9226: Protest Cointreau's unfair Labor Practices (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Protest Cointreau's unfair Labor Practices

The first picket is tomorrow, Wednesday October10, between 4 and 6 pm, at the 
corner of 6th Avenue and 55th Street. Next week, we will be picketing in 
front of the Haitian consulate, 40th Street and Madison, between 4-6 pm. Hope 
you and all those who want to stand up for workers rights can come.


PROTEST COINTREAU’S
UNION BUSTING AND WORKER ABUSE
Sponsored by the Batay Ouvriye Solidarity Network
Co-sponsored by the Global Sweatshop Coalition, P.O. Box 748, Village 
Station, NY 10014 nicadlw@earthlink.net

1- About 300 plantation workers in Haiti at the Guacimal plantations and 32 
workers at the Madeline processing plant have
unionized in order to negotiate a wage increase representing a just wage, the 
respect of their rights under Haitian Law,
and safe, humane working conditions.
2- Workers have to endure horrid working conditions severely affecting their 
health and are paid miserly wages.
3- These enterprises (Guacimal S.A.) produce orange extracts exclusively for 
Cointreau. These extracts are a key ingredient in
the Cointreau liqueur, an expensive luxury liqueur. Cointreau is a 
multi-national company based in France, with 2000 revenues
of over US $100 million.
4- Since the unions were formed in 1999, workers affiliated with the unions 
have come under constant threats of beatings,
arrests and dismissals, and are continually harassed and persecuted by 
management, often relying on local authorities.
5- Management has refused to negotiate in good faith and has used stalling 
tactics, threats, intimidation, arbitrary measures
and replacement workers to attempt to break the unions.
6- Both unions have repeatedly asked Cointreau to join in negotiations, but 
their requests have been ignored.
7- An urgent appeal for international solidarity is launched to support their 
struggles.
We urge all those who are outraged by these blatant injustices and all those 
who are repulsed by the practices of harass-ment,
threats and arbitrary measures of repression aimed at union busting to write 
to Cointreau to demand that this situa-tion
be immediately remedied, so that workers’ lives no longer be put in jeopardy 
simply for demanding just wages and
safe, humane working conditions.
Please use this flier to send your message of protest and concern to 
Cointreau:
Dear Mrs. Joelle Jezequel,
As a supporter of human rights, I am deeply disturbed by the callous 
disregard of your company for the rights of the workers
producing for Cointreau in Haiti. Cointreau has a responsibility to ensure 
that the rights of these workers are duly respected,
as provided for by Haitian Law and various international labor conventions. I 
strongly urge your company to make every
effort to remedy this situation as quickly as possible and to meet the 
workers’ demands.
Sincerely,
________________________ (Address): 
_____________________________________________________________
Contact Cointreau at REMY AMERIQUE, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, 7th Floor, 
NEW YORK NY 10019
Phone : (212) 399 4200 Fax: (212) 399 6909 Email 
<joelle.jezequel@remy-cointreau.com>