MICKEY & POCAHONTAS LABELS - Made in Sweatshops
Joint International Disney Week, December 7-14
(Sweatshop Watch n. 2 - December 1996)

  Disney promotes itself and its products as wholesome and good for the entire family. What's so wholesome, though about a 12 year old assembling children's clothing for Disney, as was recently discovered in a sweatshop raid near Los Angeles? In Haiti, garment workers earn only 7 cents sewing Disney's Pocahontas nightgowns which sell at Wal-Mart for $11.97. In Thailand, a major Disney contractor that produces Mickey Mouse Americanwear, the Eden Group, fired 1,145 workers in order to use lower cost subcontractors, 10 of which were found to employ child labor.
  The situation in Burma is even more grim. A Disney "Mickey & Co." cotton jersey made in Burma bought at Stern's in New York for $17 earned the worker about 2-3 cents. According to the U.S. Embassy in Burma, a work week of 60 hours is not uncommon wich wages at only 6 cents an hour. This amounts to immorally low wages of 48 cents a day, $3.69 a week, and $192 a year. In contrast to the meager wages paid to garment workers sewing Disney clothes throughout the world, Disney CEO Michael Eisner made in salary and stock options approximately $97,000 an hour in 1993.
  What is particularly disturbing about Disney's contracting to Burma is that not only does Disney profit, but the Burmese military dictatorship, one of the most brural in the world, also profits. The "Mickey & Co." jersey was made by a factory which is 45% owned by a military holding company. In addition, the military government recently instituted a 5% tax on all exports. This means that almost 50% of every dollar earned producing the "Mickey & Co." Iabel at this factory flows directly to the Burmese military. The dictatorship uses a major part of the income to purchase weapons from China, which they use against the Burmese prodemocracy movement.
  Because of the abuses found in Disney contract shops, the National Labor Committee has named the week of December 7-14 as "International Disney Week" to protest the sweatshop conditions under which many Disney products are made, with a particular focus on Burma, Haiti, Thailand and the United Stets. The goal is to have Disney end all productio in Burma and require its other contractors to negotiate with workers, stop using child labor pay a living wage, and respect worker rights in all countries.

To express your opinion to Disney, write:
Michael Eisner
CEO, Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
or fax (818) 846-7319

To participat in activities during Disnev Week, contact the NLC at (212) 242-3002 or (510) 464-5921 to get involved in the San Francisco Bay Area campaign.

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