International Campaign for Responsible Technology (ICRT) Dear Friend, One of the important developments over the past couple of years is that news media stories about the hazards and mistreatment of workers in the electronics industry are finally becoming commonplace. At the International Campaign for Responsible Technology we’re working hard through our global network to make it commonplace for these workers to have safe and healthy working conditions. I would like to share with you some of the reasons why I am passionate about the work ICRT and others are doing to create safe and healthy workplaces across the electronics manufacturing supply chain, foster a sustainable electronics industry and promote corporate and government accountability. Here are a couple of headlines from December 2014, about the appalling working conditions in the supply chain’s of the two leading electronics brands — Apple and Samsung, the two main global technology leaders: Apple failing to protect Chinese factory workers’ Filming by a BBC investigative team on an iPhone 6 production line showed Apples promises to protect workers were routinely broken. Overtime is supposed to be voluntary, but none of the undercover reporters had any choice. In addition to the excessive hours, one reporter had to attend unpaid meetings before and after work. Another reporter was housed in a dormitory where twelve workers shared a cramped room. 1-Apple.png Samsungs Devastating Secret: The Tears of Semiconductor Children 2-Samsung.png Former Samsung workers and their families, along with labor activists, have said that conditions at the company’s semiconductor factories have led to higher occurrences of illnesses such as leukemia and other cancers among former workers. The accumulation of various toxic compounds in worker’s bodies through long-term exposure at the semiconductor factories has also led to higher occurrences of potentially fatal illnesses among their children. The International Campaign for Responsible Technology plays a vital role in this global movement. For over ten years, we have been working with our partners to provide grassroots health and safety training for electronics workers and their allies in countries where tech products are being produced — we’ve done trainings in China, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Mexico, as well as in Silicon Valley and other production centers in the U.S. Our “train the trainer” model is beginning to blossom. As we build capacity from the bottom up, these workers are able to share their knowledge with other workers and threatened communities. I invite you to make a year-end gift to help ICRT continue this work. Please donate today! In response to the widespread existence of workplace and environmental hazards across the global electronics industry, workers and their allies are organizing for improved working conditions, occupational and environmental health protection for themselves and their children. Many of the recent news stories have grown out of the growing grassroots work at factories in numerous countries, and these horrific working conditions are finally getting more attention. We are starting to see real change. For instance, in response to work done by our partners in South Korea, recent court decisions have awarded benefits to Samsung workers who died from workplace leukemia, and a top Samsung official publicly apologized for the suffering of the workers. We are beginning to make a meaningful impact. Please join with us to change the industry that makes the devices and tools that are propelling so many changes in how we live, work and play. It is time for the workers who actually make these products to be honored for their work and have a right to a safe workplace. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated. Plus, if you contribute by December 31st, your contribution will be doubled. Click here to donate now. From all of us at ICRT, we wish you happy holidays and fervently hope that 2015 will bring more peace and justice into the world. Ted Smith, Coordinator International Campaign for Responsible Technology P.S. Your tax-deductible gift will allow ICRT to continue to join with partner organizations in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the United States to provide critical health and safety training to workers, activists and community leaders who are seeking safe jobs and healthy families, and to hold the leading brands accountable for the entire life cycle of their products. P.P.S. Please share with this email your friends via Facebook, Twitter, email, phone, or any other technology of your choice. Follow us on Facebook and visit our website to learn more about the global movement for safe jobs and healthy families in the electronics industry. Online fundraising for ICRT Building Momentum into 2015 International Campaign for Responsible Technology (icrt.co) 760 N. First Street, Suite 3 San Jose, CA 95112
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 04:59:35 +0000