Labor Updates (8/11/08)

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Liberian Firestone Workers Win Contract: Workers at the Liberian Firestone rubber plantation signed an historic contract Wednesday, ending an 82-year legacy of exploitation, terrible working conditions and company-controlled unionism. “We were able to sit down at the table with management as equals and to negotiate an agreement that provides our members with hard-won respect and dignity,” said Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia President Austin Natee. The new contract – the first negotiated by an independent, democratically-elected union leadership (A New Day for Liberian Firestone Workers 7/30/07 UC) – includes a 24 percent wage increase that is retroactive to a January 2007 agreement, a 20 percent reduction in daily quotas for rubber tappers, transportation for bringing latex to weigh stations, and upgrades to housing and educational facilities for employees and their families. “These brave workers stood up to a powerful transnational corporation and declared that they will no longer be treated like second class citizens or indentured servants,” said United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard. “This agreement sets a new labor standard for all of Liberia’s workers.” Click here to tell Firestone officials honor their contract commitments.