Tsunami Aid - Where to Donate?

The Jesuit Refugee Service

The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international organization started in the early 1980's by the late head of the Jesuit order, Father Pedro Arrupe. Since 1999, JRS in Indonesia has been working in both East and West Timor with cross border refugees on both sides of the conflict, the northern Spice Islands or Maluku where there have been clashes between Muslims and Christians, and also in Aceh where there are refugees from the fighting with between the Indonesian military and the Acehnese Independence Movement. JRS has offices in both Banda Aceh (the capital of Aceh) and Medan (300 miles southeast in the Province of North Sumatra which is a predominantly Batak Protestant & Catholic area).

JRS has a staff of 31 in Indonesia. Their work is primarily "logistics", providing for the basic needs of the refugees including food, books for school children, setting up emergency schooling and creating some income-generating projects for the refugees such as handicrafts, farming, fishing, etc. Their most expensive item is building shelters for the refugees.

Donations to JRS will be channeled through reliable Indonesians with more than five years of experience in refugee work in their own country. They know the culture, the needs of the people and how best to serve them. JRS should know better about the long term problems that have to be faced and what is best for the people concerned.

Donations can be made payable to “Jesuit Refugee Service / USA” and sent to:

Fr. Kenneth Gavin, S.J.
JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE/USA
1616 P STREET NW, SUITE 300
Washington D.C 20036

Contributions can be made online at www.jrsusa.org.

East Timor Action Network

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) is an international organization focused on raising public awareness and affecting US foreign policy to support justice, self-determination, and genuine independence for East Timor as well as human rights in Indonesia. ETAN is collecting contributions from people in the United States who want to give direct aid to local grassroots and humanitarian organizations in Aceh, Indonesia. This money is being sent directly to Acehnese groups whose usual work is with displaced adults and children. Now that their entire province has become victims of the tsunami, these groups are providing emergency humanitarian aid to those most in need, bypassing the politics and constraints that challenge governments and international organizations.

ETAN is working with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, journalist Allan Nairn, Acehnese people in the U.S. and Indonesia, the non-profit Nonviolence International, TAPOL and others to fund local organizations that are trusted by Acehnese people. These groups know how to bypass the bureaucratic and other roadblocks to get assistance where it is needed. Many have long experience helping the people in Aceh displaced by war and military repression. ETAN will send every cent contributed for tsunami relief directly to local organizations in Aceh.

To make a donation via credit card for Aceh relief, visit ETAN's website. Checks can be made payable to "East Timor Action Network" (write "Aceh" in the memo line), and sent to:

East Timor Action Network,
P.O. Box 15774,
Washington, DC 20003-0774

If you would like your donation to be tax-deductible, checks must go through ETAN's fiscal sponsor. Make check payable to Nonviolence International, and send to:

Nonviolence International (NI)
PO Box 39127, Friendship Station,
Washington, DC 20016, USA.
www.nonviolenceinternational.net

Be sure to let ETAN know if you make a donation to Nonviolence International.

Ben Davis Factory Workers Ratify Contract

One hundred Ben Davis workers in San Francisco ratified their first contract with the union UNITE HERE. This agreement provides a substantial average wage increase, reinstates generous vacation provisions, and decreases employees' share of health care
premiums. The workers, all 1st generation immigrants from China and Mexico, voted unanimously for the contract. For more information, visit UNITE HERE.

Phil Knight Resigns as CEO of Nike

Philip Knight, Founder of Nike, resigned from his role as President and CEO, effective December 28, 2004. Knight will maintain his position as Chairman of the Board. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Knight still owns 92% of the nonvoting Class A stock and roughly 28% of the voting shares of Nike Class B stock, allowing him to remain as powerful within the company as he has been in the past. William Perez of S.C. Johnson & Son will replace Knight.

