SF Sweatshop-Free Ordinance passes unanimously

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
August 16, 2005 Valerie Orth, 415-706-7796

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Vote UNANIMOUSLY for Anti-Sweatshop Government Procurement Legislation

The legislation will be the strongest of its kind in the country

San Francisco – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to pass the historic Sweatfree San Francisco Ordinance, which will ensure that the hundreds of millions of city tax dollars spent on purchasing annually will be used to support fair and just labor practices.

Former CA State Senator Tom Hayden and Global Exchange led a coalition of nearly 60 community groups, including Asian Law Caucus, UNITE HERE!, Chinese Progressive Association, Progressive Jewish Alliance, New College of California, Sisters of the Presentation, Organic Consumers Association and Sierra Club, among others, who all worked to set the highest standard in the country for sweatfree legislation.

The San Francisco Sweatfree Ordinance was introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Ammiano and co-sponsored by 7 other Supervisors. It includes a sweat-free code of conduct to be signed by all city contractors, subcontractors and vendors. The code of conduct mandates that these companies’ workers are paid a living wage, adjusted by labor market, and provided with safe working conditions and a non-discriminatory environment. The code of conduct also bans child labor, and guarantees the fundamental right for workers to join and independent union. In order to ensure that good intentions are translated into good results, funding for enforcement by the city as well as by a non-profit, independent monitor will be included in the city’s budget.

The law also requires that a sweatfree advisory group examine ways to provide incentives for San Francisco garment manufacturers that comply with the ordinance.

"This is a historic moment for San Francisco," said Valerie Orth, Global Exchange's Sweatshop-Free Campaigns Organizer, “It will place our city at the cutting edge in the struggle for global worker justice.” The ordinance passed unanimously today, and will face a final reading and vote on September 6.

For more information, please visit http://www.globalexchange.org/sweatfreebayarea.
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Global Exchange Sweatshop-Free Campaigns
valerie [at] globalexchange.org 415-558-6938
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/sweatshops
2017 Mission Street #303, San Francisco, CA 94110

Global Exchange is a non-profit research, education, and action center
working for political, economic, environmental, and social justice on a
global scale. We work to increase international awareness among the U.S.
public emphasizing struggles for peace, justice, and equality while building
meaningful international partnerships.