Sweatshop Workers' Tour — Sept. 25 - Oct. 29, 2004
Garment workers from Bangladesh toured the US from Sept. 25 – Oct. 29 to talk about conditions in sweatshop factories in their country and what we in the US can do to help improve the situation. This tour, coordinated by the National Labor Committee and co-sponsored by the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative, included visits to Marianist institutions in Dayton, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The tour also stopped in many other cities in the south, midwest and east. The calendar below lists the entire itinerary. The tour kicked off an action campaign this fall to improve wages as well as working conditions for the people who make your clothes. For more information visit the National Labor Committee website, www.nlcnet.net.
Testimony by Bangladeshi Women
Each of the three women garment workers gave powerful testimony of the degrading conditions in which they were forced to work. Read what they had to say:
Calendar
CALENDAR OF BANGLADESH WORKERS TOUR BOLD = Confirmed date. Add speaking times, & Travel time/distances when they are known.
|
SUNDAY |
MONDAY |
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
FRIDAY |
SATURDAY |
|
SEPT 26
REST, WORK ON TESTIMONIES
|
SEPT 27
TRAVEL TO CHARLESTON
500 MI / +/- 8 HOURS |
SEPT 28
Charleston/USWA-PACE Rapid Response (a.m.)
To Granville 195mi / 3:35hr:
DENISON, Granville, OH
6:00 dinner / 7:30 event |
SEPT 29 [S. OHà
Cincinnati:
10 Moeller HS
1:15-2:45 Ursuline HS
5:30 light dinner @ XU
7-9: Xavier University |
SEPT 30
9:30am: Purcell Marian HS
To Dayton: 50 mi; 1hr 3min
Otterbein College (Westerville, OH)
7:30-9:00 Dayton Univ.
[PD] |
OCT 1
[To Louisville: 152.3mi, 2hrs, 40min]
UFCW-Louisville
Labor-community luncheon
|
OCT 2
|
|
OCT 3
TO KNOXVILLE
246.7mi, 4hrs, 41min |
OCT 4
Knoxville, TN
Late a.m.: USWA-PACE Reg. Rapid Response Conf.
To St. Louis: 484.7mi, 7hrs, 27min |
OCT 5
St. Louis, MO:
9:00am? HS event @Vianney
1:00pm: Press Conf.
(Central Reform Congreg.)
7-8:30pm: St. Louis Univ. |
OCT 6
[to I.City: 322.5mi, 5hrs, 8min]
7pm: U.Iowa, Iowa City |
OCT 7
[to Milw.: 262.8mi--4hrs, 5min.]
12pm: Milwaukee Technical Coll.
[to Madison: 78.5mi, 1hr 33min]
6-9:00pm: UW Madison |
OCT 8
[To Milwaukee: 78.5mi,1hr, 33min]
10:45am: Marquette
[PD] |
OCT 9 |
|
OCT 10
To Chicago: 93mi, 1hr, 53min |
OCT 11
Chicago
USWA / UFCW? / AFSCME
2:00-4:00pm: DePaul
7:00pm: NE Illinois Univ. |
OCT 12
8-9:30am Labor Rel. Bkfst. (UFCW Lo. 1546)
1:00pm: DuPage
4:00pm Chic. Pub.Radio |
OCT 13
[to Ft.W. 3:41min 161 mi]
1:30-3:00: Indiana U.-Purdue U. Ft. Wayne
to GR:170mi, 2hrs, 51min
[PD] |
OCT 14
7pm: Fountain St. Church, Grand Rapids |
OCT 15
To Detroit: 156.7mi, 2hrs, 27min
11:30am
InterFaith Cttee Wkr J.
Lunch & Lrn & HS event
|
OCT 16
To Pitt: 286.1mi, 5hrs, 4min
Afternoon: U. of Pitt.
Host: Duquesne
|
|
OCT 17
Pittsburgh to Boston:
584.7mi, 9hrs
|
OCT 18
[NEW ENGLAND WEEK]
Brandeis
[50 mi, 1hr, 7min]
8pm:Brown U, Providence |
OCT 19
BOSTON
4:00-5:30pm: Harvard
7:00 Boston College
to Amherst: 94mi, 2hrs, 3min |
OCT 20
UMASS
10:00am: women’s studies class
--Labor Ctr event
[to Noho: 8.7mi, 20min]
4:00 Smith College
7:30 Hampshire College |
OCT 21
9-10am Northampton HS
[4 hrs drive Noho to VT]
4:00: St. Michael’s, Colchester (Burlington) |
OCT 22
Event w/Bernie Sanders?
12:00: U. of Vermont, Burlington
5:00-6:00 synagogue |
OCT 23
Burlington to New Britain:
245.9mi, 4hrs, 46min |
|
OCT 24
|
OCT 25
Connecticut
12:00pm: Central CT State Univ.
to New Haven: 33.8mi, 42min
4:00pm: Yale University |
OCT 26
To NY: 78.7mi, 1hr, 52min
11:10 Hofstra
3-4:00: St. Francis Prep.
Queens College
to Philly: 100.4mi, 1hr, 42min |
OCT 27
To Ewing: 35.4mi, 53min
12:00pm: Coll. of NJ-Trenton
4:30-6:30 St. Josephs |
OCT 28
Labor-Rel b’fast in NYC
Philly to Wash: 142.9mi, 2hrs, 38min
DC
PM: Georgetown
To NY: 232.3mi, 3hrs, 58min |
OCT 29
NY Labor Bkfst.?
NYU
|
OCT 30 |
Some reflections about the Oct. 5 tour stop in St. Louis
This morning more than 500 students from five area schools - Vianney, Chaminade, Ursuline, Visitation and Clayton high schools - came together to hear from two garment workers from Bangladesh. The workers were accompanied by two Bangladeshi worker advocates and Charles Kernaghan and Barbara Briggs from the National Labor Committee.
Their presentations were truly inspiring. The young ladies fromBangladesh described how their lives were completely dominated by sewing clothes for export to the USA. They went to a local Wal-Mart the evening before and found many articles of clothing that they had made. So, it is likely that the students were wearing clothes these women made. The young women said that they worked from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 7 days a week. They got only 10 days off last year and when orders are late they work until 3:00 a.m. and sleep on their sewing machine tables until 7:45 a.m. the next morning when they have to clean up the area and start to work again.
One young high school student asked; “When do you have fun?” Their answer was, “We don’t have fun; we sew clothes. That is our life.” I was impressed by the introduction to their presentation by Vianney HS senior Marc Bannas, an Amnesty International member and organizer of the event. He was well spoken and inspiring. He challenged the students to become leaders of the future and said that they had the power to change things for the better.
I was also struck by the attentiveness of the students. At the end of the presentations all the students together immediately stood up and gave the women a standing ovation. The students asked good, thoughtful questions for over 30 minutes. When the 90 minute assembly ended, there were over 20 students in line to ask more questions of the women. We stayed around for another 30 minutes to talk to the students about the follow up to the meeting. They are motivated and want to do something to help the workers in Bangladesh.
I was also impressed with the organization put together by Dee Elder of Vianney HS, Patricia Harris and Myles McCabe. The Marianist Family can be proud of everyone who participated in this event. We look forward to working with the Marianist Family in St. Louis as they carry the Marianist banner forward in the fight against worker exploitation.
Peace from a very happy leader of the MSJC Sweatshop Labor Team.
Al Prendergast