School of the Americas Nonviolent Demonstration

The largest annual nonviolent demonstration in the United States happens this weekend. The US Army School of Americas (SOA), based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American soldiers in counter-insurgency techniques that are frequently used against the working poor of Latin America. SOA graduates are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America, including the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the 4 Churchwomen, and the 6 Jesuits of El Salvador. SOA graduates become de-facto police protecting US economic investments in Latin America. While this may sounds harmless to some on paper, the reality is that SOA soldiers use severe intimidation and fear tactics against workers to bust union organizing and repress other international labor rights.

On Sunday November 21st, demonstrators will silently place white crosses and roses at the gates of the military base transforming it into a memorial for the slaughtered poor of Latin America. The names and ages of tens of thousands of innocent civilians will be read aloud during the memorial, counting children as young as 4 months old and pregnant women among the massacred. The purpose of the demonstration is to close the School of the Americas once and for all.

Torture manuals and other methods of civilian repression have given SOA the nickname "School of the Assassins." In January 2001, after a decade of whistle-blowing, SOA changed its name to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). While the name has changed, SOA policies have not. For more information on the demonstration or about the SOA, visit School of the Americas Watch. For information on short films, such as School of Assassins, Crossing the Line and SOA: Guns and Greed, visit Maryknoll Productions.

In addition to the SOA demonstration, the seventh annual Ignatian Family Teach-In will gather in Columbus, GA to discuss a variety of social justice issues including gang violence, AIDS, the death penalty, labor and trade agreements, domestic violence, women's issues, military accountability, the importance of non-violence, and Ignatian Spirituality. Among the featured speakers are Sister Helen Prejean, John Dear, SJ, and Fr. Roy Boureois, founder of School of the Americas Watch. While this Network seeks to bring together those with connections to Jesuit institutions, all are welcome to attend.

EFJ wins "Freedom Award" at RBIFF

On October 9, 2004, following the screening of EFJ's short film, "Behind the Swoosh", EFJ was awarded the Freedom Award at the Red Bank International Film Festival. The Freedom Award is given each year to an individual or organization that shows "passionate dedication to exposing social injustice." The RBIFF is looking forward to the release of SWEAT, EFJ's full-length feature film on sweatshops due out in 2005.

NEW REPORT: Human Rights Violations Found at Nike Factory in China

Sept. 1, 2004 - World Monitors, Inc.

Women applying for work in one of the factories under contract with Nike in China say they were made to take a pregnancy test and were not hired if it was positive, a new study by the Fair Labor Association shows.

The Associated Press reports August 30 that the study found other violations at Nike factories abroad, including verbal abuse, unaccounted overtime, illegal wage deductions, missing fire extinguishers, dirty toilets and inadequate lighting.

The conditions are similar to those found at factories of other companies that have agreed to be monitored, said FLA officials. The FLA published the report this month after auditing 39 Nike factories last year. Nike is one of 12 major brands that were part of the monitored group in the report.

“There are problems in every single factory. That’s the easy part,” said Margaret Hawley, monitoring program coordinator for the Fair Labor Association. “The hard part is, what are these companies doing to fix them?”

Caitlin Morris, senior manager for global issues at Nike, said that the company follows up violation reports with training sessions for its overseas work force. But she stressed that all manufacturers working with overseas contractors are “dealing with the same kinds of issues.”

Investigators arrived unannounced at the Nike plant, which employs 1,700 workers in China, on August 14, 2003. Female workers interviewed by the monitors told them about the pregnancy tests.

Workers also said that if they were late to work more than three times, managers would deduct wages equal to one day’s pay. Supervisors yelled at workers, toilets in the women’s dormitory were unclean and the factory had not allowed the union to organize.

According to Nike officials quoted in the report, pregnancy screening is not part of the hiring process, but managers at the Chinese factory test employees monthly. The report quotes factory managers as saying that the testing is in an effort to comply with Chinese labor law, which prohibits women who are more than seven months pregnant from working overtime.

