USW Congratulates Rubber Workers at Firestone in Liberia On Effort to End Child Labor

CONTACT: Mike Zielinski (202) 778-4384,  (240) 475-9845 (c)

(Pittsburgh) — The United Steelworkers (USW) today congratulated the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL) for receiving the Iqbal Masih Award from the U.S. Department of Labor. The award was established by Congress to recognize the work of an individual, company, organization or national government to end the worst forms of child labor.

“The USW is proud of our partners at FAWUL and their efforts in challenging the horrors of child labor and other injustices at the rubber plantation,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “Against great odds, the members of FAWUL have created a democratic and independent union.”

“This award recognizes the extraordinary efforts of the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union to combat the worst forms of child labor internationally,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The group serves as a model to others, showing that progress is possible and worth the effort.”

The award reflects the spirit of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child enslaved at the age of four who escaped his servitude and became an outspoken advocate against child slavery. Tragically, in 1995 at the age of 13, Iqbal was killed in Pakistan.

In 2010, the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register soliciting public nominations for the award. The International Labor Rights Forum nominated the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union for successfully negotiating collective bargaining agreements with the Firestone Plantation in 2008 and 2010 that banned child labor while also improving the wages and working conditions of plantation workers.

FAWUL was established in 2007 as the first truly independent union since the Firestone plantation began operations in 1926.  In 2008, the union negotiated a landmark collective bargaining agreement which reduced the quota of rubber trees which each rubber tapper worked by some 25%.  Prior to this, tappers frequently were compelled to put family members to work so that they could meet their quota and ensure that they would have access to rice to feed their families.

In 2010, FAWUL negotiated a second union contract in which they succeeded in making changes to the system used to transport latex to weigh stations.  For more than 80 years, rubber tappers carried two metal buckets, weighing as much as 150 pounds, suspended from a stick across their shoulders.  Tappers carried these heavy loads long distances to weigh stations, taking a severe toll on workers’ health.  FAWUL negotiated for a new system to be developed where tractor trailers collect plastic buckets of latex, relieving the tappers of their burden.

The USW has worked jointly with the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center to organize training programs and solidarity actions in conjunction with the activists and leaders of FAWUL, addressing the issues of child labor and other exploitative practices.

“We’ll continue to work together side-by-side to ensure that there are continuous gains for the workers of Firestone and their families in the areas of safety, housing and education,” said Gerard. “We need to ensure that the new latex transport system is extended to all parts of the plantation and that work loads are further reduced so that latex will never again be produced through child labor.”

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