Hermosa workers in El Salvador demand payment!

The Hermosa workers of El Salvador have been fighting for over a year now for their backpay and severance pay. Recently in a letter to Nike, Adidas, and Russell, workers wrote: “We know that the garments we have produced sell for a lot of money in the United States. But those of us working at the factory have not been paid for the work we performed for you. We have suffered abuses by the company including: discrimination of organized workers and others who were pregnant, exhausting shifts of up to 15 hours without a break for food, and sexual harassment… Most recently, problems in the factory included delayed payment of salaries and benefits which, even to date, have never been paid. While working at Hermosa, we were constantly threatened that we would be fired if we were to denounce what was happening in the factory. This was the reason that we began to organize a union. But this was also denied to us, once again violating our rights.” Hermosa was a factory that produced collegiate apparel. When workers applied for jobs at another collegiate producing factory called Chi-Fung, they found that they had been blacklisted. Students, workers and community members will organize demonstrations at Nike and Adidas/Reebok stores around the nation on May 20. Please e-mail zack (at) usasnet.org to find out how to get involved. In the mean time- email Nike, Adidas/Reebok and Russell- and tell them we stand with the Hermosa workers’ demands for justice, respect and compensation.