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CLOSE THE GAP

San Francisco (10/1/00) -- There is an ongoing protest vigil at the 5th and Market Gap store in downtown San Francisco. Daily protests will be held:

4:30 Pm Rally at GAP Store (Powell St. @ Market St)
6:30 PM March to GAP Headquarters at 1 Harrison St @ Embarcadero
7:30 PM Spokescouncil meeting, celebration and sleep at Headquarters.
10:00 AM March returning to GAP store.

The Protesters statement (see http://www.gapsucks.org) reads:

"We hereby demand of the GAP:
Regarding the 232,00 acres of Mendocino and Sonoma County redwood forest land that the Fisher family bought in July 1998, and have been liquidating ever since
-- Stop all logging immediately; put all holdings in a conservation land trust, in which commercial logging will be completely prohibited until all threatened and endangered species have fully recovered in each watershed.
-- As part of the reparations for the damage they have done, establish and pay for a public oversight committee for each watershed that includes public-interest representatives, and employs local displaced timber workers and fisher people in ongoing watershed and forest restoration.

Regarding working conditions for GAP employees,
-- Settle the Saipan Lawsuit; 17 other companies have already agreed to ban the shadow contracts that make workers waive all their basic rights to reduce recruitment fees, to stop union busting and to pay workers owed overtime. It's time for the GAP to do the same! (for more info see http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations/saipan)
-- Include a Living Wage in GAP's Vendor Code of Conduct (see http://www.gapinc.com)
-- Agree to independent monitoring in its factories
-- Support workers' rights to organize unions (the first GAP store on Ocean Ave. was unionized)
-- Disclose information about its factory locations and conditions.


In support of the vigil Food Not Bombs (San Francisco) is feeding the protestors.