไทยสับปะรดและผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัด จะลดค่าใช้จ่ายของพวกเขาในข้อหาหมิ่นประมาทกับแอนดี้ฮอลล์สำหรับการทำ เพียงแค่ว่า กรุณาเข้าสู่ระบบคำร้องขอโดปล่อยให้พวกเขารู้ว่า คุณจะคว่ำบาตรผลิตภัณฑ์โดทั้งหมดเว้นแต่ค่าใช้จ่ายกับแอนดี้ฮอลล์จะลดลงเขา มีการตั้งค่าใช้จ่ายและผลไม้ธรรมชาติหยุดการใช้แรงงานเด็กและการหยุดการ เหยียดหยามของแรงงานข้ามชาติ จาก+ SumOfUs org เท่านั้น .....

ในเวลา 3 วัน ', ผู้พิทักษ์สิทธิมนุษยชนแอนดี้ฮอลล์ต้องเผชิญกับ 8 ปีในคุกและ $ 10m ดี - เพียงเพื่อเผยให้เห็นหลายละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชน ที่โรงงานสับปะรดไทย ผลไม้ยักษ์ใหญ่ทั่วโลกโดอาจจะเป็นความรอดของเขา แต่ถ้าเราทำหน้าที่ ตอนนี้ บอกโดที่จะยืนขึ้นสำหรับแอนดี้และความต้องการผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัดลดลงค่าใช้จ่ายเหล่านี้อุกอาจ

แปดปีในคุกและ $ 10,000,000 ดีนั่นคือสิ่งที่แอนดี้ฮอลล์ใบหน้าในเวลาเพียงสามวัน '- เพียงเพื่อเผยให้เห็นการละเมิดของมนุษย์หลาย  ในโรงงานสับปะรดไทยรวมทั้งการใช้แรงงานเด็ก
แอนดี้ก็กล้าพอที่จะใช้ในผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัด หนึ่งในผู้ผลิตที่ใหญ่ที่สุดของสับปะรดและส่งออกในประเทศไทยและเปิดเผยการ ละเมิดของ บริษัท ของแรงงานข้ามชาติ แต่ตอนนี้ผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัด เป็นที่โดดเด่นกลับ - ยาก หนังสือเดินทางอังกฤษของแอนดี้ได้รับการดำเนินการและการพิจารณาคดีหมิ่นประมาทของเขาปลอมจะเริ่มในเวลาน้อยกว่าสามวันแต่ยังคงมีความหวังที่จะรักษาความเป็นอิสระของเขา
ประธานธรรมชาติผลไม้ยังเป็นประธานของสมาคมอุตสาหกรรมสับปะรดไทย (TPIA) - ผลไม้ที่ทั่วโลก ยักษ์โดเป็นสมาชิกที่มีอิทธิพลโดสามารถใช้อิทธิพลของตนที่จะผลักดันสำหรับค่าใช้จ่ายที่จะลดลง - แต่จนถึงขณะนี้ได้ยืนเงียบ
พิจารณา คดีของแอนดี้เริ่มต้นในวันอังคารที่ - เรียกร้องให้การกุศลที่จะยืนหยัดและเรียกร้องให้หัวหน้าของ สมาคมอุตสาหกรรมสับปะรดไทยลดลงค่าใช้จ่ายปลอมเหล่านี้
