Following the lead of the national Gap Deathtraps campaign, and in solidarity with Bangladeshi workers, a small group of workers and students in the Hudson Valley has formed to pressure Gap, Inc. to sign a legally-binding fire and building safety agreement for their operations in Bangladesh.
The Backstory
On December 14th, 2010, a fire in Bangladesh at a factory producing Gap apparel killed 29 workers. After one and a half years of negotiating with labor groups in Bangladesh, Gap walked away from the bargaining table without signing a legally-binding agreement.
On April 24th, 2013, a factory collapse in Bangladesh claimed the lives of 1,227 workers. Scrambling to deflect questions over whether the same type of catastrophe couldn't happen at a factory manufacturing Gap apparel, the company initially agreed to sign the 'Accord on Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh'
Then, the company promptly backed out once again, releasing a statement announcing that they would be continuing on the path of self-regulation, accountable to no one.
Turning Up the Heat
Sensing an opening to pressure Gap into ensuring the safety of its workers in Bangladesh, organizations including United Students Against Sweatshops, International Labor Rights Forum, and Clean Clothes Campaign launched Gap Deathtraps, a national effort to pressure Gap into respecting workers' safety.
The campaign features a petition demanding that Gap sign on to the Building and Fire Safety Agreement. It also urges activists to deliver letters to the managers of their local Gap stores in an effort to bring home their message.
I had been speaking theoretically about the need for solidarity between workers here and in Bangladesh following the April factory collapse, and this campaign provided an opportunity for practical, concrete action. I shot off an e-mail to Activist Radio host Fred Nagel asking if he would like to deliver the 'Deathtraps' letter to a local Gap store, and he responded enthusiastically. After strategizing a bit, our Facebook page was set up, and local activist Darett Roberts was roped into the campaign along with County Legislator Joel Tyner and his partner.
The five of us delivered our letter to the Gap store at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. The letter was also signed by my mother and a family friend who had actually printed the letter out after I had characteristically forgot my first copy at school.
The store manager gave us enough time to speak, and although she was uncomfortable with the topic, the company had fed its representatives enough talking points so that she was able to deflect our main criticisms. She talked about how Gap was working hard on its own to ensure safety standards and about how it had thrown a relatively paltry sum of money toward a women't empowerment program in Bangladesh. She also threw in some irrelevant insinuations for good measure, hinting that because she is from Woodstock she naturally cared about the well-being of Bangladeshi workers, and that because the CEO of Gap is on the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of America, the company could do no wrong.
Not Buying It
There's no doubt that Gap is getting frightened that this campaign could hurt its bottom line. With major retailers like H&M and PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, signing on to the safety agreement, Gap is losing its standing as a responsible company. If we continue to push now, we have a unique opportunity to win a victory that will have a real impact on people's lives. Even if you can't devote a lot of time to this campaign, there are some crucially important things that you can do right now to make a difference.
*Visit the Gap Deathtraps website. Here, you can sign the petition calling on Gap to act and find out more about the national campaign.
*Visit Hudson Valley Watch the Gap. By liking us on Facebook, you can add your voice to those in our area putting pressure on the Gap. We'll also post updates and future actions to keep you informed
*Contact leftunited@gmail.com if you would like to to help coordinate future actions in our area.
Together, we can make Gap listen and win a very real victory in solidarity with workers half the world over.
On December 14th, 2010, a fire in Bangladesh at a factory producing Gap apparel killed 29 workers. After one and a half years of negotiating with labor groups in Bangladesh, Gap walked away from the bargaining table without signing a legally-binding agreement.
On April 24th, 2013, a factory collapse in Bangladesh claimed the lives of 1,227 workers. Scrambling to deflect questions over whether the same type of catastrophe couldn't happen at a factory manufacturing Gap apparel, the company initially agreed to sign the 'Accord on Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh'
Then, the company promptly backed out once again, releasing a statement announcing that they would be continuing on the path of self-regulation, accountable to no one.
Turning Up the Heat
Sensing an opening to pressure Gap into ensuring the safety of its workers in Bangladesh, organizations including United Students Against Sweatshops, International Labor Rights Forum, and Clean Clothes Campaign launched Gap Deathtraps, a national effort to pressure Gap into respecting workers' safety.
The campaign features a petition demanding that Gap sign on to the Building and Fire Safety Agreement. It also urges activists to deliver letters to the managers of their local Gap stores in an effort to bring home their message.
I had been speaking theoretically about the need for solidarity between workers here and in Bangladesh following the April factory collapse, and this campaign provided an opportunity for practical, concrete action. I shot off an e-mail to Activist Radio host Fred Nagel asking if he would like to deliver the 'Deathtraps' letter to a local Gap store, and he responded enthusiastically. After strategizing a bit, our Facebook page was set up, and local activist Darett Roberts was roped into the campaign along with County Legislator Joel Tyner and his partner.
The five of us delivered our letter to the Gap store at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. The letter was also signed by my mother and a family friend who had actually printed the letter out after I had characteristically forgot my first copy at school.
The store manager gave us enough time to speak, and although she was uncomfortable with the topic, the company had fed its representatives enough talking points so that she was able to deflect our main criticisms. She talked about how Gap was working hard on its own to ensure safety standards and about how it had thrown a relatively paltry sum of money toward a women't empowerment program in Bangladesh. She also threw in some irrelevant insinuations for good measure, hinting that because she is from Woodstock she naturally cared about the well-being of Bangladeshi workers, and that because the CEO of Gap is on the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of America, the company could do no wrong.
Not Buying It
There's no doubt that Gap is getting frightened that this campaign could hurt its bottom line. With major retailers like H&M and PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, signing on to the safety agreement, Gap is losing its standing as a responsible company. If we continue to push now, we have a unique opportunity to win a victory that will have a real impact on people's lives. Even if you can't devote a lot of time to this campaign, there are some crucially important things that you can do right now to make a difference.
*Visit the Gap Deathtraps website. Here, you can sign the petition calling on Gap to act and find out more about the national campaign.
*Visit Hudson Valley Watch the Gap. By liking us on Facebook, you can add your voice to those in our area putting pressure on the Gap. We'll also post updates and future actions to keep you informed
*Contact leftunited@gmail.com if you would like to to help coordinate future actions in our area.
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