Washington, DC 20006.
Cuba
We need to push for a revision of our policy against Cuba. Our embargo against this small, impoverished island is cruel and inhumane. President Clinton has ignored worldwide opinion, large numbers of Cuban Americans with relatives in Cuba, major U.S. churches and professional human rights organizations by continuing the embargo of even medicine and food, and now has forbidden Cubans in this country from sending money to help their families, retricted air travel and stepped up anti-Castro broadcasting to Cuba. This policy is a hold-over from the Cold War and should be revised to reflect a more humanitarian policy designed to encourage democratic reforms.
Action:
Write to President Clinton urging him to lift the Cuban embargo and begin to help the impoverished people of Cuba. Watch for new legislation to be introduced that would lift the embargo.
Iraq
The economic sanctions against Iraq are having a devastating effect on the Iraqi people, particularly the children. We cannot continue to punish a people for having a dictator that we dont like. A report by Rolph Ekeus, head of the U. N Commission on Iraqi sanctions, stated that Iraq has cooperated fully with the U.N. monitoring efforts and has met the terms of Resolution 687 in dealing with weapons of mass destruction. Three permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, France, Russia, and China, as well as the majority of U.N. Third World nations support lifting the sanctions. The U.S. and England, the other two permanent members of the Security Council, oppose lifting the sanctions. According to the peace group, Women Strike for Peace, We believe the U.S. insistence on maintaining the crippling canctions and the new military buildup has as its goal the overthrow of the Iraqi government which nationalized its oil fields in 1972, and replace it with a puppet regime which will return this abundant source of wealth back to the oil monopolies in the United States and Britain.
Action:
Write or call the White House. Oppose getting involved in another war in the Middle East; urge lifting the cruel sanctions and removal of U.S. military forces from Iraq.
At last an effective strategy has been developed to force multinational corporations to abide by standards of basic human rights and a decent living for workers in Third World countries. It is referred to as a code of conduct or vendor code. The company adopts a code setting forth basic conditions, such as no child labor, compliance with labor laws, a living wage, and sanitary living conditions for workers. Prominent U.S. retailers who have adopted a code of conduct are: Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Levis and Reebok.
These codes of conduct will also help U.S. workers, because companies will not be so eager to move their operations to Third World Countries if they realize that they have to comply with these standards everywhere.
So far, no U.S. retailer in the coffee sector or even in the broader foreign agricultural sector has adopted a code of conduct for their suppliers. The U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project, an independent, non-profit educational organization, has decided to target Starbuck, the U.S.s fastest growing gourmet coffee company, to adopt a code of conduct. If Starbucks takes the lead, other companies will be pressured to follow suit. Currently, Guatemalan workers are paid the equivalent of $2.00/day (12 hours during harvest) for picking about 100 pounds of coffee. Thats 2 cents a pound. An average family needs $7.25/day to live above the poverty line. Often whole families, including young children, labor together, but only the father gets paid. Women who work alone are usually paid less than men. Because of the repressive government there, the workers cannot demand a fair wage and decent working conditions without threat of firing and/or bodily harm.
It is up to us, the consumers, to hold companies accountable for the basic welfare of their workers. And wont it be nice to enjoy a cup of coffee and not worry about the suffering of workers who picked the beans.
This is not a boycott yet!
Action:
Write to the chief executive officer of Starbucks and ask him to adopt a code of conduct which insures that workers are paid a living wage and that their basic human rights are respected, using Guatemala as a pilot project: Mr. Howard Schultz, Chief Esecutive Officer, Starbucks Coffee Co., P.O. Box 34110, Seattle, WA 98124-1110.For more information and to join the campaign to support coffee workers in Guatemala and elsewhere send at least $10.00 to:
U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project
c/o ACTWU
333 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 262-6502
email: usglep@igc.apc.org.