เมื่อสัปดาห์ที่แล้วเกือบ 100 สิทธิมนุษยชนและองค์กรแรงงานรวมถึงสิทธิมนุษยชนและสหภาพแรงงานทั่วโลกที่พูด ออกมาในการสนับสนุนของแอนดี้และเรียกร้องให้ TPIA และสมาชิกที่จะผลักดันผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัด . ที่จะลดค่าใช้จ่ายกับแอนดี้ การ วิจัยของแอนดี้ช่วยเปิดเผยการละเมิดสิทธิแรงงานขั้นต้นรวมทั้งแรงงานเด็กยึด หนังสือเดินทางงานบังคับใช้ความรุนแรงในโรงงานผลไม้ธรรมชาติของ แต่การตอบสนอง TPIA เป็นน่ารังเกียจ: สมาคมไม่เพียง แต่ปฏิเสธที่จะช่วยก็ยังคุกคามต่อแอนดี้สำหรับการทำงานของเขาในการปกป้องแรงงานดังนั้นแอนดี้และพันธมิตรของเขาจะขอการสนับสนุนของเราเมื่อวันอังคารแรกของสี่การทดลองอาญาและทางแพ่งจะเริ่มต้น , และแอนดี้คือการต่อสู้เพื่ออิสรภาพของเขา เป้าหมายของผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัด และพันธมิตรของอุตสาหกรรมที่ชัดเจนเพื่อความเงียบสนับสนุนสิทธิมนุษยชนที่ กล้าที่จะท้าทายการละเมิดแรงงานของพวกเขา นี้ไม่ได้เป็นเพียง เกี่ยวกับแอนดี้: ถ้าคดีนี้ไปข้างหน้าและนักวิจารณ์จะเงียบผลที่ตามมาสำหรับคนงานในประเทศไทย จะเป็นจริง - และพวกเขาจะไม่ดี แต่เราสามารถหยุดนี้โดเป็นแบรนด์ที่ผู้บริโภคหันหน้าไปทางขนาดใหญ่และ ไม่สามารถที่จะได้ร่วมงานกับ บริษัท ที่เงียบฝ่ายตรงข้าม ด้วยการขู่คุก ถ้าพวกเขาสร้างแรงกดดันต่อผลไม้ธรรมชาติ จำกัด และสมาคมอุตสาหกรรม TPIA แล้วเราจะได้รับค่าใช้จ่ายกับแอนดี้ลดลงและยังคงผลักดันให้สภาพการทำงานที่ ดีกว่าในอุตสาหกรรม ให้ลุกขึ้นยืนเพื่อพิทักษ์สิทธิมนุษยชนที่กล้าหาญและคนงานทั่วโลกโทรในโดที่จะได้รับค่าใช้จ่ายกับแอนดี้ฮอลล์ลดลง ขอบคุณสำหรับทุกสิ่งที่คุณทำ พอลแอนน์, จอน, มาร์ตินและทีมงานที่ SumOfUs ****** **** ข้อมูลเพิ่มเติมอุทธรณ์ไปยังสมาคมอุตสาหกรรมสับปะรดไทยกระตุ้นธรรมชาติผลไม้จะลดลงกรณีกับแอนดี้ฮอลล์ , ธุรกิจและสิทธิมนุษยชนศูนย์วิทย,  20 สิงหาคม 2014 กลุ่มสิทธิมนุษยชนออกมาเพื่อปกป้องแอนดี้ฮอลล์ , เนชั่น, 8 สิงหาคม 2014

