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Anyone recall the flurry of mea culpas by US & European garment retailers after the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh last April? The retailers pledged to demand safety standards & contribute to a compensation plan for victims who lost family members (sometimes sole wage earners) or lost limbs in the catastrophe & are unable to work. Their contrition is so histrionic (in the sense of shallow & attention-seeking) when media focus is on them--which is why media, so compliant with exploitation, moves quickly to the next catastrophe.
It is unspeakable that not a one of the US retailers who made such exorbitant profits from the labor of these workers have paid any compensation into a plan or even participated in negotiations to do so. There’s no point in waiting for Walmart or the other companies to grow a conscience & do the right thing out of shame. Those are cultural refinements sweatshop capitalism isn’t capable of; barbarism is the height & hallmark of Walmart culture. They have to be bludgeoned with public exposure for their human rights crimes.
Students & activists around the world have been forming anti-sweatshop groups & showing up at stores with placards. It looks like chickens are coming home to roost at least for Walmart since workers are beginning to organize against its rotten labor practices here.
Please take a moment to sign these two petitions & learn how you can join the campaign in solidarity with Rana Plaza & other sweatshop workers & their families.
(Photo from orphansplace.com)
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