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[The material in this alert was obtained from the National Labor Committee, 275 Seventh Avenue 15^th fl., New York, NY 10001; (212) 242-3002.]

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Action Alert: Petition to the President calls for "Yes! to Human Rights, No! to Sweatshops Leading up to a National Day of Conscience on October 4, 1997, and a Holiday Season of Conscience in November and December, the National Labor Committee (NLC) now has available the petitions on which up to a million people are expected to sign their names demanding that the President, the U.S. Congress and the White House Task Force to End Sweatshop Abuses say "Yes! to Human Rights and No! to Sweatshops." The actions are sponsored by a broad coalition of religious, human rights, labor, student, women’s and grassroots organizations, including (along with the NLC) the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (AFL-CIO, CLC), the United Methodist Boards of Church and Society and Global Ministries (Women’s Division), the Presbyterian Church (USA), the People of Faith Network, Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and the State Senate of Vermont among many others.

The petition states that "We the People...believe that in our global economy, human rights protections are every bit as important as corporate rights." It calls for wages to be tied to the basic cost of living and for workers to be free to organize to defend their rights. It will be presented to the White House Sweatshop Task Force which will be reporting to the President at the end of the year with its final agreement which will establish industry-wide human rights standards for the first time. In order to show public opposition to corporate use of sweatshop manufacturing, on October 4^th, there will be simultaneous actions in hundreds of cities and communities stretching across the entire country (and around the world) -- vigils, candlelight marches, interdenominational services, leafleting, music, demonstrations, ringing of church bells, street theater and much more. Students, from grade schools to universities, will be asked to play a major role.

On October 4, the coalition will announce the Holiday Season of Conscience, providing consumers the opportunity to shop with their conscience. In the midst of the shopping season, the coalition will release a list of the companies with the worst record of human rights violations. Charles Kernaghan, Director of the National Labor Committee, said in announcing the petition drive, "There is an enormous decency in the American people who would never knowingly purchase products made by children, or any exploited worker, forced to toil under sweatshop conditions for starvation wages. Our job is to help create a vehicle to free this voice of decency on the part of millions and millions of American people. If we do our job right, we will create a social movement which will put a human face back into our global economy."

Order petitions and brochures from the National Labor Committee, 275

Seventh Avenue, 15^th Floor, New York, NY 10001; Tel: (212) 242-3002

CAMPAIGN FOR LABOR RIGHTS memberships: Send $35.00 to CLR, 1247 "E"

Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. For a sample copy of our newsletter,

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