From: Leila Salazar (leila@globalexchange.org)
Date: Thu Mar 14 2002 - 02:42:41 EST
Please forward far and wide!
CALL TO ACTION...TARGET GAP Inc. on MARCH 19th. Demand that they SETTLE THE
SAIPAN LAWSUIT!
On March 19th, Global Exchange, Sweatshop Watch, UNITE and Behind the Label
are calling on you to do your part to demand that GAP settle the Saipan
Lawsuit.
March 19th is the date of the next hearing in Saipan. We need to take
advantage of this date to put pressure on the GAP in as many ways that we
can.
We encourage you to:
-Organize protests and leafletting events in front of GAP Inc stores.
Remember, GAP Inc. includes GAP, Baby Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic.
Please call to register you action at 415-558-9486 ext 355.
-Call GAP's Legal Department at 1-800-333-7899 ext. 77694
Ask them why GAP has not stepped forward and settled the lawsuit as 19 other
companies have(see list of those companies below). Also ask them why they
keep resisting the settlement (see article below). Tell them to settle the
lawsuit and pay their workers a living wage!
-FAX the GAP
You can send a Fax to Donald Fisher, chairman and co-founder of GAP Inc.
via http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations/saipan/gapfax.html
or to GAP's legal department via behindthelabel.org
-Write letters to the Editor of your local paper
Not only is GAP resisting the lawsuit, but they are also going through
financial problems right now.
On February 24, 2002, The New York Times reported that "operating margins
have evaporated into almost nothing, from 9 percent a year ago and the
company is expected to lose $22million this year, after a profit of $877
million last year. The top credit agencies have reduced the company's
ratings to junk status. Gap's stock, which hit a high of $53.75 in February
2000, trades at $12.41". The SF Chronicle reported on February 27, 2002
that "GAP's financial reports", which came out on Feb 26th, "are the worst
in 25 years". We need to look at this as an opportunity! GAP needs good
publicity right now and they will do anything to look hip to the general
public. It is our job to educate the public about what's really behind the
GAP and put pressure on them to settle the suit, and enforce their code of
conduct in all of the countries that they operate in. So let's act on March
19th.
If you have any questions or would like to brainstorm ideas, please call me
at 1-800-497-1994 ext 355.
Thank you for your continued support!
In peace and solidarity,
Leila Soraya Salazar
Corporate Accountability Organizer
Global Exchange
2017 Mission St. Ste 303
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.255.7296 ext.355
www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations
For more information on the Saipan Lawsuit, check out:
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations/saipan/update.html
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The companies who have settled the lawsuit so far are:
Brylane, L.P.
Calvin Klein, Inc.
Cutter & Buck, Inc.
Donna Karan International Inc.
The Dress Barn, Inc.
The Gymboree Corp.
J. Crew Group Inc.
Jones Apparel Group, Inc.
Liz Claiborne, Inc.
The May Department Stores Company
Nordstrom Inc.
Oshkosh B'Gosh, Inc.
Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.
Sears Roebuck and Company
Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc.
Warnaco Group, Inc.
Woolrich, Inc.
Brooks Brothers
Those that have not yet settled are:
GAP Inc.
Dayton Hudson/Associated Merchandising Corp. (Target and Mervyns)
J.C. Penney
Lane Bryant (The Limited)
Levis
Talbots
Abercrombie and Fitch
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GAP Resisting Settlement
Jenny Strasburg, SF Chronicle Saturday, March 2, 2002
Gap Inc. has been leading the charge against a proposed $8.75 million
settlement in a 3-year-old lawsuit alleging sweatshop conditions and
intimidation of foreign workers in the Saipan garment industry.
The San Francisco company that owns Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic
stores, whose sales have been eroding the past two years, is seeking to
block other retailers from settling the case, according to attorneys for
garment-factory workers and other retailers that want to settle.
Gap says it is opposing the settlement to defend itself against false
accusations and misrepresentations of factory conditions.
The case involves the garment industry on the western Pacific island of
Saipan, a U.S. commonwealth exempt from some federal labor laws that apply
to the rest of the United States.
Attorneys for an estimated 30,000 current and former garment workers in
Saipan accuse the retailers and owners of the island's most prominent
factories of perpetuating a system of indentured servitude among mostly poor
guest workers, many of them from China.
