Fifteen labor and religious leaders were arrested Monday, Sept. 25, in a peaceful protest against sweatshops at the Kohl's department store in Roseville, Minnesota.
The 15 were arrested when they refused to leave the sidewalk in front of the Kohl's store, after being ordered to do so by Roseville police. The act of civil disobedience dramatized the struggle faced by Nicaraguan factory workers who make clothing sold at Kohl's stores. The arrests followed a rally of more than 100 people, including two Nicaraguan workers who are on a national tour of the United States.
'Kohl's has not been willing to make the changes that are required . . . so we've decided to step up the level of our protest a bit,' said Larry Weiss, staff member at the Resource Center of the Americas and one of those arrested. Others arrested included Rob McKenzie, president of United Auto Workers Local 879; Martin Goff and Kate Shaughnessy, officers of Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Local 17; Richard Metcalf, district director for UNITE; the Rev. Richard Lundy of St. Luke's Presbyterian; and the Rev. Douglas Mork.
Support important
'It's very emotional for us to know that you are backing us and that we can count on your support,' Zenayda Torres, a worker at the Chentex factory in Nicaragua, told the crowd at the rally. Speaking through a translator, Torres and fellow worker Angelica Perez described their efforts to improve conditions at the Chentex plant.
The workforce of mostly young women is subject to constant verbal and physical intimidation, they said. They receive 20 cents for each pair of jeans they sew. The pants sell at Kohl's stores for $30 apiece.
When the workers and their union asked for an eight-cent wage increase, more than 500 of them, including Perez and Torres, were fired by the plant's Taiwanese owner.
'The bosses say, ?If you complain, there are 100 people waiting at the door to take your job,'' said Torres.
So the workers, with the help of the National Labor Committee, a leading anti-sweatshop organization based in New York, are taking their message directly to the retailer and the consumer. The rally in the Twin Cities was the first stop in a nationwide tour of more than a dozen major cities.
New coalition
Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee, said Kohl's has the ability to pay the workers who make its clothing a decent wage. The corporation grossed $4.6 billion in profits last year, more than twice the gross domestic product of the entire country of Nicaragua, he said.
Kernaghan praised the diverse group that turned out for the Minnesota protest. It included students, retirees, union members, clergy and many others. 'This is the coalition that is going to make this economy over again with a human face,' he said.
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Fifteen labor and religious leaders were arrested Monday, Sept. 25, in a peaceful protest against sweatshops at the Kohl’s department store in Roseville, Minnesota.
The 15 were arrested when they refused to leave the sidewalk in front of the Kohl’s store, after being ordered to do so by Roseville police. The act of civil disobedience dramatized the struggle faced by Nicaraguan factory workers who make clothing sold at Kohl’s stores. The arrests followed a rally of more than 100 people, including two Nicaraguan workers who are on a national tour of the United States.
‘Kohl’s has not been willing to make the changes that are required . . . so we’ve decided to step up the level of our protest a bit,’ said Larry Weiss, staff member at the Resource Center of the Americas and one of those arrested. Others arrested included Rob McKenzie, president of United Auto Workers Local 879; Martin Goff and Kate Shaughnessy, officers of Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Local 17; Richard Metcalf, district director for UNITE; the Rev. Richard Lundy of St. Luke’s Presbyterian; and the Rev. Douglas Mork.
Support important
‘It’s very emotional for us to know that you are backing us and that we can count on your support,’ Zenayda Torres, a worker at the Chentex factory in Nicaragua, told the crowd at the rally. Speaking through a translator, Torres and fellow worker Angelica Perez described their efforts to improve conditions at the Chentex plant.
The workforce of mostly young women is subject to constant verbal and physical intimidation, they said. They receive 20 cents for each pair of jeans they sew. The pants sell at Kohl’s stores for $30 apiece.
When the workers and their union asked for an eight-cent wage increase, more than 500 of them, including Perez and Torres, were fired by the plant’s Taiwanese owner.
‘The bosses say, ?If you complain, there are 100 people waiting at the door to take your job,” said Torres.
So the workers, with the help of the National Labor Committee, a leading anti-sweatshop organization based in New York, are taking their message directly to the retailer and the consumer. The rally in the Twin Cities was the first stop in a nationwide tour of more than a dozen major cities.
New coalition
Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee, said Kohl’s has the ability to pay the workers who make its clothing a decent wage. The corporation grossed $4.6 billion in profits last year, more than twice the gross domestic product of the entire country of Nicaragua, he said.
Kernaghan praised the diverse group that turned out for the Minnesota protest. It included students, retirees, union members, clergy and many others. ‘This is the coalition that is going to make this economy over again with a human face,’ he said.