Nike stated that the female workers interviewed by the auditors might have been confused by the monthly screening’s purpose, the report says.

The report is second Annual Public Report published by the Fair Labor Association (FLA). According to the FLA website, it also provides the public with an impartial, in-depth view into what 25 diverse companies have done in the past year to improve the working conditions in the factories where they produce around the world.

Response from EFJ Co-Directors:

Nike's response that "female workers interviewed by auditors might have been confused" is a weak attempt to rationalize a clear abuse of power on the part of Chinese factory management. Pregnancy tests have been used previously in places like China, El Salvador, and Saipan by factory management who are looking to skirt local maternity laws (ie. maternity leave time and health care costs).

If Caitlin Morris of Nike and Margaret Hawley of the Fair Labor Association acknowledge that these types of abuses are rampant in factories, then it is time to make serious changes in the way these problems are approached. Unaccounted overtime and illegal wage deductions are violations of Nike's own Code of Conduct. In essence, there is an admission of guilt and the same old response: Yes, we know that the abuse is taking place.

The question to be asked is, "What is driving this abusive behavior?" The abuses found include pregnancy tests, intimidation for union organizing, verbal abuse, unaccounted overtime, illegal wage deductions, missing fire extinguishers, dirty toilets and inadequate lighting. All of these problems are caused by the squeeze that is placed on the management and subsequently placed on workers to maximize profit for shareholders. Manufacturing products faster, better and cheaper is the systematic way to increase the bottom line for Nike.

The next clear question is "What is Nike going to concretely do to end these abuses?" To stop labor abuses of this magnitude, there must be an overall shift in attitude and execution of the production of Nike products. The pressure to work at super-human rates in order to squeeze pennies per day must be alleviated. There must be a continuous presence of independent monitors, ensuring that workers are treated humanely and in a way that Nike executives would expect to be treated if they themselves were working in these factories. There also needs to be a clear commitment on Nike's part to the collective bargaining process. Nike not only must ensure that worker's rights are protected as they unionize, but they also must broker and take an active role in the bargaining process between themselves, the subcontractors and union leaders.

Not withstanding these changes, there are challenges to be faced simply by the location of production. In China, it is illegal to form independent unions. If workers cannot form unions, they cannot bargain for their rights such as fair compensation and health care. The right to freely associate and form independent unions is a fundamental right guaranteed by international labor law. Simply by producing goods in China, Nike is violating these rights.

"Behind the Swoosh" Short Film Now Available

"Behind the Swoosh", EFJ’s powerfully passionate short film that is designed to immerse the viewer in the journey of EFJ Co-Directors, Jim Keady and Leslie Kretzu, as they attempt to educate themselves and others about the injustice of Nike’s sweatshop operations in Indonesia, is now available for EFJ supporters. This video resource is an excellent primer for classroom and community education on the sweatshop issue.

If you would like a copy of "Behind the Swoosh", please e-mail Jim@educatingforjustice.org. A $20 donation to EFJ is suggested to cover production and distribution costs for this film.

Ignatian Solidarity Network Launches

In early October, a new national initiative was launched to promote communication and social justice awareness among Catholic Jesuit high schools and colleges. The Ignatian Solidarity Network will facilitate and enhance the effectiveness of existing social justice and advocacy efforts that are currently present in Jesuit affiliated high schools, universities and colleges, parishes, retreat centers, independent organizations and lay individuals across the nation. Educating for Justice, listed as a Faith and Justice Apostolate, is a featured resource in the ISN.

All are welcome on November 19-21, 2004 in Columbus, GA for the sixth annual Ignatian Family Teach-In. This year, the Teach-In will actively incorporate a variety of issues on social justice both nationally and internationally. Some of the issues speakers will focus on include gang violence, AIDS, the death penalty, labor and trade agreements, domestic violence, women's issues, military accountability, the importance of non-violence, and Ignatian Spirituality. For more information, visit the Ignatian Solidarity Network website.