I received the post below from the Left/religion list run
by Chris Faatz. It concerns the very low pay Disney has
been giving workers producing Disney products in poor 3rd
World countries. I was struck by the contrast between the
figures cited below paid to these workers and the terms of
the severance package deal reported in yesterday's New
York Times which will be given to a Mr Ovitz whom Disney
CEO Eisner appointed about a year ago, but whose work
performance has not proved satisfactory. According to the
NYT, Mr Ovitz, who has now resigned, will be given 50
million dollars in cash, plus stock options worth 40
million dollars. Who says it's a rotten unfair world?
Peter Burns
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 1996 12:38:41 -0600
From: Jone Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Chris Faatz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Disney Situation
forwarded message:
-----------------------------------------
Rev. David W. Dyson
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Chruch
85 South Oxford Street
Brooklyn NY 11217
December 5, 1996
Dear Brothers & Sisters,
In this season of celebration I am thankful to be surrounded by such "a
mighty cloud of witnesses" who have raised the persistent issue of
sweatshops to a higher level than at any time since the terribel Triangle
Shirtwaist fire in the early part of the century. It was about a year ago
that officials from the Gap Company in San Francisco came to New York to
sign the first ever independent monitoring agreement covering a Gap used
factory in El Salvador. When they touched down they did not go to the
Ueniversity Club or a corporate headquarters in mid-town. They crossed the
river to come to First Presbyterian Chruch in Brooklyn to meet with two
ministers and the executive director of the National Labor Committee in
Support of Worker and Human Rights in Central America. They came, in large
part, because you wrote them, visited them, and in some cases, stood in
front of their stores.
Then came the very public incident with Kathie Lee Gifford whose name makes
millions for herself and Wal-Mart. Eventually Ms. Gifford came to see
that she was not the victim, that Wendy Diaz was, along with thousands of
under-age, under-paid young women locked in the maquiladora factory
system. Wal-Mart, who left the factory that made Kathie Lee clothes, will
re-enter Honduras in a factory that respects human rights and is
monitored.
Which brings us to perhaps the most cruelly ironic situation we have
encountered to date: the Walt Disney Company. That's right, the same
company who brought us Goofey, Donald, Mickey and Minnie produces its
kiddie clothes in Haiti, it's toys in Burma and Thailand. The research on
this is huge.... It's not just the production in these desperately poor
countires that got to me, God knows they need it. It's that Disney chose
the worst plants, the "gangster" plants, and in the case of Burma, a
"gangster" system. In Haiti the workers starve on what they're paid.
Michael Eisner, Disney CEO makes $20 million a year in salary and stock.
All the economists we spoke to said that Disney could afford to pay
fifty-eight cents instead of twenty eight cents an hour. Other factories
in Haiti do.
In Burma, Disney works with the notorious Yangon Assembly plant where
fifty cents of every $1 earned making "Mickey and Company" clothing flows
directly into the pockets of the Burmese military dictatorship.
In Thailand, Disney works with the ironically named Eden Group which
subcontracts with factories which have admitted using 13, 14 and 15 year
olds as well at below local minimum wage.
Disney does not have to sink so low to be profitable, but they have.
That's the point! Disney does not have to exploit the most miserable
conditions in the global economy, but they do.
Last year we made a tremendous impact in the Gap and Kathie Lee Gifford
situations. The price in most cases was a letter, from you, people these
companies care about. Enclosed is a sample letter to Michael Eisner at
Disney asking about their business practices at home and abroad. I know
this is a busy season but it is a season Disney cares about. Please take
a few moments to write to Mr. Eisner if this situation touches your heart.
It can make a difference as we saw this past year. And please, when you
write send us a copy at the church so we can track how we're doing.
We now have almost two thousand congregations linked up through our "People
of faith" network. One article called us a "loose-knit army of religious
activists" which suits us just fine. Our goal in 1997 is to grow to five
thousand connected congregations of all faiths. But to do that we need
postage, printing, a new computer, some new programs, and help with out
phone bill. When I think of what it costs to run the Christian Coalition,
we don't need much, but we do need your help. If you can, and if you
believe in what we're doing, please send a contibution to the Lafayette
Avenue Presbyterian Chruch (the fiscal sponsor) mentioning "People of
Faith" in the memo line.
All the new economic forecasts show an increasing gap between rich and
poor both in the Unites States and worldwide. We can't take on the moral
and ethical questions in the global economy all at once, but we can
challenge one company, Disney, about their role in it. Please help us,
one situation at a time.
Gratefully,
David W. Dyson
==========================================================================
(sample letter)
Michael Eisner
Walt Disney Co.
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91522
Fax No: 818-846-7319
Dear Mr. Eisner:
I want to bring to your attention my grave concern over Disney's
use of low-wage workers all over the world who make children's clothing
and other Disney-licensed products.
From the recent press reports I have read, many of your workers
are subjected to poverty-level wages and conditions that violate
internationally recognized worker rights' laws.
For example:
*In Haiti, Disney workers are paid only 28-30 cents an hour, which many
human rights experts agree are starvation wages. For months, these
workers have been asking that Disney representatives meet with them to
discuss a very modest wage increase, which would help the workers and
their families climb out of misery and debt.
*In Burma, Disney has contracted production with the Yangon assembly plant
where 50 cents of every $1 earned producing the "Mickey and Co." clothing
label flows directly into the pockets of the repressive military
dictatorship. The UN Commission on Human Rights has denounced the Burmese
military for their use of forced labor, torture, ethnic cleansing, rape,
disappearances, and summary executions of its people.
*In Thailand, Disney has been doing business with a major company that
admitted to using nearly a dozen subcontractors who illegally employed 13,
14 and 15 year olds to sew Disney clothing.
*In the United States, Disney contractors (including Jerry Leigh, Edcca,
Nathan J, and Too Cute) have been linked to sweatshop factories which were
cited by the US Labor Dept. for violating wage and hour laws and other
abuses.
I am shocked and disappointed at Disney for allowing these abuses to
occur. Please let me know how I as a US consumer can be assured that your
products are made under fair labor conditions. Disney should be paying a
living wage in Haiti, avoiding countries like Burma that are run by
repressive regimes, and establishing a more effective independent
monitoring program to ensure that Disney workers in the US as well as in
developing countries are treated with respect and dignity. I look forward
to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
