Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.’s Liberian rubber plantation, one of the world’s largest, will increase workers’ pay by 19.5 percent, backdated to January last year, a union official said.

The accord, the first to be signed by Firestone with its workers in Liberia in the 80 years it has operated in the west African country, comes after several strikes over pay and conditions, Edwin Cisco, the secretary-general of the company’s workers union, said in an interview in the capital, Monrovia, yesterday. Wages of the lowest-paid workers will increase 24 percent over three years, while the company has undertaken to improve working and living conditions and upgrade its primary school to secondary-school level, he said.

Firestone welcomes the agreement and will implement all its provisions to ensure industrial harmony and boost productivity, Charles Stuart, the company’s general manager in Liberia, said yesterday.

Liberia is Africa’s second-biggest producer of rubber, after Ivory Coast, generating about a quarter of the continent’s annual output of 421,300 metric tons, according to the International Rubber Study Group.

Contract highlights include wage increases of 24 percent for rubber tappers, retroactive to the expiration of a previous agreement in January of 2007; a 20 percent reduction (150 trees) of the daily rubber tree quota for tappers; and, transportation for bringing latex to weigh stations.  Previously, tappers had to walk long distances with 150 lbs of latex yoked to their backs.

In addition, Firestone management committed to upgrading housing and educational facilities for employees and their families.

“The agreement at Firestone marks a new day for workers throughout Liberia,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “It is also a crucial victory in the global fight for workers’ rights.”

“These brave workers stood up to a powerful transnational corporation and declared that they will no longer be treated like second class citizens or indentured servants.  This agreement sets a new labor standard for all of Liberia’s workers. ”

FAWUL, with support from the USW and the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center, had engaged in a long struggle to first win union recognition and then negotiate a new labor agreement.  For 82 years, workers lacked a truly independent and democratic union.  In July of 2007, workers turned out in record numbers to elect new leaders and establish a democratic union.  Workers were violently repressed during strike actions which were initiated to win recognition of the results.

Throughout a long and difficult process, FAWUL worked closely with the USW, initiating programs to build communications and solidarity within the union and to keep pressure on the company to respect workers rights.  The USW and the Solidarity Center helped deliver union-building educational and training programs over several years to FAWUL’s leaders, activists and stewards.

“We were able to sit down at the table with management as equals and to negotiate an agreement that provides our members with hard-won respect and dignity,” said FAWUL President Austin Natee.  “Our victory is shared with our brothers and sisters in the USW who provided vital solidarity and support every step of the way.”

For more on this story, including photos and video, click here

For Immediate Release

August 6, 2008

Contact: Tim Newman, tim.newman[at]ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113

Emira Woods, emira[at]ips-dc.org, 301-523-2979

FIRESTONE WORKERS IN LIBERIA SIGN HISTORIC CONTRACT

New Contract is a Major Victory for International Campaign Against Firestone

Workers on the world’s largest rubber plantation owned by Firestone in Liberia will sign a new collective bargaining agreement today at a ceremony with company management and the Labor Minister of Liberia. In Firestone’s 82 year history in Liberia, this is the first time that workers have been represented by an independent and democratically elected union leadership during contract negotiations.

Workers on the plantation held the first ever free and fair union elections in July 2007 and after a long struggle which included a two week strike and international solidarity actions, the newly elected union leaders were finally recognized by company management in December 2007 and new collective bargaining agreement negotiations began. The new contract represents a major step forward for workers and their families as well as a success for the international solidarity campaign which has been putting pressure on Bridgestone Firestone to improve conditions on its rubber plantation.

Bama Athreya, Executive Director of the International Labor Rights Forum, said, “This is an historic occasion for the workers on Firestone’s rubber plantation in Liberia as well as for the union movement in Liberia and for international labor solidarity. We will be watching closely to be sure that Firestone honors their commitments and goes even further in improving working and living conditions for their workers in Liberia.”

Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, said, “The workers of Firestone are casting off chains of exploitation. For the first time in 82 years, workers have a contract negotiated by an independent and effective union. This is a monumental step in the long road to justice.”

For 82 years, workers on the Firestone plantation in Liberia have been forced to meet an unreasonably high daily production quota or their lows wages of just over $3 a day would be halved. As a result, they have been forced to bring their children and wives to work to meet their quota. Among other abuses, workers had to carry two buckets of raw latex weighing 75 pounds each on a stick on their backs for miles without protective gear. The workers live in crowded shacks without running water, electricity or indoor latrines.

