Tracy Mullin, President & CEO
National Retail Federation
325 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Ms. Mullin:
We write seeking your and the National Retail Federation’s help in addressing a fundamental injustice against human and worker rights. In Bangladesh, more than two million mostly young women garment workers and their families are trapped in abject misery, earning a minimum wage of just 11 ½ cents an hour. No one can possibly survive on such a pitifully low and unjust wage. The Bangladeshi garment workers, routinely toiling 12 hours a day, often seven days a week, are among the hardest working yet poorest women anywhere in the world. While the garment workers in Bangladesh sewed $3.54 billion worth of clothing last year for export to the U.S., their own children went hungry.
The garment workers in Bangladesh are struggling to raise the legal minimum wage in the garment industry to just 35 cents an hour, which would allow their families to climb out of misery and at least into poverty, allowing them to survive with a modicum of dignity.
We believe the workers’ demands are incredibly modest and cannot imagine any apparel company or retailer opposing a 35-cent an hour minimum wage, which would allow the garment workers to feed their children one or two decent meals a day.
We feel very strongly that if the National Retail Federation will publicly support the new 35 cent an hour minimum wage in Bangladesh, the workers will win. While this victory may seem insignificant to us, it is a matter of life and death to the workers and their children. We urge the National Retail Federation to do the right thing and support the workers in their just demand.
Thank you in advance for seriously considering this important issue.
| Number | Date | Name | Organization | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 683 | November 21, 2009 | Ann Gaidos-Morgan | none | Corvallis, OR, | |
| 682 | November 20, 2009 | Katie Matteson | Embers Lay Marianists | Denver, , | |
| 681 | November 20, 2009 | Rocío Zapata | Ninguna | D. F. México, , MX | |
| 680 | November 20, 2009 | Lizzette Zambrano | Poder del consumidor | Leon, , MX | |
| 679 | November 20, 2009 | Gerard Sullivan, SM | Marianist Community of Baltimore | Baltimore, MD, US | |
| 678 | November 20, 2009 | Maureen O'Meara | none | Dayton, OH, US | |
| 677 | November 20, 2009 | Liliana Gracía Ríos | HUMANA | Cuernavaca, , MX | |
| 676 | November 20, 2009 | Mireles Martinez | cub | Leon Guanajuato, LA, MX | |
| 675 | November 20, 2009 | John Samaha | Marianist Province of the USA | Cupertino, CA, US | |
| 674 | November 20, 2009 | Clara Ruiz | Ninguna | Piriápolis, , UY | |
| 673 | November 20, 2009 | Michelle Harper | N/A | Saint Louis, MO, US | |
| 672 | November 20, 2009 | Michelle Harper | N/A | Saint Louis, MO, US | |
| 671 | November 20, 2009 | Adalee Velasquez | Personal | Arcadia, CA, | |
| 670 | November 20, 2009 | Hope Gaines | none | Cape May, NJ, US | |
| 669 | November 20, 2009 | Jessica Sherwen | Marianist Social Justice Collaborative | Cape May, NJ, US | |
| 668 | November 20, 2009 | Lisa McCracken | Marianist Social Justice Collaborative | Carrboro, NC, US | |
| 667 | November 20, 2009 | Tom Redmond | Marianist Province of the US | Cape May Point, NJ, US | |
| 666 | November 20, 2009 | Tom Redmond | Marianist Province of the US | Cape May Point, NJ, US | |
| 665 | November 20, 2009 | Sarah Stout | Alzheimer's Association | St. Louis, MO, US | |
| 664 | November 20, 2009 | Steven O'Neil | Marianists International | Rockaway Park, NY, US | |
| 663 | November 20, 2009 | barbara carro | none | ensenada, , MX | |
| 662 | November 19, 2009 | Anabel Torres | OSI | Moroleón, , MX | |
| 661 | November 19, 2009 | NOEMI NOLASCO | none | celaya,guanajuato, , MX | |
| 660 | November 19, 2009 | ALEJANDRA PEREZ RODRIGUEZ | none | celaya, guanajuato, , MX | |
| 659 | November 19, 2009 | SARIBELL SANCHEZ PEREZ | none | celaya, guanajuato, , MX |