A settlement proposal has been on the table since 1999. The most recent
calls for independent monitoring of dozens of factories on the island, a
code of conduct among retailers and manufacturers, and about $4 million in
payments for workers.
The landmark case has made headlines since it was filed in January 1999.
Hearings will continue this month in a federal courtroom on Saipan.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs maintain that the predominantly female
population of factory workers has had to work overtime without being paid
and has been subject to unsafe working conditions, exorbitant
job-recruitment fees, illegal threats of deportation and rules prohibiting
having children or marrying.
Some 50 defendants, including retailers and factory owners, have said they
have sufficiently monitored manufacturing operations to prevent intimidation
of workers, sweatshop conditions and other abuses that have been alleged.
Attorneys for Gap and other retailers have called the suit an attempt by
U.S. labor unions to strike back at overseas garment manufacturers that have
taken jobs away from the United States.
Gap, whose products are made in about 50 countries, says it has a team of
about 80 full-time factory monitors working around the world. They conduct
scheduled and surprise visits of factories that make Gap products to ensure
that standards of safety and human rights are being respected, said Gap
spokeswoman Tamsin Randlett.
"We've been there; we've checked it out," she said of Gap's contract
factories, including those on Saipan.
Joining Gap in opposing the settlement are San Francisco jeansmaker Levi
Strauss & Co., the Limited, Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch, Target, J.C.
Penney, May Co., Talbots and more than a dozen Saipan factory owners.
Levi Strauss -- which like Gap has manufacturing contracts in about 50
countries -- ceased operations on Saipan in 2000 for reasons unrelated to
the lawsuit, said spokeswoman Linda Butler. One of the first large apparel
companies to write a manufacturers' code of conduct, in 1991, Levi says its
contract factories on Saipan were in full compliance with company standards.
Unlike Gap and Levi, 19 retailers have agreed to settle the case, without
admitting to wrongdoing. They include the Gymboree Corp. of Burlingame,
Sears Roebuck and Co., Nordstrom, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph
Lauren, Liz Claiborne and Brooks Bros.
Attorneys for the workers include San Francisco labor attorney Michael Rubin
and heavyweight class-action specialists Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes &
Lerach. They are seeking class certification of an estimated 30,000 workers
employed on the island between 1989 and now.
"We're alleging an overarching conspiracy, a scheme," Rubin said. "I don't
mind Gap fighting this case and taking it to trial . . . (but) what I don't
understand is: Why is Gap blocking these other companies from settling?"
Rubin described the retailer defendants as powerful multinational companies
cooperating with Saipan factory owners to maintain a cheap, controllable
labor force in order to maximize profits.
Gap attorney Daralyn Durie of San Francisco argued, however, that in order
to allow the settlement, the court would have to decide that the case meets
the requirements of a class action on behalf of the entire group of workers.
That requires that they experienced the same work and living conditions --
something Durie said is not the case, since the workers were employed at
different factories in different years and at varying levels of
satisfaction.
"We don't think it's fair to lump all the factories together, and we don't
think it's fair to lump all the workers together," Durie said, adding that
workers who gave depositions told vastly different stories about their
experiences on Saipan.
In February, U.S. District Judge Alex Munson heard arguments regarding class
certification but has not issued a ruling.
All of the retailer and factory defendants, meanwhile, are seeking dismissal
of the case. A March 19 hearing is scheduled in consideration of those
motions. If dismissal is not granted, the defendants will probably continue
to seek a settlement.
Tensions are growing among holdouts and defendants who would like to avoid
further litigation costs. David Schwarz, a Los Angeles attorney representing
retailer J. Crew, which seeks to settle, told the court in February that he
supports Gap's internal efforts to improve factory conditions. But he said
he did not understand "their decision to stand in the way of a consensual
agreement" as provided in the settlement.
Another case filed on behalf of Saipan workers, the Union of Needletrades,
Industrial and Textile Employees and the San Francisco human rights
organization Global Exchange is pending in San Francisco Superior Court.
That case alleges unfair business practices among many of the same retailers
and factory owners.
E-mail Jenny Strasburg at jstrasburg@sfchronicle.com.
For more information on the Saipan Lawsuit, check out:
www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations/saipan
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