Through an independent union, the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL), the workers now have an important vehicle for making their voice heard by Firestone management.

For more information, please visit the Stop Firestone coalition website at www.StopFirestone.org.

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SEND AN E-MAIL TO FIRESTONE HERE!

After 82 years of exploitation, workers on Firestone’s rubber plantation in Liberia have finally signed a new collective bargaining agreement with company management. It has been a long struggle for workers to achieve independent and democratically elected union leadership and for the first time, they have a contract which was negotiated by a representative union. This is a major step forward for workers who have been living and working in deplorable conditions for generations.

Please send an e-mail to Firestone Natural Rubber Company CEO Dan Adomitis and Bridgestone Americas CEO Mark Emkes to let them know that you are happy to see that workers have a real contract and that you will be watching Firestone’s actions closely!

By Fatoumata Fofana

MONROVIA, At long last, the Firestone Agricultural Workers’ Union of Liberia (FAWUL) and the management of the Firestone Rubber Plantations Company have reached an agreement, wherein key areas of benefits including increment in wages for the workers would be granted.

During a brief meeting on Monday, August 4, 2008 with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a delegation of the Union headed by its Secretary-General, described the ‘Collective Bargaining Agreement’, which is expected to be signed tomorrow, Wednesday, August 6, 2008, as a ’success and victory’ for workers of the Plantation.

Presidential Press Secretary Cyrus Wleh Badio disclosed this to reporters during the regular Executive Mansion’s press briefing held on Monday, August 4, 2008, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill, Monrovia.

Quoting leaders of the Union, Mr. Badio outlined wages, health and safety, education, housing, transportation, child labor, among other things, as some of the key areas covered by the agreement.

“Among the benefits, there will be a 24 percent increment in wages for daily wage workers. The increment represents an average over a three-year period. Salary workers will receive a 19.5 percent increment covering 2007 to 2009,” Mr. Badio quoted leaders of the Union as saying.

The increment would be retroactive as of 2007, meaning that workers will receive a 19-month pay increase retroactively, officials of the Union further informed the President.

Among other benefits, according to the Union, the management of Firestone would build three new high schools on the plantation.

The workers expressed gratitude to the Liberian leader for creating the conditions under which workers could freely negotiate with the management of Firestone, and for setting the standards for the welfare of workers of the country.

There had been a longstanding dispute between FAWUL and the Management of Firestone over a 37.5 percent reduction in their wages as a result of the conversion of their salaries from Liberian dollars to United States dollars in the early 1990s, when the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) controlled the area under its National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government (NPRAG).

The workers all along had felt that they were being cheated. Following that, a series of strikes occurred over the Union’s leadership, the last of which brought the current leadership of FAWUL to power.

However, this problem was finally put to rest by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

By J. Nathaniel Daygbor

The Firestone Rubber Plantation Company in Harbel, Margibi County is making claims of gains it is making in its activities since the sitting of the Ellen-led government, such as housing and education, but a local environmental group thinks otherwise.

Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU) says the company is abusing its workers and also polluting the Farmington River.

Allegation of abuse and pollution of the Farmington River is not extraordinary as far as the operation of the company is concerned, as most organizations such as Green Advocates have been saying, but the management from time to time rubbished those allegations.

However, SAMFU said it has conducted investigation and documented plethora of abuses being carried on by the company. Among other things, the group in a document released last Thursday claimed Firestone is not doing enough to stop the pollution of the Farmington River in Owens Grooves, Grand Bassa County as well as bad labor practices.

The group also noted in its documentary that the government has failed to take legal and any punitive action against the Firestone Rubber Plantation, adding “it appears that the company is above the law”.

Releasing the report on behalf of SAMFU at a launch ceremony, Project Officer Robert Nyahn said the environmental conditions at the Firestone have not changed and that wastes are still affecting the citizens of the area, something he urged the Firestone Management to handle as speedily as possible.

That besides, the SAMFU official said Firestone is underpaying its employees. “In 2004, Firestone reaped over US$7.2 billion as profits but was awarded by an American organization as the “worst and most underpaid company of the year,” he recalled.

Mr. Nyahn noted that while it is true that the company has improved its housing sector and has increased the construction of schools in the various divisions, he noted that many of the locals who have worked in the Plantation for the rest of their life are still living in terrible conditions.

He pointed out that the pollution of the Farmington River does not only affect the inhabitants of the area, but the species of the river as well. He said “Firestone is not environment friendly. What they are doing now will affect the river over the next ten years, if nothing is done to stop the bad environment habits.

