Principles for Labor Solidarity Campaigns

(Campaign for Labour Rights, July 30 - Sept. 10, 1997)

As the labor pointperson for the Maryknoll Fathers Justice and Peace Office, I try to follow all of the major sweatshop campaigns. I am impressed and pleased with the fine work being done by so many organizations. Still, all of us can benefit by stopping from time to time to consider whether our campaigns truly are being guided by the basic principles of solidarity. Our office is eager to put its resources behind the effort to end sweatshop abuses. Before we mobilize support for a campaign, however, we need to be confident that statements made - and actions taken - in the Global North truly reflect the wishes of the workers who have so much at stake in these struggles. I offer the following for your thought and discussion.

l. Sign-on letters to corporations, alerts and updates should include a statement that we are not asking for a withdrawal from the countries where companies currently produce. (An exception would be international boycotts called by human rights activists within a country, as in Burma.) As a corollary, we should especially condemn companies which move from country to country in search of ever lower wages.

2. Campaign strategies should reflect the wishes of the workers involved. When we ask people to leaflet, write letters or make phone calls, we consistently need to document that we are doing so at the request of the workers involved. In practice, this tends to mean that we have consulted with representatives of the workers (usually their union).

3. Even though we ask companies not to cut and run in response to criticisms, that possibility always exists. It is important that the workers whose jobs are on the line understand the risks involved and that they are consulted - and listened to - with regard to campaign strategies which could result in job loss. Our grassroots base needs to know that these consultations take place.

4. Working in solidarity with local struggles is a complex undertaking. Different groups may have differing interpretations of events and may be competing for the same base. Maryknoll has on-the-ground relations with diocese throughout Latin America. Often, there are local peace-and-justice structures in place in Latin America, bringing together elements representing diverse community interests. The services of my office are available for helping to make connections between solidarity organizations which initiate campaigns and those local contacts - so that you have another resource for sorting out the complexities of local struggles. It would add to the credibility of campaigns to be able to state that a struggle has the support of these local peace-and-justice groups.

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