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Dear Friends,
We deeply appreciate each of you for your actions online and in the streets in solidarity with workers who are organizing for dignity and justice in the global economy. And we are very grateful to each one of you who make possible and sustain our advocacy through your donations.
A year ago, workers from dozens of garment factories in Bangladesh took to the streets to protest low wages. The police responded brutally, shooting one worker dead on his way home during his lunch break and injuring at least 50 others.
In the course of the following weeks, 65 workers were arrested with hundreds more facing retaliatory criminal charges at the behest of factory owners. As many as 11,600 workers were dismissed from their jobs without legal justification. Blacklisting was blatant when managers posted terminated workers’ names and photos on billboards in front of factories.
ILRF coordinated with our partners in Bangladesh and our allies internationally to respond to this crackdown by sleuthing through apparel brands’ supplier disclosures, factory websites, and import databases to identify the brands sourcing from the 29 factories associated with 33 cases. Some of these cases charged dozens and even hundreds of unnamed workers, causing a heightened climate of fear as workers worried their names could be added to the list of those charged with criminal trespassing, theft, property destruction, or even attempted murder if they exercised their rights to freedom of expression or freedom of association.
The campaign’s cumulative pressure on the brands sourcing from the factories is bringing results. By now five cases have been dismissed and we are hopeful that several more will be dropped within the coming months through our ongoing coalition efforts. Please stand with us in this campaign and in all our efforts for dignity and justice for workers in the global economy by making a donation today.
During this season of giving, we hope that you will count ILRF among the groups you support and we thank you for your generosity.
The truth is, we couldn’t do our work in support of living wages, health and safety, and union rights without you. Please give now to help sustain our work in 2020.
Thank you for all you do for worker justice.
Happy New Year!
Best regards,
Judy Gearhart
Executive Director
P.S. If you are not yet part of our pool of monthly donors, please join today. Whether you contribute the price of a coffee, a movie ticket, or more, it means so much to us that you’re with us in this fight for the long haul.
This email was sent by the International Labor Rights Forum.
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