Also speaking at the program, a resident of the Owens Grooves Community, Robert Benson said they are considering firing a lawsuit against Firestone Management for what he called “the manner in which they are treating them”.

He said they’re consulting with political leaders, which include representatives, superintendent and other relevant government officials before taking the action.

When the Public Relation Manager of the Firestone Plantation, Mr. Rufus Karmoh, was contacted, he declined to comment on grounds that they have not received any copy of the report.

In this video, Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus, moderates a discussion at the Institute for Policy Studies on the Stop Firestone Campaign with Edwin Cisco (Secretary General of the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia) and Christian Levesque (Conrad & Scherer).

Check out more videos on our YouTube Channel.

Yesterday, the Stop Firestone coalition held a protest outside of the DC office of Public Strategies, Inc.  Public Strategies is the public relations firm which represents Firestone.  They publicly distort Firestone’s long history of exploitation on their rubber plantation in Liberia.  Activists in DC rallied outside of Public Strategies to say that we will no longer accept Public Strategies’ lies and we want Firestone to make real improvements on their rubber plantation in Liberia instead of spending millions of dollars spent on PR and advertising.

First, Emira Woods from Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies and Tim Newman from the International Labor Rights Forum delivered a letter to Marina Marich at Public Strategies (she handles their work with Firestone).  The letter asked Ms. Marich to arrange a meeting between the coalition and Firestone Natural Rubber Company CEO Dan Adomitis and requested a response by August 1, 2008.  The letter pledged to continue to mobilize people all across the country to protest Public Strategies and Firestone until we get that meeting.

Protesters marched outside Public Strategies’ office building during the downtown lunch rush wearing bright red t-shirts and holding signs.  We shouted chants like “Hey hey, ho ho! Child Labor’s got to go!”, “Public Strategies: you are liars!  There’s exploitation in your tires!”, “Beep beep, toot toot! Firestone get off that loot” and “Hey Firestone! Do us a favor — Stop exploiting Liberian labor!”  We also passed out flyers and filled out many pages of petitions to deliver to Firestone.  At the end of the rally, we reminded Public Strategies that this will be just the beginning until our demands our met by yelling “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!”

The protest was mainly organized by the amazing interns at the International Labor Rights Forum.

Right now is a crucial point in the campaign because the leaders of the Firestone Agricultural Workers of Liberia are negotiating the first real contract with Firestone management.  A strong contract is an important tool for workers in improving their living and working conditions.  Having dealt with 82 years of exploitation, this negotiation process provides a lot of hope for workers and their families, but it’s also a tough fight.  The issue of wages is becoming a major point of contention in the negotiations.  The Stop Firestone Coalition will continue to support the demands of the workers throughout the collective bargaining process and after a contract is signed to ensure that their rights are finally respected by Firestone.

We hope that YOU will join us by checking out www.StopFirestone.org and checking out all of our ways to take action.  Let’s tell Firestone that 82 years is enough and stand in solidarity with workers in Liberia!

Check out some recent coverage of this protest and the Firestone campaign:
“Bridgestone/Firestone Rubber Company in Liberia Accused of Human Rights Abuses” - VOA News

“Exploitation in Firestone Tires” - Metro Washington (DC) Council AFL-CIO

“Public Criticism for Public Strategies” - PRWatch.org

JULY 23, 2008

Contact: Tim Newman, tim.newman[at]ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113

Martha Guarnieri, Martha[at]ilrf.org

COALITION ProtestS Public Strategies IN DC

Protest Targets Public Relations Firm That Helps Firestone Hide Worker Exploitation in Liberia

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, July 23 from 12 noon to 1:00 pm, members of the Stop Firestone Coalition will hold a lively demonstration in front of the offices of Public Strategies, Inc. at 607 14^th St NW, Washington, DC 20005. Public Strategies is a public relations firm which represents the Bridgestone/Firestone Tire Company and helps deflect attention from the company’s long history of exploiting workers and the environment on its rubber plantation in Liberia.

Bama Athreya, Executive Director of the International Labor Rights Forum, said, “Concerned consumers and activists are protesting at Public Strategies’ office today because they continue to distort Firestone’s record of abuse in Liberia. Firestone needs to immediately improve the deplorable working and living conditions of their workers in Liberia instead of spending millions of dollars on public relations.”

