November, 01 2017, 03:45pm EDT
As Ivanka Trump Travels to Asia, Human Rights, Labor, Union and Public Interest Groups Call on First Daughter to Pledge Improvements for Workers Making Her Brand's Clothes in China
As Ivanka Trump travels to Asia to speak about what she terms "women's empowerment" at the fourth annual World Assembly for Women in Tokyo this week, a coalition of labor, consumer, union and human rights organizations today criticized her hypocrisy in ignoring the plight of workers who make the clothing marketed under her name.
WASHINGTON
As Ivanka Trump travels to Asia to speak about what she terms "women's empowerment" at the fourth annual World Assembly for Women in Tokyo this week, a coalition of labor, consumer, union and human rights organizations today criticized her hypocrisy in ignoring the plight of workers who make the clothing marketed under her name.
More than 20 groups, led by Public Citizen, the International Labor Rights Forum and China Labor Watch, released a video highlighting the contrast between Ivanka Trump's words and the conditions in her brand's factories. The groups sent a letter (PDF) to Ivanka Trump demanding she raise labor standards for the mainly female workers who produce her Ivanka Trump product line.
The letter and video are being circulated a day before Ivanka Trump is scheduled to speak in Japan at the women's empowerment symposium. Also this week, President Donald Trump is scheduled to leave on a Nov. 3-14 trip to countries including China, where the bulk of Ivanka Trump-branded handbags, shoes and clothes are manufactured.
The video, shared widely via social media, juxtaposes words from Ivanka Trump's book, "Women Who Work," with reports of abysmal labor conditions at her company's overseas suppliers' facilities.
This spring, investigators from China Labor Watch found grave abuses at two factories that make Ivanka Trump-branded shoes in China. The investigators were then detained for a month on criminal charges of using illegal surveillance equipment (e.g., mobile phones and cameras for recording images and footage to document illegal practices) before being released on bail pending trial.
In addition, several media reports this year, including a comprehensive Washington Post investigation, have highlighted allegations of abusive treatment of the women who work at footwear and garment factories in China and Indonesia to make apparel and shoes bearing Ivanka Trump's brand. The workers have faced verbal and physical abuse as well as 15-hour work days and wage deductions.
"The Trump administration claims to have made buying American-made products and hiring American workers a core tenet," said Public Citizen President Robert Weissman. "It is the essence of hypocrisy that Ivanka Trump-branded clothes and footwear are produced in China and other overseas locations, often under abusive conditions. Most shameful is that labor rights investigators still face the threat of prosecution for investigating conditions for workers making Ivanka Trump-branded products. It's past time for Ivanka Trump to stand up for their freedom."
"If Ivanka truly wants her legacy to include protecting working women, she needs to start with the women in her supply chain," said Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum. "Enthusiastic statements about empowerment are not needed. Transparency, worker-driven monitoring and decent working conditions are essential."
"After finding labor rights violations at factories in China earlier this year, China Labor Watch sent letters to Ms. Trump in hopes that she would help improve the working conditions at her brand's suppliers," said Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch. "It is her responsibility to ensure that assembly line workers producing for her brand are not abused, and to identify and compensate those whose rights are violated while producing for her brand. To date, we have not received any response from either Ms. Trump or her company."
The groups' letter urges Ivanka Trump to:
* Publicly demand that the Chinese government not pursue criminal prosecution of the three China Labor Watch investigators.
* Work to ensure labor rights and fair treatment of the workers who make Ivanka Trump-branded products, irrespective of whether they are direct employees or employed by suppliers or in what country they work.
* Allow independent workers' rights organizations to monitor working conditions and talk to workers about their labor rights inside her supplier factories.
* Publicly disclose the names and addresses of factories making Ivanka Trump-branded products.
* To the extent she intends to continue sourcing her products outside the United States, sign the 2018-2021 Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.
The full list of groups signing the letter is below:
American Federation of Teachers
Child Labor Coalition
China Labor Watch
Communications Workers of America
Community Action for Justice in the Americas, Africa, Asia
Fair World Project
Farmworker Association of Florida
Food & Water Watch
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Global Exchange
Interfaith Worker Justice
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)
International Labor Rights Forum
Jobs With Justice
Kentucky State AFL-CIO
National Consumers League
Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility of United Church of Christ
Public Citizen
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
Service Employees International Union
UltraViolet
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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