Pineapples can land you in prison, DOLE, it is time to stand up for human rights 2SEP14

 
EXPOSING illegal child labor and illegal migrant labor practices shouldn't land a person in jail, but that is what is going to happen unless Dole forces the TPIA / Thai Pineapple Industry Association and Natural Fruit Ltd to drop their defamation charges against Andy Hall for doing just that. Please sign the petition to Dole letting them know you will boycott all Dole products unless the charges against Andy Hall are dropped, he is set free, and Natural Fruit stops using child labor and stops abusing migrant workers. From +SumOfUs .org .....

In 3 days' time, human rights defender Andy Hall faces 8 years in prison and a $10m fine -- just for exposing multiple human rights abuses at a Thai pineapple factory. Global fruit giant Dole could be his salvation, but only if we act now. Tell Dole to stand up for Andy and demand Natural Fruit Ltd drop these outrageous charges.

Eight years in prison and a $10 million fine. That’s what Andy Hall faces in only three days' time -- just for exposing multiple human abuses in a Thai pineapple factory, including child labor.
Andy was brave enough to take on Natural Fruit Ltd, one of the biggest pineapple producers and exporters in Thailand, and reveal the company’s abuse of migrant workers. But now Natural Fruit Ltd. is striking back -- hard. Andy’s British passport has already been taken, and his bogus defamation trial starts in less than three days. But there’s still hope to secure his freedom.
Natural Fruit’s president is also the chair of the Thai Pineapple Industry Association (TPIA) -- where global fruit giant Dole is an influential member. Dole could use its influence to push for the charges to be dropped -- but so far it has stood silent.
Andy's trial starts on Tuesday -- call on Dole to take a stand, and demand the head of the Thai Pineapple Industry Association drops these bogus charges.
Last week, nearly 100 human rights and labor organizations, including Human Rights Watch and unions around the world, spoke out in support of Andy and called on the TPIA and its members to push Natural Fruit Ltd. to drop the charges against Andy. Andy's research helped expose gross labour rights violations including child labour, passport confiscation, forced work, violence in Natural Fruit's factory. But TPIA’s response was despicable: the association not only refused to help, it also further threatened Andy for his work protecting migrant workers.
So Andy and his allies are asking for our support. On Tuesday, the first of four criminal and civil trials will begin, and Andy is fighting for his freedom.
The aim of Natural Fruit Ltd and its industry allies is clear: To silence human rights advocates who dare to challenge their labour abuses. This isn’t just about Andy: If this lawsuit goes ahead and critics are silenced, the consequences for workers in Thailand will be real -- and they will not be good.
But we can stop this. Dole is a massive consumer facing brand and can’t afford to be associated with a company that silences its opponents by threatening jail sentences. If they put pressure on Natural Fruit Ltd and the industry association TPIA, then we can get the charges against Andy dropped, and continue to push for better working conditions in the industry. Let’s stand up for courageous human rights defenders and workers around the world.
Call on Dole to get the charges against Andy Hall dropped.
Thanks for all you do,
Paul, Anne, Jon, Martin and the team at SumOfUs

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More information:
Appeal to Thai Pineapple Industry Association: Urge Natural Fruit to drop cases against Andy Hall, Business and Human Rights Resource Center, 20 August 2014Rights group out to protect Andy Hall, the Nation, 8 August 2014

Saudi diplomatic compound in Virginia faces human trafficking probe 1MAI13 المجمع الدبلوماسي السعودي في ولاية فرجينيا يواجه التحقيق الاتجار بالبشر

THIS is not a surprise. It is shameful and disgusting, but it is not a surprise. What will be shocking is if the pigs who live in and own the house are persecuted, and if not persecuted, at the least ordered to leave the country ASAP. It has been known forever the saudi ruling class and saudi men in general are brutal and perverse pigs, practitioners of a false sect of Islam they use to justify their abuse, physically, mentally and sexually, of children, women and men. It may be the norm in the saudi kingdom but we should not tolerate it here. Arrest these people if possible, if not kick them out of the U.S. now!

Federal authorities are investigating a Saudi Arabian diplomatic compound in Virginia over a potential case of human trafficking, according to BuzzFeed and NBC Washington.

Federal and local police were called to a home in McLean overnight, where they encountered “two potential victims of trafficking” from the Philippines. One of the women attempted to flee. Real estate records indicate the residence belongs to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said an investigation was ongoing, but could be complicated if the subjects have diplomatic immunity. Brandon Montgomery, an ICE spokesman, told BuzzFeed that “other agencies” were also involved, but did not elaborate.

The Saudi Embassy has denied having any knowledge of the incident.

“We don’t know anything about that,” a spokesperson told BuzzFeed. “The report that we got is that the house belongs to the Saudi armed forces, like the military office.”

Saudi Arabian has face criticism for failing to adequately fighting human trafficking. The U.S. State Department’s 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report stated, “Saudi Arabia is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and to a lesser extent, forced prostitution.” The report also claimed the country “does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.”

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[Woman covering face via Shutterstock]

يست مفاجأة. فمن المخزي ومثير للاشمئزاز، لكنها ليست مفاجأة. ماذا سيكون صادما هو إذا يتعرضون للاضطهاد الخنازير الذين يعيشون في وامتلاك المنزل، وإذا لم يكن للاضطهاد، على الأقل أمروا بمغادرة البلاد في اسرع وقت ممكن. وقد كان معروفا إلى الأبد الطبقة الحاكمة السعودية والرجل السعودي بشكل عام هي خنازير وحشية والضارة، والممارسين من طائفة المغلوطة عن الإسلام التي يستخدمونها لتبرير إساءة استعمالها، جسديا وعقليا وجنسيا، من الأطفال والنساء والرجال. قد يكون من القاعدة في المملكة العربية السعودية ولكن لا ينبغي لنا أن نسكت عنه هنا. اعتقال هؤلاء الناس إذا كان ذلك ممكنا، إن لم يكن بطردهم من الولايات المتحدة الآن!

