Support Striking Filipino Workers!
ChongWon2

Tell Wal-Mart, Chong Won management, and the Philippines Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) that this continued violence against workers and flagrant trampling of workers rights will NOT be tolerated! The workers of Chong Won Fashion Inc, producing for WalMart in the Philippines, are in their sixth month of strike! They have called upon WalMart and the Filipino authorities to uphold their professed commitments to workers rights and the law of the Philippines and ensure an end to the egregious violations of labor rights, perpetrated against them by management. Instead of justice, however, the Chong Won strikers have met only resistance from WalMart and further violence, threats, and discrimination from the government authorities. This terrible situation must further be viewed in the context of the current political situation in the Philippines, where political killings and repression of human rights activists are occurring with ever increasing frequency. Please tell Wal-Mart, Chong Won, PEZA, and DOLE to act now! NO MORE VIOLENCE, NO MORE EXCUSES, JUSTICE FOR THE WORKERS OF CHONG WON!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Justice for the Chong Won Workers!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing again to express my strongest condemnation of the violations of human rights and Filipino law which continue to be perpetrated against the striking workers at Chong Won Fashion, Inc. (recently renamed "C. Woo"), located in the Cavite Export Processing Zone, Rosario, Cavite. Rather than seeking progress towards a just and swift resolution of this case, Wal-Mart, PEZA and DOLE continue to violate the rights of the strikers and enable management's unfair and violent behavior.

Chong Won workers have faced excessive forced overtime, illegal use of contract workers, sub-minimum wages, refusal to collectively bargain, illegal dismissal and illegal revocation of the union's registration to name just a few of the on-going violations. For over a year, workers' attempts at peaceful negotiation were ignored by management and after numerous fruitless meetings where management did not even have the decency to show up, the Med-Arbiters of DOLE handling this case expressed distain for management's flagrant disrespect for Filipino laws on freedom of association and collective bargaining. When workers attempted to peacefully strike, Chong Won management, PEZA officials, and Jantro Security guards working at the behest of PEZA violently attacked the picket line and forcefully escorted strike-breakers into the factory. As a result of these violent attacks fourteen workers suffered serious injuries to their heads, arms, and legs. Despite these widely known violations Wal-Mart, PEZA, and DOLE have done nothing to hold management to account, rather all three entities have been complicit in these flagrant violations of workers rights.

As a person concerned with human rights, I am outraged that this situation has been allowed to go on for so long. As you know, many buyers have already left Chong Won and others may leave factories in the Philippines as a whole if this situation is not resolved soon. The Philippines is rapidly gaining a very negative reputation as a country whose legal system is highly corrupt and whose citizens have their rights trampled daily by government authorities such as PEZA and DOLE. If concrete actions are not taken to restore the rights of Chong Won workers immediately, I fear the reputation of the Philippines as a sourcing country will only be spoiled further. You all have an obligation to uphold the rights of Chong Won workers and workers as a whole in the Philippines.

I urge you all take the following steps immediately:

1. Wal-Mart must ensure immediate and satisfactory resolution of this case. If Chong Won management and PEZA refuse to cooperate in the remediation efforts I encourage Wal-Mart to consider discontinuing ALL orders placed in any Economic Zone under the administration of PEZA.

2. Wal-Mart, PEZA, Chong Won management, and DOLE must all work to stop the use of brute force and intimidation against the peacefully striking workers of Chong Won;

3. Wal-Mart, PEZA, and DOLE must all work to ensure that Chong Won management: a. Engages immediately in good-faith negotiations with the striking workers of Chong Won (represented by NMCW-Ind); b. Withdraws the termination notices of 117 of the striking workers; c. Reinstates the two union members illegally terminated before the strike; d. Dissolves the phoney Caretaker Committee; e. Removes strike-breakers brought in since September to replace the legally striking workers; f. Discontinues all outsourcing of orders unless the capacity of Chong Won is truly full/ has an excess of orders that it cannot fill.

4. DOLE must immediately dismiss the phoney request to repeal the NMCW-Ind union's legal registration.

The time to act is now. Wal-Mart, PEZA, and DOLE must uphold the law of the Philippines and safeguard the rights of the workers by immediately taking the actions outlined above.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
March 23, 2007


Background Information

Chong Won Fashion Inc. (recently renamed “C. Woo”), has produced collegiate apparel in the past and is a current and long-time producer of Wal-Mart products. Chong Won workers are currently striking for their most basic rights which Wal-Mart and Chong Won management have failed to deliver for several years.  After more than a year of patient attempts to negotiate with management the workers were forced to go on strike due to management’s repeated refusal to come to the table and start negotiations (refusal to bargain is a legally strikable issue in the Philippines).  The issues Chong Won workers wished to address through negotiations were excessive forced overtime, illegal use of contract workers, discrimination and harassment of union members, wages below the legal minimum to name a few. Chong Won workers started their peaceful picket line on September 25, 2007.

 

Immediately upon beginning their lawful strike Chong Won management, PEZA officials, and Jantro Security guards working at the behest of PEZA violently attacked the picket line and forcefully escorted scabs into the factory. As a result of these violent attacks fourteen workers suffered serious injuries to their heads, arms, and legs. One striking worker (who was three months pregnant) miscarried after being chased by a PEZA police officer attempting to confiscate her camera. Since the strike, Chong Won management and PEZA officials have attempted to further break the strike by setting up a phoney union in the factory, dubbed the “Caretaker Committee”, and continuously harass the peaceful protestors that continue to hold the picket line. Chong Won management is now trying to illegally dismiss 117 of the peacefully striking workers and revoke their union’s registration.

 

Chong Won workers have repeatedly called on Wal-Mart for assistance in addressing these egregious crimes, but Wal-Mart has done nothing but wring its hands and waste the workers' time. In early November Wal-Mart began to suggest a few helpful recommendations but then quickly backtracked a few days later. Since then Wal-Mart has been exceedingly vague as to what they have even asked of Chong Won management, and while all this violence has happened Wal-Mart and Chong Won continue to do business together as usual.