High Miles
2013-04-17 22:02:34 UTC
Dorothy,
I don’t know about you, but I don’t get spend much time around my
heroes. But this weekend was different:*I got to travel to Walmart’s
global headquarters in Arkansas with Sumi Abedin and Kalpona Akter, two
incredibly brave women who traveled from Bangladesh to challenge massive
some of the world’s most powerful corporations* to take responsibility
for the welfare of the impoverished garment workers they rely on to make
their billions. Since the SumOfUs.org community made it all possible,
you should definitely hear what it was like.
Reading about the Tazreen fire, which killed 112 workers last year,
couldn’t prepare anyone for hearing Sumi’s story. She was working on the
fourth floor of the Tazreen on the day of the fire, and her managers
*forced her to keep working until smoke filled the shop floor*. Sumi
jumped from the factory, but *she says she didn’t expect to survive --
she only wanted to make sure her body wasn’t burned to ash*, so her
parents could be sure off what happened to her and give her a proper
burial. She broke an arm and a leg and suffered a head wound, but she
was lucky compared to many that jumped. Sumi is still recovering, but
s*he came to America anyway because she believes that the corporations
responsible for conditions in Bangladesh need to hear what it was like*
to experience a factory fire.
Traveling with Sumi was Bangladeshi labor leader Kalpona Akter. Kalpona
has been in the fight for safer factories for years -- it was her
investigation that proved that Walmart was buying from Tazreen at the
time of the fire -- and she’s been imprisoned for her work and seen her
colleagues tortured and murdered.
But despite the dangers, Sumi and Kalpona were eager to travel halfway
around the world to hold Walmart accountable for tolerating deadly
conditions in its supliers factories. But*when they tried to speak to
decision-makers at Walmart, they had the door slammed in their face*.
We went to Walmart’s headquarters to deliver a petition signed by over
114,000 members of the SumOfUs.org community, and we were stopped by
security as soon as we stepped off the sidewalk. We tried to talk to Tim
Yatsko, Walmart’s Vice President of Global Sourcing, but he ran inside
when he saw us walking up the driveway to his mansion. When we visited
Arne Sorensen, who sits on Walmart’s board, we did a bit better -- he
came to the door and only hid inside when he saw who we were.
The SumOfUs.org community’s generous contributions made Sumi and
Kalpona’s visit possible, and the pressure of the End Death Traps tour
rapid response team has put Walmart on notice. Now we need your help
to*get the word out about Walmart’s cowardice*. We want to make sure
that as many people as possible know that *Walmart is hiding from Sumi
and Kalpona and from its responsibilities to workers* back in Bangladesh.
Can you click the image below to share it on Facebook, or, if you’re not
on Facebook, forward this story to friends and family to help get the
word out? <http://act.sumofus.org/go/1516?t=2&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v>
*
*
Everyone who’s heard them -- from Senators, to Walmart associates and
warehouse workers, to students at the University of Arkansas -- has been
moved. When Sumi spoke to a group of*immigrant poultry workers* at the
Northwest Arkansas Worker Justice Center, they were so moved that they
*passed the hat to raise $200 to help with the medical expenses she’s
faced since she was injured* jumping from the Tazreen factory, and
promised to hold a protest in solidarity with Bangladeshi workers. We
even visited Walmart’s first store in Roger, Arkansas, because Sumi
wanted to see what the other end of the supply chain looked like. While
we were there, we decided to talk to the store manager, who was left
speechless when she heard Sumi’s story.
It’s not so surprising that Walmart’s bosses ran and hid instead of
hearing from her. *Nobody with the smallest shred of humanity could look
Sumi in the eye and explain why they won’t compensate the parents,
spouses, and children of her fallen coworkers or sign on to the
Bangladesh fire safety agreement.*
The trip to Bentonville reminded me how important this fight is, and
showed me how scared Walmart is. Now we need to keep up the pressure by
reminding Walmart that we haven't forgotten its responsibility to these
workers.
Click here to spread the word about Walmart’s cowardice.
<http://act.sumofus.org/go/1516?t=4&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v>
Thanks so much for your support,
Rob and the team at SumOfUs.org
P.S. This tour has also gotten some great press. Check out these stories
for more background on the campaign:
Wal-Mart, Sears Refuse Compensation for Factory Victims
<http://act.sumofus.org/go/1517?t=5&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v> Bloomberg,
April 15.