السلطات الاتحادية والتحقيق في المجمع الدبلوماسي السعودي في ولاية فرجينيا على حالة محتملة للاتجار بالبشر، وفقا لBuzzFeed وبي سي واشنطن.

تم استدعاء الشرطة الاتحادية والمحلية على منزل في ماكلين بين عشية وضحاها، حيث واجه "اثنين من الضحايا المحتملين للاتجار" من الفلبين. حاولت إحدى النساء على الفرار. السجلات العقارية تشير إلى إقامة ينتمي إلى المملكة العربية السعودية.

قال الهجرة والجمارك الامريكية ان التحقيق مستمر، ولكن يمكن أن يكون معقدا إذا المبحوثين يمتلكون الحصانة الدبلوماسية. وقال براندون مونتغمري، متحدث باسم ICE، BuzzFeed أن "الوكالات الأخرى" متورطون أيضا، ولكن لم يذكر تفاصيل.

ونفت السفارة السعودية وجود أي معرفة وقوع الحادث.

واضاف "اننا لا نعرف شيئا عن ذلك"، وقال متحدث باسم BuzzFeed. "التقرير أن وصلنا هو أن البيت ينتمي إلى القوات المسلحة السعودية، مثل المكتب العسكري."

العربية السعودية قد تواجه انتقادات لفشلها في مكافحة الاتجار بالبشر على نحو كاف. وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية لعام 2012 تقرير الاتجار بالأشخاص وذكر، "المملكة العربية السعودية هي بلد المقصد للرجال والنساء اللواتي يتعرضن للسخرة وإلى حد أقل، والبغاء القسري." وادعى التقرير أيضا البلد "لا يتوافق تماما مع الحد الأدنى معايير للقضاء على الاتجار بالبشر ولا تبذل جهودا كبيرة للقيام بذلك. "

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[امرأة تغطي وجهها عبر Shutterstock]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/01/saudi-diplomatic-compound-in-virginia-faces-human-trafficking-probe/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

SumOfUs Campaign Updates: January 2013 2FEB13

I often post calls to action and information on issues from SumOfUs, a small but very active progressive organization. Here are some of their recent victories and ongoing campaigns.

It’s been a few months since we last updated you on the amazing things we’ve accomplished together. And this is an extra exciting one, because we’ve had a string of resounding victories to report, as well solid progress on several other campaigns. Read on to learn about what we’ve done together these past few months.
--Kaytee Riek, Campaigns Manager, SumOfUs.org

Campaign updates

MAKING WAVES! Walmart: End factory deathtraps in Bangladesh
Background:  In November, a fire tore through the Tazreen garment factory, a Walmart supplier in Bangladesh. Emergency exits were locked from the outside, and managers told workers to return to their sewing machines as smoke filled the factory. 112 workers were killed. Weeks later, the New York Times revealed that Walmart executives had been aware of the dangers in their Bangladeshi factories, but had blocked a program to improve fire safety.
Partners: The International Labor Right Forum, United Students Against Sweatshops, Corporate Action Network, Change To Win, and Jobs with Justice.
What we want: We want Walmart to sign onto the Bangladeshi Fire Safety Agreement, an independently monitored program which requires global retailers to provide funds for improved fire safety in their Bangladeshi suppliers.
Current status: Over 110,000 of us signed a petition calling on Walmart to strengthen fire safety in the factories it buys from worldwide, and we delivered the petition during a rally at Walmart's lobbying headquarters. Walmart has claimed that it toughened rules governing its Bangladeshi suppliers, but these reforms are meaningless without independent monitoring funding for basic safety measures. So now we're raising the stakes by collectively donating $20,000 to bring both a Bangladeshi labor activist, and a survivor of the deadly Tazreen factory fire to confront Walmart executives.
Read More: The original petition | Shareable graphic | Fundraiser | Petition delivery photos
Press coverage: Huffington Post

