Home

About Us

Alerts

Campaigns

Join CLR

Resources

Kucinich Becomes First Presidential Candidate to Support Anti-Sweatshop Guidelines

July 25 - Rep. Dennis Kucinich has become the first presidential contender to openly endorse “sweat-free” guidelines in all government purchasing policies, the No More Sweatshops! coalition announced today. “We appreciate Rep. Kucinich’s willingness to lead, and we call on other candidates to explain whether public tax dollars should subsidize sweatshop labor,” said Tom Hayden, co-director of the anti-sweatshop coalition.

Kucinich was the first to respond to a No More Sweatshops! questionnaire sent to all presidential candidates several weeks ago. His detailed answers appear below.

Dennis Kucinich Answers AbolishSweatshops Questionnaire

1. Will you raise the issue of sweatshops in your campaign and, if elected, make a priority of ending sweatshop conditions at home and abroad?

Yes and Yes. I have repeatedly raised this issue on the campaign trail. Working people in our country deserve a President who will expose the fact that so many products purchased in our country are made in sweatshops -- and a President who feels that walking a picket line is more important than walking a golf course. A Kucinich Administration would institute a policy that any company that receives federal aid or assistance must observe Sweat Free procurement laws.

To end sweatshop conditions, the global trade regime must be confronted. I would withdraw from NAFTA and the WTO and replace them with bilateral agreements that raise up labor and environmental standards around the world. Workers’ rights -- especially to bargain collectively -- must be a component of all trade agreements. A Kucinich administration will reveal that the WTO can be used to force products made by child labor upon us, and that secretly negotiated elements of NAFTA can be used to challenge U.S. environmental laws.

To address issues of economic exploitation in the U.S., I would work to repeal Taft-Hartley, to reinstitute a truly progressive tax system including an estate tax, and to return to the concepts of the Fair Labor Standards Act passed during the New Deal.

2. Will you sign an executive order or support federal legislation assuring that federal procurement dollars are not spent on subsidies to sweatshops by contractors or subcontractors?

Yes, I would sign such an executive order. Federal dollars must not subsidize sweatshops directly or indirectly. School districts in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, as well as the state of Maine, have already adopted no-sweat procurement policies and these are models we can build on. There is no reason why the Federal government should continue to underwrite corporate human rights abusers.

3. Will you support legislation banning the domestic sale of goods made in sweatshops, the use of "hot cargo" provisions, or other disincentives to the manufacture of consumer products by sweatshop labor, child labor, convict labor, or bonded labor abroad?

Yes. I would support legislation banning the domestic sale of such goods. For years, our government has used trade sanctions to protect corporate intellectual property rights. It's time we started using these tools to protect workers' rights and human rights.

4. Do you believe that approaches that depend on voluntary corporate compliance have proven effective or need revision? Specifically, what is your commitment to enforcement?

Voluntary corporate compliance too often means non-compliance. In recent years, apparel manufacturers have tried to pass off what basically amounts to a self-monitoring system -- the Fair Labor Association -- as a solution to the problem of sweatshop labor. Only a strong, independent body that includes workers' rights advocates can be counted on to monitor compliance. A Kucinich Administration would encourage the efforts of student and labor groups to hold corporations accountable, as the Workers Rights Consortium is doing today.

5. How will you address trade policies and institutions that currently provide enforceable protections for investors and trademarks but no similar protections for the workers employed in abusive sweatshop conditions?

I would replace NAFTA and the WTO with bilateral agreements that advance workers’ rights. The United States can lead in lifting up environmental and labor standards around the globe, instead of allowing multinational corporations to drive them down under current arrangements. U.S. trade officials have worked diligently to try to insure that every Disney movie secures its licensing fee. Yet while our government works to enforce copyright and patent laws over the face of the planet, a concern for people often seems mysteriously absent.

A FINAL WORD

The dreams and aspirations of workers have been the stars by which I have navigated my political career. Because the 20 year resurgence of sweatshops has been the by-product of a well-crafted campaign to enrich multinational corporations at the expense of employees, it will take a strong commitment and plan to reverse the free fall of workers. I have both. Workers’ rights are truly human rights whether they be in the Maquila region of Mexico, Saipan or Chinatown in New York City.

The notion of a minimum wage must be replaced by the right to a living wage -- everywhere.