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A New Kind of Victory
Working for less than the Mexican minimum wage, Pung Kook workers labored under sweatshop conditions making luggage and backpacks for Adidas, Land's End and Patagonia. They were working to form an independent union in Baja California Sur, el Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Industria Maquiladora, SINTTIM.
In March of 2003, after firing SINTTIM President, Raquel Espinoza, for organizing, Pung Kook shut down its factory in Mexico without properly compensating the workers. The corporation then moved all of its business operations to Asia, beyond the reach of Mexican law and NAFTA. Under Mexican labor law, the workers were entitled to three months pay plus 32 days pay for each year of service. Pung Kook, like virtually all its counterparts in Mexico, paid only a fraction of that. SINTTIM asked Enlace to coordinate a campaign to force Pung Kook to pay the balance of monies owed to the workers.
Enlace and SINTTIM created a synchronized action campaign plan to gain justice for the Pung Kook workers. Since the corporation no longer had a foothold in North America, it was decided to pressure one of Pung Kook's North American customers to induce them to help force the transnational to pay the workers.
With the help of Portland Jobs with Justice and the Cross Border Organizing Labor Coalition (CBLOC), Enlace organized support to confront Adidas America at its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Adidas contacted Enlace and expressed an interest in avoiding this confrontation. Enlace knew, through member organization Koreatown Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA), that Pung Kook still manufactured items for Adidas at its Singapore plant. After a series of discussions, Adidas agreed to bring pressure on Pung Kook to pay SINTTIM's members what they were owed.
In September of 2003, Enlace organized a meeting in Mexico City between Gilberto Piñeda Bañuelos of SINTTIM, internationally renowned Mexican labor lawyer Arturo Alcalde, Enlace staff, and representatives of Adidas Mexico and Adidas America. Adidas committed to pressure Pung Kook to compensate the workers properly.
But pressure from Adidas wasn't enough to compel Punk Kook to do the right thing.
Enlace sought support of members and allies in Canada, Mexico and the United States to pressure Pung Kook and the state government that allowed the company to shortchange the workers. Hundreds of members and allies responded to this call for support by sending faxes and e-mails.
Finally, on June 17, 2004 Enlace organized a synchronized action that included a delegation to the South Korean consulate in Los Angeles and a demonstration in front of the South Korean embassy in Mexico City as well as two public actions in Seoul, South Korea. At the same time, the workers organized a delegation to pressure the governor of Baja California Sur. These actions resulted in extensive press coverage in Korea and in the Korean-American and Latino media in Southern California, organized by KIWA. The Korean consulate in Los Angeles committed to request the government of Korea to open an investigation into Pung Kook's practices. All these actions took place as negotiations continued.
The synchronized actions worked. On August 20, 2004, Pung Kook agreed to a settlement. The agreement will bring the total compensation for the 219 laid off workers to 3 months salary plus 32 days pay per year of service. Pung Kook also agreed to pay union president Raquel Espinoza $10,000 U.S. for firing her unjustly and to give her the company's 40-passenger bus which will be used by the union. Pung Kook temporarily returned to Mexico to set up a bank account so that the workers can be properly compensated.
Arturo Alcalde enthusiastically called the agreement a historical first.
The Pung Kook campaign success demonstrates that corporations can be held accountable for their behavior in regard to workers and their communities no matter where in the world they may shift production
Credit belongs to all who participated and contributed to the success of the campaign, including the following:
- Most of all, the SINTTIM members who never gave up and who forced a renegade transnational corporation to do the right thing
- Mexico: El Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT); Servicio Desarrollo y Paz (SEDEPAC); Lic. Arturo Alcalde; Casa de la Mujer Factor X de Tijuana
- Canada: The Maquiladora Solidarity Network
- Seoul, South Korea: The Korean House for International Solidarity, including MiKyoung Cha and JaeHun Choi
- California: Koreatown Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA), including Danny Park, Aehwa Kim and Cindy Cho; Los Angeles Garment Workers Center, including Joann Lo; Bus Riders Union; Sweatshop Watch, the One Korea LA Forum; SEIU Local 535; LAANE; CAN; SEIU Local 1877; HERE Local 2; Teamsters Local Union 912
- Portland: Jobs with Justice; Cross Border Organizing Labor Coalition (CBLOC); International Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union; Communications Workers of America; Gregg Nebel of Adidas America; SEIU local 49
- Enlace Staff: Mary Mendez (lead), Veronica Carrizales, Peter Cervantes-Gautschi and Meagan Keefe
- Washington: Teamsters Local Union 556; Walla Walla and Pasco ACORN
- Louisiana: SEIU Local 100
- Washington, D.C.: Heewon Khym; Workers Rights Consortium
- The many individuals and allies who responded to requests for faxes and emails to key players.