VICTORY! No child labor at Whole Foods
Background: Whole Foods, America’s largest organic retailer, likes to brag about its efforts to popularize fair trade goods. But Whole Foods shelves were partially stocked with cheap chocolate produced by forced child labor.
Partners: The Teamsters and the International Labor Rights Forum
What we want: We wanted Whole Foods to commit to only selling certified fair trade chocolate, since only independent supply chain certification can guarantee that chocolate is free of child slavery, which runs rampant in the cocoa industry. Additionally, we wanted Whole Foods to stop doing business with companies that continue to profit from child slavery in the chocolate industry.
Current status: Whole Foods agreed to create a certification process to help chocolate producers monitor and control their supply chain.Whole Foods will challenge suppliers to improve working conditions in their fields, by creating quality-based ratings system. This system will help encourage any companies that sell to Whole Foods to remove child labor from their supply chains.
Read More: The original petition

VICTORY! FCC: Regulate prison phone rates
Background: A small handful of telecom companies with monopoly contracts can impose exorbitant phone costs -- upwards of $1 a minute -- on prisoners and their families. Most states do not regulate rates, since they frequently receive kickbacks from highly profitable phone operators. These rates exploit vulnerable people, including the 2.7 million children with an incarcerated parent, and, by cutting them off from their families, increase the rate convicts will commit another crime upon release.
Partners: The Prison Policy Institute and the Center for Media Justice
What we want: We want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect incarcerated people and their families from exploitation by regulating interstate phone call rates.
Current status: After circulating the petition to our list, we received over 36,000 signatures and more than 2,000 original comments to the FCC. On the day we delivered the comments, the FCC announced that it would be issuing new rules to lower long distance rates for prisoners.
Read More: The original petition
Press coverage: Afro

MARKED PROGRESS! Pepsi: Speak out against the Uganda Kill the Gays bill
Background: Ugandan legislators are considering legislation that would institute the death penalty for gays and lesbians, and allies in Uganda felt that if multinational companies spoke out publicly against the bill, it would sway Members of Parliament (MPs) on the fence to vote against it. Pepsi has a history of supporting equality and has a massive presence in Uganda.
Partners: Ugandan Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law and Health GAP
What we want: We asked Pepsi to publicly oppose the bill and communicate its opposition to MPs in the Ugandan Parliament.
Current status: Over 116,000 signatures were delivered to Pepsi HQ in December, and, we took out an ad in Advertising Age, an industry publication, to get Pepsi's attention. Just this week, Pepsi's VP of Global Policy and Government Affairs met with Kaytee, our Campaign Manager. He heard our concerns, and agreed to continue watching the situation closely, and ensure Pepsi uses its voice effectively to stop passage of the bill. To that end, we are putting Pepsi executives in touch with LGBTI groups in Uganda so they can coordinate opposition on the ground.
As far as the bill itself, thankfully it did not pass before the Ugandan Parliament disbanded for Christmas. But allies in Uganda warn that there is a good chance the bill will be considered when Parliament reconvenes next week, so we will stay in touch with allies in Uganda and make sure Pepsi keeps its word to help stop this horrible law.
Read More: Original petition | Our ad in Advertising Age
Press Coverage: Huffington Post | All Africa | Queerty | Dan Savage

MASSIVE ACTION! Walmart: Stop selling assault weapons
Background: Walmart is the largest gun retailer in the country, and sells assault rifles -- including the AR-15 used in the Sandy Hook shooting -- at hundreds of its stores across the US. In the wake of the tragic shooting of 20 children in Newtown, CT, Americans joined together to fight against easy access to assault rifles.
Partners: Courage Campaign, MomsRising.org, Change.org
What we want: We demanded that Walmart stop selling military-grade assault rifles, like those used in recent mass shootings, entirely.
Current status: Nearly 300,000 people, including 115,000 SumOfUs.org members, signed the petitions to Walmart. 60 people delivered those signatures, along with a letter from 75 survivors of mass shootings, at the Walmart just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary one month after the tragic shooting. The petition delivery was covered in over one thousand media outlets, including USA Today, CNN and Bloomberg. Walmart released a statement that it respected its customers and would follow the law -- a pointless statement that shows we need to keep the pressure on Walmart until these guns are no longer on the shelves next to baby food and school clothes.
Read More: Original petition | Our delivery
Press: USA Today | Bloomberg | US News & World Report

