The SweatFree Ordinance will be going before the Austin City Council on Thursday, June 21! Put it on your calendar! . . . an ordinance ensuring that all of Austin’s municipal uniforms – from sanitation workers’ jumpers to police officers’ blues – are made with sweatshop-free labor. The Make Austin SweatFree campaign, a proponent of the measure, notes that Austin will join more than 170 other state and local governments that have said no to sweatshop labor. The State and Local Government SweatFree Consortium will attempt to ensure through monitoring that the city’s uniform suppliers have fair, equitable working conditions; 1% of the city’s uniform costs will fund the monitoring.

Get more info on the nationwide movement against subsidizing sweatshop labor with local dollars at http://www.sweatfree.org

Our goal is to get at least 100 people in attendance to show the City Council that this ordinance has strong support. The city council is considering an ordinance that would restrict city procurement of sweat shop products. In this difficult budgetary time for the city, we have to show them that many, many people believe that $27,000 (a tiny sum compared to the Austin budget) is well worth it to promote worker rights and dignity, and ensure that our taxpayer dollars are not being used to support sweatshops.

We need each of you to attend, and to bring others with you. Please put the Austin City Council meeting on your calendar for the evening of Thursday, June 21. (ck the website for updates on the time of the meeting–they estimate it will be after 5:30 last I heard last….see Texas Fair Trade Coalition (TFTC)

http://www.texasfairtrade.org/AustinSweatFree.html

Thank you for your ongoing support for this SweatFree Ordinance!! In solidarity, Marc Jacobson — Director, Texas Fair Trade Coalition