I stole this from the Marxism list, motivated by my rant on China.
Dear colleagues, (apology for cross-posting)
We are a group of university teachers who are deeply concerned with the
extreme sweatshop conditions in China caused by the unethical and
unlawful practices of many corporations. Together with student and labor
activists, we encourage and assist the establishment of a new
student-based organization (SACOM, established in June 2005), which
monitors and campaigns against corporate misbehavior that violates
workers’ rights, health, safety, welfare and dignity in mainland China.
We like to invite university and college teachers around the world to be
the advisors of SACOM (Students Against Corporate Misbehavior). Your
support, expertise, analyses and ideas will be an immense help to our
global and local campaigns against corporate misbehavior. Your support
also garners international visibility to SACOM, and thus indirectly help
to protect these activists while they do their valuable work in China.
If you agree to add your name to our international advisory group,
please reply to this email with the information at the end of this email.
The main goal of SACOM is to pressure transnational corporations (TNCs)
to take full responsibility for the extreme sweatshop conditions in
their supply chains in China. Even though a handful of brand-name
transnational corporations have set up self-monitoring mechanisms, such
as global compliance or human right departments, most of them fail to
improve the sweatshop condition in their suppliers’ factories.
SACOM aims at bringing concerned local and international students
together to closely monitor how transnational corporations implement
their corporate social responsibility (CSR), occupation health and
safety (OHS), and worker rights and welfare policies. We believe that
the most effective monitoring mechanism is working with workers at the
workplace level. Therefore, we advocate a “worker-based monitoring
committee” that can democratically represent the majority of workers.
SACOM works with genuine non-profit NGOs (as opposed to profit-making
“NGOs”) to provide in-factory training to workers. Through this process,
we assist corporations to implement the true spirit of CSR so that they
can become good corporate citizens in the region. See attached file for
more details of SACOM.
SACOM aims at a kind of new social movement that integrates cultural
activism, research, theoretical intervention, organizing, and
trans-local advocacy. We are currently taking on Disney and Walmart
(with outsourcing sweatshops in China). Disneyland is opening in Hong
Kong on September 12, 2005.
Thank you for your kind attention and support. Please feel free to pass
along this message to concerned teachers and educators.
In solidarity,
Pun, Ngai (Cultural Anthropology, Assistant Professor, Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology, Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Chen, Yun-chung (Urban Planning, Assistant Professor, Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology, Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Szeto, Mirana May (Cultural Studies, Assistant Professor, Department of
Comparative Literature, University of Hong Kong, Email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED])
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Return receipt
[Please return your email to either Pun ([EMAIL PROTECTED]), Chen
([EMAIL PROTECTED]) or Szeto ([EMAIL PROTECTED])]
I support the mission and goal of SACOM and would like to become an
advisor of SACOM. I understand that my name, position and affiliation
will be posted at the 'advisor' section on the SACOM website:
www.sacom.org.hk (under construction). I also understand that advisors
are not part of the SACOM governance and should not be held responsible
for SACOM’s activities and public messages.
For individual college or university teacher
Name:
Position:
Affiliation:
Address (undisclosed):
Email (undisclosed):
For organization (department and research center) affiliated with
college or university.
Name of organization:
Name of college or university:
Contact person (undisclosed):
Position (undisclosed):
Address (undisclosed):
Email (undisclosed):
--
CHEN, Yun-Chung (Y.C.)
Assistant Professor
The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Division of Social Science
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel. (+852) 2358-7819
Fax. (+852) 2335-0014
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