For 82 years, Firestone has forced workers on its rubber plantation in Liberia to meet unreasonably high production quotas or risk losing their wages, which are often as low as $3 per day. As a result, workers are left with no choice but to bring their families, including their children, to work. These children are expected to carry buckets weighing up to 75 pounds and walk for miles without any sort of protective gear. In addition to poor working conditions, families live in crowded one-room shacks without running water or electricity. The company also dumps toxic chemicals into local rivers.

Public Strategies is the public relations firm that does all of the media work for Firestone and is helping them to gloss over their exploitation of workers and the environment on their rubber plantation in Liberia.

The Stop Firestone Coalition is an alliance of U.S. and Liberia based organizations working to hold Firestone accountable for its use of child labor, abuse of worker’s rights and destruction of the environment. For more information, please visit www.StopFirestone.org

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By James Butty

Human rights activists will hold a demonstration Wednesday in Washington in front of a public relations office representing the Bridgestone/Firestone Rubber Company. Today’s protest comes on the heel of a new report which accuses the company of a wide range of abuses on its plantation in Liberia.

The report, titled “The Heavy Load: A Demand for Fundamental Changes at the Bridgestone/Firestone Rubber Plantation in Liberia” was published by the Liberia-based Save My Future Foundation. It cites poor living conditions for rubber tappers, barriers to educational and health access, water and air pollution, and violations of workers’ right to organize.

The report and Wednesday’s planned protest come as the Firestone workers’ union is negotiating with management for better wages and other benefits.

Edwin Cisco is secretary general of the Firestone Agricultural Workers’ Union of Liberia (FAWUL). He told VOA that while Firestone has made some changes since the election of a new workers’ union last year, a lot more still needs to be done on the plantation.

“As I speak to you, there is an ongoing union-management contract negotiations between the company and the new leadership of FAWUL to address most of those issues that we have been agitating for over the years, issues relating to work quota, and also issues relating to occupational health and safety, issues relating to education as well as issues relating to salaries and wages,” he said.

The new report said Firestone rubber tappers work 12 hours a day without safety equipment and that under the so-called quota system, each tapper is required to tap 750 trees per day or 1,125 trees on a double tapping day.

Cisco said workers have had to enlist the services of their children or other family members in order to complete their daily quotas.

“What we were able to do is that we injected in our proposal that the quota be reduced because it is because of this quota that most workers have to carry their families into the field to do the work. As we speak to you, even though the company has a zero tolerance on child labor, the system still exists to the point where workers, now they are not carrying children, but they have to hire extra hand to assist them complete the quota for the day,” Cisco said.

While the price of rubber is at one of its highest on the world market, Cisco said Firestone rubber tappers continue to earn 42 cents an hour or an estimated US$3.38 per day.

“In terms of wages, Firestone continues to maintain her old system to maintain the cost of production at a very, very minimum level. The last contract negotiation between the management and the union I think was in 2004. At that point the sale of a ton of rubber was at US$400. Today, the sale of a ton of rubber is selling at something like US$1,200. If we take all of that into consideration, definitely there’s a need for the income of the workers to move upward,” he said.

In the area of education for workers’ children, Cisco said while Firestone has been able to renovate and construct additional schools, some parts of the plantation still do not have schools.

“As I speak to you, the company has taken several steps. They are now building additional schools even though there is still a need for schools in various areas of the plantation where students have to walk various miles to go to school. The school system has been pushed to high level. They have put science and computer labs. But we still feel that this needs to go all around the plantation so that every child will have the opportunity to have access to some of these facilities,” he said.

He also said the workers’ union has been pushing Firestone management to provide a busing system so that children whose communities have no schools can attend nearby schools.

Cisco credited the workers’ successes at recent negotiations to two factors, including the involvement of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government.

“One of the factors that is responsible for this is the workers’ desire to come together. Once they come together, they know that something can be achieved. The other factor has to do with our own government. In the past successive governments in our country had been unconcerned about the conditions under which workers work on the plantation. But this new government under the leadership of Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has shown the political will to ensure that workers’ voices are heard,” Cisco said.

He also praised the involvement of international labor organizations, including the United Steele Workers’ Union, the American Labor Solidarity Center, the International Labor Rights Fund and others for helping to build the capacity of FAWUL.

Cisco advised workers in other countries to always come together in their effort to seek better wages and other benefits.

“What I would say is that workers must come together. Once workers come together in unity, they have the strength to move things forward because the bottom line is that these multinationals that exist all over the world, their basic interest is for their profit margin to move upward. But once they make the profit, they must ensure that workers have a fair share of it,” he said.