Mickey
Mouse Goes to Haiti...
In about 1996 I wrote,
Dear Mr. Eisner. It was not and is
not a veiled call for a
boycott of Disney. It was simply my personal response to the
injustice of absurdly high CEO compensation in comparison to the illegal
starvation wages of those at the "bottom" of the corporate
ladder. Disney is not the only company that engages in this kind of
unjust labor practice, but this company caught my attention particularly
because of the way Disney has always postured itself as being pro-child
and pro-family. I took some clues from Walter Wink and Gordon Cosby,
who suggest that when it comes to
systemic injustice, one possible response is to name the injustice, expose
it, and withdraw support from it. This response may not be for you, but
you can still let Disney (and other companies) know that you are troubled
by unjust labor practices and obscene inequities in wages. View the lyrics
if you like, and if it's appropriate for you, write Mr. Eisner at:
Mr. Michael Eisner, CEO
Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91522
Fax: 818-846-7319
I wrote I'd
Just Like to Know initially to go along with the NLC's
"Right to Know" Campaign, through which they are calling for
legislation to require corporations to disclose the names, exact
locations, and working conditions of all the factories they use in the
processes of production. Thanks to efforts of organizations like the NLC
and Global Exchange, the terribly unjust and inhumane working conditions
of so many people throughout the world will not remain swept under the
carpet by insensitive corporations and companies. The only reason
corporations have gotten away with this injustice is because they have
been so effective in keeping it all in the shadows.
.
Apparel
Wages Around the World
Approximate
hourly base wages, as reported to the
National Labor Committee by workers in
these countries.
United States -- $8.42 (Bureau
of Labor Statistics, January 1998)
Bangladesh------------ 9 to20 cents
Burma----------------- 4 cents
China------------------ 23 cents (Living wage:
87 cents an hour)
Colombia-------------- 70 to 80 cents
Dominican Republic---- 69 cents
El Salvador ------------ 59 cents (Living wage:
$1.18 an hour)
Guatemala-------------- 37 to 50 cents
Haiti-------------------- 30 cents (Living
wage: 58 cents an hour)
Honduras--------------- 43 cents (Living
wage: 79 cents an hour)
India-------------------- 20 to 30 cents
Indonesia--------------- 10 cents
Malaysia---------------- $1.00
Mexico----------------- 50 to 54 cents
Nicaragua--------------- 23 cents (Living wage:
80 cents an hour)
Pakistan----------------- 20 to 26 cents
Peru--------------------- 90 cents
Philippines--------------- 58 to 76 cents
Romania----------------- 24 cents
Sri Lanka---------------- 40 cents
Thailand----------------- 78 cents
|