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Disney Campaign Alert!!!



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                  ALERT! Disney Campaign Update
                  important new developments!!!
 
                        October 10, 1996
 
     ************************************************
      The National Labor Committee today announced highly  
      significant new developments in its campaign in               
      support of production workers for the Walt Disney          
      company.  Campaign for Labor Rights urges you to         
      read this alert and then to contact the NLC (see               
      below) to find out how to support this campaign in          
      your community.                                                              
     ************************************************
 
****************************************************
This alert contains an action component.  See later in alert for
information on "Disney Week, an International Week of Action" --
December 7th through December 14.
****************************************************
 
NOTE:  For more information, contact the National Labor
Committee's new grassroots outreach coordinator, Maggie Poe: 
phone (212) 242-3002  fax (212) 242-3821  275 7th Avenue, New
York, NY 10001.
 
NOTE:  This report was written and posted by Campaign for Labor
Rights (see contact information below).  Reposting and reprinting
are welcomed.
 
 
DISNEY CAMPAIGN EXPANDS ITS FOCUS:
 
The National Labor Committee has expanded the geographic focus of
its Disney campaign.  There are at least two good reason for this
change:
 
     * Like many other transnational corporations, Disney
     exploits workers in a multitude of countries.  To focus
     solely on one country where Disney produces lets the company
     off the hook elsewhere.  The single-country approach does
     not do justice to workers who are exploited in other
     countries where Disney produces.
 
     * By focusing solely on Disney operations in Haiti, NLC ran
     the considerable risk that Disney management would be
     tempted to cut-and-run from Haiti.  The decision to expand
     the focus of the Disney campaign adds a measure of safety to
     Disney's Haitian workers.  Disney management should now
     understand that Disney cannot escape the heat by pulling out
     of Haiti.
 
 
DISNEY IN BURMA:
 
[NOTE:  The military dictatorship of Burma, SLORC, claims to have
renamed the country "Myanmar" -- in an attempt to escape
international condemnation.  Most clothing labels from Burma list
the country of origin as "Myanmar."]
 
The Walt Disney company produces clothing in Burma.  Human rights
activists in Burma, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, have called for an international boycott of Burma.  The
National Labor Committee supports this boycott.  NLC calls for
Disney and other U.S.-based apparel companies to pull all of
their operations out of Burma.
 
The National Labor Committee has pointed out that the
announcement of its call for a Disney pullout from Burma takes
place during:
 
     a Fast for Burma, now happening in at least 60
     universities and high schools across the U.S.
 
The Disney/Burma campaign joins a number of long-standing
campaigns calling for U.S.-based businesses to withdraw their
operations from Burma, most notably:
 
     The Unocal campaign.  In cooperation with the military
     government of Burma, Unocal is engaged in a massive
     construction project -- relying in part on forced labor! --
     to build a pipeline across Burma.  For more information on
     this campaign, contact:  Pam Wellner  pwellner@xxxxxxxxxxx
 
     The Pepsi campaign.  Public pressure has forced Pepsi
     to withdraw some of its operations from Burma but the
     company continues to profit from marketing Pepsi
     products there, in flagrant disregard of calls for a
     complete withdrawal.  For more information on this
     campaign, contact:  Grace Baek  baek@xxxxxxxxxx
 
     AS A FIRST SOURCE OF INFORMATION on the Unocal or Pepsi
     campaign or on other Burma boycott campaigns, please go to
     the Burma action web site:  http://freeburma.org
 
Burma is a human rights disaster.  Labor rights issues include: 
use of forced (slave) labor and violent repression of all union
activities by the military government.  THE HUMAN RIGHTS
SITUATION IN BURMA IS SO HORRIFIC THAT THE ONLY 
HOPE FOR LABOR RIGHTS IN THAT COUNTRY IS AN 
END TO THE MILITARY DICTATORSHIP.  HENCE, THE 
WORLDWIDE CALL FOR AN ECONOMIC BOYCOTT OF BURMA.
 
 
DISNEY IN THAILAND:
 
The National Labor Committee cites evidence that Disney makes
extensive use of child labor in Thailand in the production of
Disney clothing.  NLC is not calling for Disney to pull out of
Thailand.  They are calling for Disney to clean up their act.
 
 
DISNEY WEEK:
 
The National Labor Committee announced "Disney Week, an
International Week of Action" -- from December 7th through
December 14 -- which will include demonstrations and other
actions across the U.S., Canada and Europe.  Contact the National
Labor Committee's new grassroots outreach coordinator, Maggie
Poe, to receive an action packet and to find out how you can
organize events in your community:  phone (212) 242-3002
fax (212) 242-3821  275 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10001.
 
 
CAMPAIGN FOR LABOR RIGHTS:
 
This alert was written and posted by Campaign for Labor Rights. 
CLR is a bridge between local activists and a number of
organizations which initiate struggles in support of the rights
of working people around the world and here at home.  Members
receive our newsletter and information on action packets.  For
more information contact clr@xxxxxxxxxxx  (541) 344-5410.  Web
site:  http://www.compugraph.com/clr
 
CLR is looking for pointpeople to help us support the campaigns
of each of our partner organizations.  If you have a special
interest in helping us to build a base of support for the
National Labor Committee's Disney campaign, we would like to hear
from you.  The job of the pointperson would include:  staying in
regular contact with NLC, helping us write alerts as new
developments occur in the campaign and keeping the CLR base up to
date on the Disney campaign.  HELP US HELP OUR PARTNER
ORGANIZATIONS IN THEIR IMPORTANT WORK!