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Bangladesh Collapse: The Workers who Survived July 10th, 2013
Used under Creative Commons license; photo courtesy of rijans on flickr
Listen to this compelling NPR audio broadcast on the reality facing survivors of the Bangladesh factory collapse in April at Rana Plaza. Over one thousand people were killed and many more maimed for life, with little compensation.
Investors Unhappy with North American Plan by Walmart, GAP and others on Bangladesh July 10th, 2013
Photo credit: Emma L. Herman
North American Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative Insufficient in Curbing Supply Chain Risk, Say Investors.
Legal accountability and full multi-stakeholder participation, including trade union role in governance structure, cited as critical elements lacking in plan versus Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.
Upon initial review, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) based in New York, and long-term shareholders in apparel brands and retailers found the new initiative put forward this morning by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety lacking in sufficient worker protections and accountability mechanisms. ICCR members, including Boston Common Asset Management, Calvert Investments, Domini Social Investments LLC, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and Trillium Asset Management, LLC, who have been engaging major apparel brands and retailers on worker rights and supply chain risk for over 15 years, view the new plan as a weaker alternative to the pre-existing Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord).
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“Money Has to Serve, Not to Rule” July 10th, 2013
In his latest blog on Huffington Post, Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI looks at what the Pope and the SEC Chair have to say about the state of the money economy. “On the one hand, Pope Francis has been raising fundamental questions about the social purpose of the financial system and the ethical and moral policies and practices of the institutions and individuals that operate in that space. During her confirmation hearings, the new SEC chair [Mary Jo White] has reiterated the core mission of the commission and other regulators in supervision and analysis and in guaranteeing both the transparency and accountability that are the foundation for sound capital market operations….”
A New Era for the Bangladesh Garment Industry? July 7th, 2013
Photo credit: Emma L. Herman
A PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly video clearly explains the realities confronting the Bangladesh garment industry. Cheap clothes come at a high cost.
Obama Administration Says No to Vulture Funds July 7th, 2013
Last week, Jubilee’s Executive Committee wrote President Obama to thank him and his Administration for their efforts to stop vulture funds that profit from exploiting poor people. The Reverend Séamus Finn, OMI, a Jubilee USA Board Executive Officer, signed on to the letter, representing the Oblates. The Justice Department filed an Amicus or friend-of-the-court brief in the current legal proceedings of hedge fund NML Capital versus Argentina. The outcome of this vulture fund case will have far reaching impacts on global poverty.
Read the letter to President Obama and join Jubilee USA in thanking the President: sign the thank-you petition to President Obama. Judges in the US 2nd Circuit Court will soon announce a ruling. Days ago, Argentina filed a preemptive appeal to the US Supreme Court to reverse the ruling to pay the vulture funds.
Jubilee USA’s views on this case have been covered extensively in the mainstream media. To fully understand the case and its repercussions on global poverty, read the story that featured Jubilee USA in the Los Angeles Times. Recently in The Financial Times, Jubilee USA called these rich hedge funds what they are, “morally bankrupt.”
We hope you will join us in thanking President Obama for standing up to vulture funds. Please visit the Jubilee USA website for more information on this important issue. Read the letter (download PDF)…
