Don’t let Nike and Adidas cut and run from BJ&B! This factory, the first unionized garment facility in the free trade zones of the Dominican Republic, has long been a symbol, a concrete testament to the power of student and worker solidarity. In 2003, with strong support from students and other solidarity activists, the workers won their hard-fought struggle for union representation and higher wages, an unprecedented victory. Unfortunately, since the establishment of the union, brands like Nike and Adidas have been attempting to systematically erode these gains by decreasing orders, rather than committing to workers’ rights. Because of this, the amazing victory that is BJ&B has been plunged into jeopardy. On February 22, the majority of the workforce was laid off and the factory announced its closure. This closure is a direct result of the business practices of Nike and Adidas and such behavior will not be tolerated! Tell Nike and Adidas that they must, by whatever means necessary, ensure that these union workers remain employed!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing today to express my outrage over the recent closure of the BJ&B factory in the Dominican Republic. As I am sure you are well aware, the workers of the BJ&B factory, with support of students and universities in the United States and Canada, won a long struggle for union recognition in 2003. With this, they became the only unionized factory in the Dominican free trade zone, and workers were able to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that guaranteed a ten percent wage increase.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of commitment on the part of your company, as well as the others sourcing at BJ&B, these gains were never able to materialize. As a direct result of your company's refusal to make a real commitment to a factory in which the rights of workers are respected, the workers of the BJ&B factory have all lost their jobs. In addition to devastating the workers and their families themselves, this act of cutting and running on the part of your company will have a terrible effect on the community of Villa Altagracia as a whole. BJ&B has, for the past several decades, been the primary source of employment for the entire community, and the loss of these jobs will be felt by every member of the community.

By cutting and running from one of the only factories in your entire supply chain in which the right to freedom of association is respected, you have shown not just a lack of commitment to the basic principles that are supposedly protected by your code of conduct, but a complete disregard for the lives of the workers off of whose labor you profit as well. Given that this is not a unique case, and that your company has a history of cutting and running from factories in which workers attempt to exercise their rights, I am left to wonder what your purported concern for workers' rights really means. If your company is to exhibit a real commitment to ensuring that your goods are produced in dignified working conditions, and if these standards are to be more than just a public relations ploy, then it is imperative that you immediately source enough orders from the BJ&B factory to allow the factory not only to reopen, but to produce at full capacity. Anything less will be seen by me, and the international community, as a patent disregard for freedom of association and the rights of workers throughout your supply chain.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 26, 2007