VICTORY! Pfizer, leave the Heartland Institute!
Background: The Heartland Institute has long been a right-wing front group for corporate climate change apologists and tobacco companies looking to overturn against nicotine regulation. Early last year, the Heartland Institute unveiled its most outrageous campaign yet when it compared advocates of carbon regulation to terrorists and serial killers. Shortly after the backlash began, and thanks to the work of SumOfUs.org and Forecast the Facts, Heartland lost over half its funding, but Pfizer, a major donor, stubbornly remained.
Partner: Forecast the Facts, 350
What we want: We wanted Pfizer to join over twenty other groups in fleeing the Heartland Institute.
Current status: Victory! In November, Pfizer announced that it had decided not to renew its annual funding for the Heartland Institute, depriving the group of a major source of income. Thanks to your work, the Heartland Institute has been so defunded and demoralized that it was forced to cancel its annual climate denial conference.
Read More: The original petition
Press coverage: Think Progress

AMAZING PROGRESS! Walmart: Respect your workers.

Background: This autumn, Walmart workers across America took a huge risk and launched a series of strikes at the world's largest retailer -- the first in the chain's history. The campaign culminated on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Hundreds of associates walked off the job to protest low wages, inconsistent scheduling, dangerous working conditions, and retaliation against workers who had asked for better treatment.
Partners: Warehouse Workers United, Warehouse Workers for Justice, OUR Walmart, and Making Change at Walmart
What we want: We want to help Walmart workers win the respect they deserve from management. We want to see Walmart end retaliation and sit down with workers to see how it can treat its employees fairly.
Current status: When Walmart workers went on strike, SumOfUs.org members around the world donated over $75,000 to support striking Walmart workers. It was our most successful fundraiser ever! In fact, we raised so much that the workers' organization, OUR Walmart was able to use some extra money to hire Walmart associates who had been working to improve working conditions as organizers, starting with Semetra Lee, of Richmond, CA. Semetra was a temporary worker who began working with OUR Walmart after experiencing bullying and racism at her position. She was written up, and her contract was not renewed due to her activity organizing her fellow workers.
Walmart is starting to feel the impact of these strikes. In January, Walmart committed to improving its scheduling system and implementing a monitoring program to improve conditions in its warehouses -- key victories for OUR Walmart and Warehouse Workers United members. Of course, these changes aren't enough -- for instance, the warehouse monitoring program is based on Walmart's disastrous global monitoring program, which allowed the Tazreen fire in Bangladesh to happen. So Walmart workers will keep fighting, and we'll be there to support them
Read More: Original petition | Striking worker solidarity statement | Campaign donation page | Our ads blanketing Walmart's hometown newspapers
Press coverage: Los Angeles Times | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Onwards!

As you can tell, we’ve been busy! But we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are excited to build a movement together, and we’re honored that you’re a part of it. We want to keep up our momentum and make sure that corporations are taking our voices into consideration. As we are still a tiny organization, we make sure that your donation does the most it can to help better our world. Please consider becoming a donor in order to help our movement grow!

 

We are truly independent -- we don't take a dime from corporations or governments. That allows us to run campaigns like the ones we've described today. But that also means we depend on members like you to keep us going. Any donation that you can make not only improves our ability to campaign for corporate accountability, but also energizes us, knowing that you are invested in what the SumOfUs can do. Thank you so much for being one of us.

Thanks for reading, and for continuing to support our growing movement for corporate accountability.

