Alert of the Week: Domestic Fair Trade Means Supporting Workers’ Rights

Alert of the Week:
Domestic Fair Trade Means Supporting Workers Rights


The economy is in shambles, poverty is on the rise, and corporate exploitation of labor is still the norm, even in the $70 billion organic and natural food and farming sector. American workers–especially in the farm and food sector–in comparison to Europeans, are routinely underpaid, deprived of healthcare and childcare benefits, and kept in line by pro-corporate, anti-worker labor laws that make it next to impossible to organize a union and provide a countervailing power to billion dollar corporations. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), introduced in Congress this week, would provide a simple European-style “card check” union sign-up for workers, including penalties against companies that refuse to engage in collective bargaining, or illegally fire or intimidate employees in an attempt to prevent them from forming a union.
Fair Trade is not just something that should apply to workers overseas. The Organic Consumers Association believes that Fair Trade is for everyone. That’s why OCA is educating and campaigning for “domestic Fair Trade” and a “sustainable supply chain,” that includes greening American commerce and employment and advancing workers rights. The Employee Free Choice Act, supported by President Obama and the majority of both houses in Congress, is an important first step to strengthen our economy and promote social justice.
Visit OCA’s Employee Free Choice Act action center