Queens Residents and Workers Held Press Conference and Rally to Demand Corporate Accountability for Bangladesh Factory Fire that Killed 114 Workers

Demanded that Walmart, Disney, Sears, and other corporations must respect workers rights, compensate the affected families, and join the Bangladeshi Comprehensive Fire Safety program

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Queens, NY – At a rally Thursday, South Asian immigrant workers from DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) were joined by allies to demand that U.S. corporations take responsibility and be held accountable for their practices, and the practices of their subcontractors in Bangladesh. More than one hundred workers died as a result of the garment factory fire on November 25^th at Tazreen Fashions, owned by Tuba Group. The factory produced garments for Walmart, Sears, Disney, and many other clothing corporations.

DRUM Worker Leader, Sayma Khan said that “there are 40,000 workers in this industry in Bangladesh, and should be allowed to organize and unionize. Garment factory owners and corporations have cut deals with each other and made sure to leave nothing for the workers.”

Harrison Magee, a former Walmart warehouse worker from Queens said “what happened in Bangladesh happens in Haiti, in Indonesia, and in Queens.”

City Councilmember Daniel Dromm said that “it should not be called ‘Black Friday’, it should be called ‘Red Friday’, for the blood of the innocent victims. They should name themselves ‘Slave-Mart’, not ‘Wal-Mart’, because that’s how they treat workers.”

DRUM Worker Center organizer, Kazi Fouzia said that “As workers here, it is our duty to stand in solidarity with those workers, who get paid 55 cents an hour, and to fight for their rights. We will hold those corporations responsible for the lives of those workers.”

From the recently released records, it is evident that Walmart, who made $16 billion in profits last year, refused to sign a memorandum to pay factories more to improve their electrical and fire safety, saying it was “not financially feasible.”

The rally was also joined by Latino immigrant workers and street vendors from VAMOS Unidos, former Walmart workers, workers and members from unions, religious leaders, social justice allies, and by members of the local community. Speakers called for an independent and transparent investigation into the causes of the fire; full and fair compensation to be paid to injured workers and to the families of the deceased; and effective action from all parties involved to prevent future tragedies.

The participants of the rally announced and pledged to attend a protest on Tuesday, December 11, to protest and hold Walmart CEO Mike Duke accountable and demand justice as he comes to NYC to give a speech on “Global Women’s Economic Empowerment.”

The rally was endorsed by: RAP – Retail Action project, ALIGN, VAMOS Unidos, RSDWU (Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store union), Walmart-Free NYC, Warehouse Workers United, Warehouse Workers for Justice, Center for Constitutional Rights, UFCW Local 1500, International Labor Rights Forum, Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center, National Lawyers Guild International Committee, South Asia Solidarity Initiative, CSEA Local 1000, AF3IRM, Veterans for Peace – NYC Chapter 34, Daya Inc (Houston, TX), NYC Labor Against War, Damayan, AAAN – Arab American Action Network (Chicago, IL), ASAAL, Al-Awda NY, SEVA-NY, WESPAC, Pumphouse Project, SALGA-NYC, CAAAV – Organizing Asian Communities, Labor for Palestine, AAANY – Arab American Association of New York, Majlis Ash-Shura of Metropolitan NY, Trinity Lutheran Church, ChangeLab, Justice Committee, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Adhikaar, Ugnayan, NELP – National Employment Law Project, SAALT, International Action Center, UNAC, Radical Women, Freedom Socialist Party, Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, NLG-Muslim Defense Project, Chayya CDC, SABANY, Central Arizona National Lawyers Guild

Individual Endorsements: Chaumtoli Huq, Associate Professor of Law, New York Law School), Syed Ishaq (Attorney), Diane Post (Attorney, Phoenix, AZ), Mark C. Rosenzweig (Professor of English, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology in Zhenjiang, China), Phil Wilayto (Editor, The Virginia Defender), Mike Gimbel (Retired Executive Board member of Local 375, AFSCME)