 

SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

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iPhones and the Poison Apple 11AUG12

I was never a steve jobs fan. I am sorry he suffered and died from a terrible disease, and I know he died too soon. But I think the business empire he created and ran is not good, and is a reflection of the callousness, greed, materialism and lust for power that are major problems in our country and around the world today. apple and the i products are not good for the world, but they could be with a change starting right at the top. apple needs to be a responsible employer and be fully committed to ending child labor and slave labor conditions at their suppliers factories. apple needs to accept responsibility for guaranteeing their suppliers pay a fair and living wage and that workers are not abused and that they have a safe working environment. So I am asking that you join the campaign by SumOfUs and Demand Progress calling on apple to step up and address the issues of worker abuse, slave labor, child labor, inadequate wages and worker's human rights in all the Third Would countries they outsource their production to. Click the link to participate and please pass this on...(And by the by, I don't own anything made by apple because of their current corporate irresponsibility)

Please read on: We're partnering with our friends at SumOfUs.org in an effort to hold Apple -- the world's most profitable corporation -- accountable for extraordinary abuses.  If you've already signed this petition, please forward this email to your friends or click here to share on Facebook

Every day, tens of millions of people will swipe the screens of their iPhones to unlock them.

On the other side of the world, a young girl is also swiping those screens.

Six days a week, twelve-plus hours a day, she repetitively swipes tens of thousands of them. She spends those hours inhaling chemicals that are never disclosed to her. For her labor, she makes less than $17 a day[13], is forced to work unpaid overtime, and, when her supervisors want to punish her, she is humiliated and forced to clean toilets.

Sound like a horror story? According to recent reports, scenarios like this are a waking nightmare for many workers in Apple’s Chinese supply chain.[1]

Tell Apple: You’re the most profitable company in the world.[2] It’s time to treat your workers ethically.

Right now we’re partnering with corporate accountability group SumOfUs.org because we have a huge opportunity as citizen-consumers: 

Apple is under enormous, sustained pressure to reform its supply chain in the run-up to its new iPhone. 

It even hired the Fair Labor Association (FLA), to inspect its factories, and publicly vowed to reform.[3] But an independent investigation by Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior found that, for many workers things are actually getting worse.[1]

That’s right, after vowing to fix its problems, Apple is turning a blind eye as many workers now report lower wages and forced overtime, along with continued, humiliating punishments by management.

In extreme cases, people have literally been dying while making Apple products. 

Reporters have documented cases of deadly, preventable, explosions at iPad factories, and repeated instances of employees dying of exhaustion after long shifts.[4,5,6]

Tell Apple that it’s time to start treating workers like human beings, with safe, legal hours and a living wage.

Can Apple truly reform? Absolutely. Apple is the richest company in the world, posting a record-breaking gross profit margin for the last quarter of 45.7%[7]. 

It’s sitting on $110 billion in cash.[8] And while Apple makes hundreds of dollars of profit on each iPhone or iPad it sells, only $8 and $10 (respectively) goes to the workers that make it.[9,10,11] Simply put, Apple could double or even triple the amount it pays to laborers without a serious impact on its bottom line. 

But instead Apple has been paying out its shareholders, and set aside a record-shattering $378 million for its CEO Tim Cook last year. 

That’s over $1,000,000 a day, or nearly 60,000 times the salary of the people who make the products that make Tim Cook rich. [12,13]

Why are we targeting Apple specifically? This is a bigger problem than Apple, but no company is in a better position to improve things than Apple: Its record profits and eye-popping cash-on-hand have come off the backs of workers pushed to the brink -- and sometimes beyond -- by its tight deadlines and impossible demands.

In addition, Apple, as the largest customer of Foxconn, is in a unique position to improve the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of human beings. And if Apple actually did mandate changes at Foxconn, it would ripple across the sector to raise wages and improve working conditions for everyone making our electronics in China.

According to an anonymous Apple executive quoted in a major exposé in the New York Times, all Apple has to do is demand change, and it’ll happen:

“Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”[4] As a company that prides itself on being an industry leader in the tech world, Apple needs to take the lead in ethical treatment of its workers.

Tell Apple to improve conditions in the factories that make its products in time for the next iPhone to be made ethically.

Thanks.

-Demand Progress

[1]http://act.demandprogress.

org/go/631?t=6&akid=1450.

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[2]http://act.demandprogress.

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[3]http://act.demandprogress.

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[4]http://act.demandprogress.

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[6]http://act.demandprogress.

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[7]http://act.demandprogress.

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[8]http://act.demandprogress.

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[9]http://act.demandprogress.

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[10]http://act.demandprogress.

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[11]http://www.isuppli.com/

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[12]http://act.demandprogress.

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[13]http://act.demandprogress.

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