Democratic Lawmakers Press for Stronger Workplace Safety Rules for Military Exchange Suppliers in Bangladesh
WASHINGTON—Democratic lawmakers last week urged support for a defense bill provision that would require U.S. military exchanges and commissaries to hold its clothing suppliers to stronger fire and worker safety standards in Bangladesh, in line with requirements recently adopted by the Marine Corps Trademark and Licensing Office for its licensing contracts.
In a letter to the leaders of the House Committee on Armed Services, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) asked that the provision, passed by the House earlier this year, be preserved in any conference with the Senate. The provision requires Military Exchanges to abide by or give preference to suppliers who are signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Accord), which is aimed at improving factory safety and working conditions there. The Marine Corps licensing office has already adopted this policy for its licensees, driving safer practices in Bangladesh and protecting its brand.
The letter coincides with the one-year anniversary of a fire at the Tazreen Factory in Bangladesh that killed 112 workers. In April, another 1,133 people perished in the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory.
Read the text of the letter below:
Dear Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith:
We are writing to request that you include, as part of the conference report, a provision contained in the House Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1960) that requires Military Exchanges to abide by or give preference to suppliers who are signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh ("Accord").
Contrary to arguments against the feasibility of this provision by several Military Exchanges, the Marine Corps Trademark and Licensing Office has recently adopted a requirement to abide by the Accord as a standard requirement in all of its contracts with licensees (enclosed). We strongly commend this initiative by the Marine Corp to help raise the bar on substandard sourcing practices by its licensees in Bangladesh.
Americans have been appalled by a continuing series of garment factory tragedies in Bangladesh over the past year, including 1,133 workers crushed under the rubble of the Rana Plaza factory and another 112 who were trapped and perished in a fire at the Tazreen Factory. Our military has been licensing to or sourcing from such sweatshops:
- Order books and patterns for Marine Corps-licensed apparel with "Semper Fi" logos were found in the ashes of the Tazreen factory.
- The Citadel garment factory in Bangladesh, which provides shirts to the Army-Air Force Exchange, has subjected workers to physical and verbal abuse, barred windows trapping workers in case of a fire, unlawfully required overtime beyond the 60-hour maximum workweek , and deprived workers of overtime pay, according to audits and NGO reports. Workers are frightened to object due to retaliation.
The system used by the Military Exchanges to oversee their supply chain relies on self certification by middlemen or questionable audits by other retailers. This lax model is a formula for more tragedies and reputational harm. It is inconsistent with our values as a nation for our military exchanges to be marketing clothes that are produced in death traps.
The House Defense Authorization Act (Section 634) requires that the Military Exchanges take the following actions:
- for private label brands of the exchange store system, become a signatory of or otherwise comply with applicable requirements set forth in the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh;
- for the purchase of licensed apparel, gives a preference to licensees that are signatories to the Accord; and
- for garments from retail suppliers, gives a preference to retail suppliers that are signatories to the Accord.
The bill gives the Exchanges the choice of either (1) becoming a signatory, or (2) simply complying with its conditions (without being a signatory). Sovereign immunity is not compromised. What this amendment will do is give a preference , but not a mandate, for exchanges to select from Accord resale suppliers. Ifgarments from retail suppliers are not available or the costs are not competitive, there is no obligation to use the Accord signatories.
The Accord has been signed by 112 retailers and brands in 20 countries, sourcing from almost half of Bangladesh’s 5,000 garment factories. This represents a financial commitment to raising the bar in a country that is at the bottom of the "race to the bottom". The Accord requires:
- Factory inspections for fire and building safety that are credible, independent and transparent.
- Workers have a right to review audits and refuse to perform unsafe work.
- Following audits, factories must upgrade safety or be terminated by brands/retailers.
- The Accord's fee is $10,000/year or less for each Military Exchange (totaling $40,000 per year for all 4 exchanges), plus a pro rata share of upgrade costs built into the price of garments. Participation in the Accord will not impair the Morale, Recreation and
- Welfare programs for our soldiers and their families.
- Governance is through a tripartite body, including retailers, unions and the International Labor Organization. A major U .S. brand has a representative on the Accord's Steering Committee, along with a representative of Bangladeshi garment workers.
- While the Accord has been led by large European brands that are also prominent retailers in the United States, such as H&M and Benetton, there are five major U.S.-based brands that are signatories, including American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, PVH (Arrow, Calvin Klein, Izod and Tommy Hilfiger), Sean John Apparel , and Scoop/NY.
Requiring the Exchanges to join the Accord is good for American workers and our economy. When we allow a race to the bottom with respect to workplace labor standards, we encourage outsourcing of U.S. jobs. The remaining 2% of garment production left in the US will go next, and continuing substandard conditions overseas will leave little incentive to move or open such factories in the US. Raising the floor overseas benefits us here at home.
A preference for the Accord might even signal to U.S . owned brands that there is a need to take a higher road on labor conditions. Some U.S. owned brands are now joining both the lower-road safety initiative led by Wal-Mart and a higher road oversight program led by the Accord.
The U.S. Government recently suspended the GSP benefits for Bangladesh because of egregiously poor labor standards and lack of progress on improving them . Higher standards should be encouraged through government contracting in parallel with our trade policy .
Federal agencies have recognized that the Accord represents a significant innovation by bringing retailers and labor together, for the first time, to jointly raise the bar on worker safety in the supply chain.
In sum, the Marine Corps Trademark and Licensing Office has demonstrated the feasibility of using the Accord as a policy tool to raise the bar on supply chain oversight, which would appear to overcome the arguments by Military Exchange representatives against the adoption of this prov1s10n. We respectfully urge you to preserve this provision in conference.
Sincerely,
George Miller
Senior Democratic Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress
Cc: The Honorable Joe Wilson Chairman,
Subcommittee on Military Personnel Committee on Armed Services
The Honorable Susan A. Davis Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Military Personnel Committee on Armed Services
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