Bangladesh fire survivor seeks compensation
<http://act.sumofus.org/go/1523?t=6&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v> Al-Jazeera,
April 15
I don’t know about you, but I don’t get spend much time around my
heroes. But this weekend was different:*I got to travel to Walmart’s
global headquarters in Arkansas with Sumi Abedin and Kalpona Akter, two
incredibly brave women who traveled from Bangladesh to challenge massive
some of the world’s most powerful corporations* to take responsibility
for the welfare of the impoverished garment workers they rely on to make
their billions. Since the SumOfUs.org community made it all possible,
you should definitely hear what it was like.
Reading about the Tazreen fire, which killed 112 workers last year,
couldn’t prepare anyone for hearing Sumi’s story. She was working on the
fourth floor of the Tazreen on the day of the fire, and her managers
*forced her to keep working until smoke filled the shop floor*. Sumi
jumped from the factory, but *she says she didn’t expect to survive --
she only wanted to make sure her body wasn’t burned to ash*, so her
parents could be sure off what happened to her and give her a proper
burial. She broke an arm and a leg and suffered a head wound, but she
was lucky compared to many that jumped. Sumi is still recovering, but
s*he came to America anyway because she believes that the corporations
responsible for conditions in Bangladesh need to hear what it was like*
to experience a factory fire.
Traveling with Sumi was Bangladeshi labor leader Kalpona Akter. Kalpona
has been in the fight for safer factories for years -- it was her
investigation that proved that Walmart was buying from Tazreen at the
time of the fire -- and she’s been imprisoned for her work and seen her
colleagues tortured and murdered.
But despite the dangers, Sumi and Kalpona were eager to travel halfway
around the world to hold Walmart accountable for tolerating deadly
conditions in its supliers factories. But*when they tried to speak to
decision-makers at Walmart, they had the door slammed in their face*.
We went to Walmart’s headquarters to deliver a petition signed by over
114,000 members of the SumOfUs.org community, and we were stopped by
security as soon as we stepped off the sidewalk. We tried to talk to Tim
Yatsko, Walmart’s Vice President of Global Sourcing, but he ran inside
when he saw us walking up the driveway to his mansion. When we visited
Arne Sorensen, who sits on Walmart’s board, we did a bit better -- he
came to the door and only hid inside when he saw who we were.
The SumOfUs.org community’s generous contributions made Sumi and
Kalpona’s visit possible, and the pressure of the End Death Traps tour
rapid response team has put Walmart on notice. Now we need your help
to*get the word out about Walmart’s cowardice*. We want to make sure
that as many people as possible know that *Walmart is hiding from Sumi
and Kalpona and from its responsibilities to workers* back in Bangladesh.
Can you click the image below to share it on Facebook, or, if you’re not
on Facebook, forward this story to friends and family to help get the
word out? <http://act.sumofus.org/go/1516?t=2&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v>
*
*
Everyone who’s heard them -- from Senators, to Walmart associates and
warehouse workers, to students at the University of Arkansas -- has been
moved. When Sumi spoke to a group of*immigrant poultry workers* at the
Northwest Arkansas Worker Justice Center, they were so moved that they
*passed the hat to raise $200 to help with the medical expenses she’s
faced since she was injured* jumping from the Tazreen factory, and
promised to hold a protest in solidarity with Bangladeshi workers. We
even visited Walmart’s first store in Roger, Arkansas, because Sumi
wanted to see what the other end of the supply chain looked like. While
we were there, we decided to talk to the store manager, who was left
speechless when she heard Sumi’s story.
It’s not so surprising that Walmart’s bosses ran and hid instead of
hearing from her. *Nobody with the smallest shred of humanity could look
Sumi in the eye and explain why they won’t compensate the parents,
spouses, and children of her fallen coworkers or sign on to the
Bangladesh fire safety agreement.*
The trip to Bentonville reminded me how important this fight is, and
showed me how scared Walmart is. Now we need to keep up the pressure by
reminding Walmart that we haven't forgotten its responsibility to these
workers.
Click here to spread the word about Walmart’s cowardice.
<http://act.sumofus.org/go/1516?t=4&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v>
Thanks so much for your support,
Rob and the team at SumOfUs.org
P.S. This tour has also gotten some great press. Check out these stories
for more background on the campaign:
Wal-Mart, Sears Refuse Compensation for Factory Victims
<http://act.sumofus.org/go/1517?t=5&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v> Bloomberg,
April 15.
Bangladesh fire survivor seeks compensation
<http://act.sumofus.org/go/1523?t=6&akid=1542.519356.RFBw_v> Al-Jazeera,
April 15