|
|
UK, US: Advocacy Group Wants Better Conditions for Tobacco Workers Source from: Winston-Salem (NC) Journal 12/17/2013  An advocacy group took its appeal for improved labor conditions on North Carolina farms to London and the door of Reynolds American Inc.'s largest shareholder. The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, led by its president Baldemar Velasquez, hand-delivered a letter describing its worker condition concerns to BAT chairman Richard Burrows. Velasquez also made a presentation to the British Parliament on Thursday. The presentation was supported by four labor unions based in England and the United States, including AFL-CIO. "BAT profits from the tobacco that Reynolds sells, and therefore has a responsibility to see that fair wages, safe and healthy working conditions, and the right to organize and collectively bargain are protected in Reynolds' supply chain," Velasquez said. It is the latest initiative in an effort started by FLOC in 2007 to prod Reynolds into putting financial pressure on its N.C. tobacco suppliers. According to the N.C. Growers Association, FLOC represents about 2,000 farm workers in the state. FLOC has identified a number of problems at tobacco farms, including fatalities, sub-minimum wages, child labor, heat stroke, pesticide and nicotine poisoning, green-tobacco sickness, and the lack of water and breaks during work. Three recent studies by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researches have documented such conditions. FLOC has conducted demonstrations and street marches following Reynolds' annual shareholders meetings, as well as offered shareholder proposals that have been rejected by Reynolds' board of directors. Because of its large Reynolds stock ownership, BAT has had at least two seats on the Reynolds board. They are currently represented by Neal Withington, BAT's general counsel, and John Daly, its chief operating officer. Daly also serves on the BAT board. Reynolds spokesman David Howard said BAT is "certainly aware of and supports the efforts we have made and continue to make in addressing the issue." He said Reynolds' contracts with farmers require them to abide by all local, state and federal laws. BAT spokeswoman Annie Brown said management officials had "a productive meeting with FLOC, and a number of concerns were raised to us directly." "Whilst the issues raised by FLOC do not relate to BAT's farmers, and we are only a shareholder of Reynolds, we have a long history of working constructively with organized labor, and we have always believed that the best approach to contentious issues is to engage through dialogue. We also continue to stay in touch with Reynolds regarding this matter." It is not clear exactly what message or facts that members of Parliament or BAT management received from FLOC and the other union groups. A press release by the Trades Union Congress erroneously lists BAT as the parent company of Reynolds and that Reynolds operates as a U.S. subsidiary. Other inaccuracies are that Reynolds has direct management control over its supply chain in North Carolina, that the company owns the tobacco farms and that farm workers are Reynolds employees. J. Flores, a FLOC spokesman, acknowledged the inaccuracies. "That being said, we believe firmly that a comment from a company that owns 42 percent of Reynolds is not something to be taken lightly," Flores said. Flores also referred to the Reynolds and BAT purchase agreement in which a 10-year "standstill" provision prevents BAT from buying shares that would increase its holding above 42 percent. The standstill ends in 2014. There also are limits on how BAT can sell its Reynolds stake. "Reynolds refused to talk with us about this issue for five years and then changed their mind two weeks after BAT got involved because of a European speaking tour by Velasquez and Diego Reyes, a tobacco farmworker and FLOC member, in April 2011," Flores said. "We think that the participation of BAT in this discourse will be very important to convince Reynolds to do the right thing." Howard said that because farm workers are not our employees, "we have no direct control over their sourcing, their training, their pay rates or their housing and access to human services." "We can – and do – bring significant efforts to bear to ensure that our suppliers have the training and resources they need to do the right thing for the people who play an important role in our supply chain." Daniel Delen, Reynolds' chief executive, pledged at its 2012 shareholders meeting to meet with FLOC representatives and form a multilateral council made up of other tobacco manufacturers, growers, advocacy groups and labor officials. That pledge drew applause from many advocates. Delen said in May that the council has met three times, as well at a subcommittee level. "In our opinion, these discussions have been constructive and candid," Delen said. Delen and Tom Wajnert, Reynolds' chairman, said in May that all of the farms that Reynolds has contracts with have been subject to an audit by Underwriters Laboratories' responsible sourcing unit in the past year. The auditors found 95 percent of growers provided a safe environment for workers and 73 percent provide documented health and safety training to workers. In July, Reynolds provided a $140,000 grant to Telamon Corp., a nonprofit group based in Raleigh that focuses on labor conditions, to improve housing at farms that used seasonal migrant labor. Velasquez has encouraged Reynolds to write its support of farm-worker rights into its corporate social responsibility policy, similar to what Philip Morris USA and BAT have done in recent years. Flores said the coalition talks "have been positive and important." "But not one tobacco farmworker is paid more or treated better because of them, and it has been 2½ years since the company's decision to engage on these issues. "We are committed to keep this issue public until something real changes in the way their supply chain works." Enditem Related Updates |