[PAA-Discuss] Too late

[Juli3 at aol.com]

On Wednesday, more than 300 people died after a garment factory  collapsed 
in Bangladesh. Yesterday, hundreds of thousands  of people were in the 
streets demanding safe workplaces.   
We know the key to stopping tragedies like this ultimately lies  with Gap, 
which has refused to sign a building safety  agreement. Sumi and Kalpona 
went to Gap's  headquarters this week to demand the company sign the  
agreement. 
Can you help amplify their message by  delivering a letter to the manager 
of a Gap store near you? 
 (http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=1&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR)  
On Wednesday in Bangladesh, nearly 2,000 workers were trapped as the Rana  
Plaza building -- which housed a major garment factory -- crumbled to 
pieces.  Emergency personnel are still searching for survivors trapped in the 
rubble,  and the death toll is rising every hour. So far, more than 300 people  
have been confirmed killed and hundreds more have been injured. 
According to workers who were on the scene, a crack had developed in the  
building on Tuesday, triggering an evacuation order. Bank employees were told 
 to stay home the next day, but garment workers sewing clothes for  major 
western brands were ordered to return to the production  floor. 
Of everything about this tragedy, there is one main thing that makes our  
blood boil -- Gap, Walmart, and other retailers have been actively  
obstructing reforms that could protect Bangladeshi workers from disasters like  this. 
For years labor unions, human rights activists and hundreds of  thousands 
of consumers like us have called on these retailers to sign  the Bangladesh 
Fire and Building Safety Agreement, which would ensure  that Bangladeshi 
garment workers don't have to work in death traps. But  corporations keep 
refusing to sign, factories keep burning and collapsing, and  workers keep dying. 
At this point, Gap is key to the success of this  agreement. It is a major 
purchaser of Bangladeshi garments, and other  retailers look to Gap for cues 
on safety standards. Gap was even in  negotiations with labor leaders to 
join the agreement -- but it inexplicably  backed away. 
We need to show Gap that consumers are still holding it accountable for the 
 deplorable conditions in the Bangladeshi garment industry. If Gap 
executives  realize we are upset enough by this catastrophe to take time out of our 
busy  days and talk to managers at our local stores, we will certainly get 
the CEO's  attention and get the company back to the negotiating  table. 
Let's translate our sorrow and anger over  this catastrophe into action. A few 
meaningful conversations with Gap managers  could hopefully prevent this from 
happening again. 
Can we count on you to deliver a letter to a Gap store, or a location of  
one of the other brands Gap owns, Old Navy or Banana Republic? 
_Click  here to download our letter to store managers and to get further 
instructions  on delivering it._ 
(http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=2&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR)  
In the wake of the Tazreen fire, which killed 112 Bangladeshi  garment 
workers last November, the SumOfUs.org community mobilized to show  these brands 
that we are paying attention to the deplorable conditions in  their supply 
chain. With our help, Sumi Abedin, a Tazreen survivor, and  Kalpona Akter, a 
Bangladeshi labor activist, came to the U.S. to challenge  brands to take 
responsibility for their workers' safety. Retailers don't want  to listen to 
them, but this latest tragedy shows how urgent these reforms are.  Gap might 
not have sourced from Rana Plaza, but if it doesn't sign the  building 
safety agreement, a similar disaster could strike a Gap  supplier any day. 
It would be easy for Gap to ensure that that people making its  clothes 
have access to fire extinguishers and unlocked doors and other basic  fire 
safety precautions that we take for granted. Other retailers,  like the German 
retailer Tchibo and PVH (which own Calvin Klein and Tommy  Hilfiger), have 
already signed on to the Bangladesh Fire Safety Agreement.  This agreement 
funds independent monitoring and investments in the most basic  safety 
precautions. But instead of joining this existing program, Gap struck  out on its 
own, creating a program that's not accountable to anyone  except Gap 
shareholders. 
Yesterday, hundreds of thousands Bangladeshi workers walked  off the job 
and took to the streets demanding justice. They're  marching on government 
offices and the headquarters of the country's main  manufacturer's association. 
Meanwhile, Sumi and Kalpona were in San Francisco,  rallying with their 
allies at Gap's corporate headquarters. All of them have  one simple message: 
no one should die making clothes. We want that  message to echo across the 
globe. 
Will you join us?
_Yes! Sign me up to drop off a letter at a Gap store._ 
(http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=3&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR)  
Thanks for standing up for workers everywhere,
Rob, Kaytee, and the rest  of us 
****************************************
More info: 
_"Rescuers  Still Hope For Survivors In Bangladesh Collapse,"_ 
(http://act.sumofus.org/go/1624?t=4&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR)  NPR, April 26
_"Big  brands rejected Bangladesh factory safety plan," _ 
(http://act.sumofus.org/go/1623?t=5&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR) Yahoo! News, April 26 
 
 (http://www.sumofus.org/) SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like 
you, working  together to hold corporations accountable for their actions 
and forge a new,  sustainable path for our global economy. You can follow us 
on _Twitter_ (http://www.twitter.com/sum_of_us) , and like us on _Facebook_ 
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/SumOfUs/181924628560212) .  

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