Update on EPA Dioxin Reassessment
After three years of study, the EPA has released their 2,000 page draft dioxin reassessment report. The findings are not what the chlorine producing and using industries had hoped for. The study concludes that dioxins cancer potency is as high as previously thought and that there is tronger evidence than ever that dioxin exposure can result in a number of non-cancer health effects, including reporductive and developmental disorders. The head of EPAs Office of Toxic Substances, Dr. Lynn Goldman, said of dioxin, If there is [a safe level of dioxin], the general population is already above that.
Because the study is till technically in draft form and is currently undergoing a scientific peer review and public comment process, EPA is not expected to take action for up to another year. EPA has the legal authority to implement a ban on dioxin, and they have the scientific research to back it up. But the chlorine idustry is putting pressure on the Clinton Administration and the EPA to act slowly.
It is up to citizens to put pressure on the EPA to act now, by:
* phasing out the use of chlorine in the manufacture of solvents and PVC
plastics;
* banning within five years the use of chlorine in the manufacture of solvents;
*phasing out the incineration of municipal, medical or hazardous wastes and banninb the start-up of new incinerators, or expansion of existing incinerators;
*requiring reporting for dioxin under Toxic Release Inventory and making it publicly accessible.
It is not acceptable for the chlorine industry to continue to use chemicals that are known to be harmful to our health. At greatest risk are our children.
Action:
The EPA is holding hearings in major cities around the country in December. They will accept written public comment until January 13, 1995. Write and voice your support for a phased-in dioxin ban: Ms. Carol Browner, Administrator, U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.
Because the hearing in the midwest is being held during the week which is inconvenient for working people, and in Chicago, quite a distance for Michigan citizens to travel, a hearing in Michigan has been organized by Michigan activists. It is January 7, 1995, at 2:00 p.m. at the Highland Park Community College in Highland Park, Michigan. The EPA has been invited and encouraged to attend to brief citizens of Michigan on the reassesment and what it means for us. At this time we have not heard from the EPA as to whether they will be able to attend the hearing. If they cant make it, we will hold the public hearing anyway and pass the information gathered there from citizens on to the EPA. Joe Thornton, from Greenpeace, has agreed to be there to explain the EPA report and answer questions. We encourage all citizens who are concerned about dioxin to make an effort to attend this important meeting.
Contact PIRGIM or the Ecology Center (see addresses below) and ask how you can help.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
There are still some 50,000 nucelear weapons in the world. Besides the U.S. and Russia which have the most weapons, nine other states possess them: Great Britain, France, China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belurus, Israel, India and Pakistan.
In April, 1995, an Extension Conference for the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will be held at the U.N. in New York. This treaty prevents the spread of nuclear weapons to countries who do not currently possess them. Under Article VI of the treaty, itt also calls for the nuclear haves to move toward disarmament: Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotioations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control. This has not happened in the 25 years of the Treaty. To make this an effective treaty to achieve disarmament the extension of the treaty must be tied to a timetable and clear steps to nuclear disarmament. The Extension Conference must also address a number of other issues in order to achieve its goal of disarmament: the Comprehensive Test Ban, a civilian and military fissile material and plutonium ban, a no first use policy, a nuclear technology transfer policy, and a monitoring regime that is free of any promoting function.
Action:
Call or write the White House and tell them that you support pushing for the speedy achievement of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Also urge the President to accelerate the ratification and implementation of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START I and START II), to move for deeper cuts in nuclear arsenals and to halt the development of the hydro-nuclear test option. Citizens and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) may participate in the Fourth Prep. Com. at the U.N. where these issues will be discussed. If you cant get there yourself, contact the
Women Strike for Peace
110 Maryland Ave., NE Syite 302
Washington D.C. 20002
(202) 543-2660, and ask how you can help.
Resources for this article:
Peace Action, 1819 H Street
NW, Suite 660
Washington, DC 20006
U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project,
c/o ACTWU
333 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 262-6502
email: usglep@igc.apc.org.
PIRGIM
338 1/2 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(313) 662-6597
Ecology Center
417 Detroit St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(313) 761-3186