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Accounts, clothing show Disney, Wal-Mart, Sears used Bangladesh factory in fire

Workers who survived the fire say exit doors were locked, and a fire official has said that far fewer people would have died if there had been even one emergency exit. Of the dead, 53 bodies were burned so badly they could not be identified; they were buried anonymously.

Julhas Alam, Associated Press / Minneapolis (MN) Sar Tribune

This article is made possible with the generous contributions of
all reader supported Evergreene Digest readers like you. Thank you!

A man takes photographs inside a garment-factory where a fire killed more than 110 people Saturday on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012.

November 28, 2012 | Amid the ash, broken glass and melted sewing machines at what is left of the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory, there are piles of blue, red and off-white children's shorts bearing Wal-Mart's Faded Glory brand. Shorts from hip-hop star Sean Combs' ENYCE label lay on the floor, along with a hooded Mickey Mouse sweatshirt from Disney.

An Associated Press reporter searching the Bangladesh factory Wednesday found these and other clothes, including sweaters from the French company Teddy Smith and the Scottish company Edinburgh Woollen Mill, among the equipment charred in the fire that killed 112 workers on Saturday. He also found entries in account books indicating that the factory took orders to produce clothes for Disney, Sears and other Western brands.

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Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler ~ Antony C. Sutton

  • Here is the incredible story of the American financiers who provided money and material Hitler used to launch WWII.
  • Makes Every Previous Book on World War II Obsolete

Described by Nader Library

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Gary G. Kohls

If you like reading this article, consider contributing a cafe latte to all reader-supported Evergreene Digest--using the donation button above—so we can bring you more just like it.
 

Finally, a distinguished scholar has penetrated the cloak of falsehood, deception, and duplicity that for more than thirty years has protected one of the most incredible secrets of World War II:  the support from key Wall Street financiers and other international bankers in subsidizing Hitler's rise to power.

Professor Antony C. Sutton proves that World War II was not only well planned, it was also extremely profitable -- for a select group of financial insiders.  Carefully tracing this closely guarded secret through original documents and eyewitness accounts, Sutton documents the roles played by J.P. Morgan, T.W. Lamont, the Rockefeller interests, General Electric Company, Standard Oil, National City Bank, Chase and Manhattan banks, Kuhn, Loeb and Company, and scores of other business elitists.

Full story...

Do You Know Where Your Tomatoes Come From?

  • “Harvesting tomatoes and other produce from the nation’s agricultural fields is arguably the worst job in the country,” journalist Chris Hedges writes in his book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.
  • Why Women Who Pick and Process Your Food Face Daily Threats of Rape, Harassment and Wage Theft
  • 1960: "Harvest of Shame"

Lauren Feeney, Moyers & Company

Farmworkers pick tomatoes at Taylor & Fulton Tomatoes in Immokalee, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

July 20, 2012 | For workers in Immokalee, Florida, where nearly all of America’s winter tomatoes are grown, backbreaking labor under the heat of the Florida sun is only part of the drudgery. There’s often also toxic pesticides, sexual harassment, verbal and physical abuse — all for an average income of  less than $12,000 a year.

Nely Rodriguez is a 46-year-old mother of three who’s been working in the Immokalee fields since she came here from Mexico in 2000. But she’s not suffering silently under these unjust conditions. Nely is a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community organization that has taken on the corporate giants at the top of the food chain — with some remarkable victories.

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Related:

Why Women Who Pick and Process Your Food Face Daily Threats of Rape, Harassment and Wage Theft, Jill Richardson, AlterNet

  • We all benefit from a hugely exploitative system, in which our dinner is now directly linked to violence against women.
  • Immokalee's (FL) Tomato Pickers Still Reap 'Harvest of Shame'

1960: "Harvest of Shame", CBS News
November 24, 2010 | Watch the entire original broadcast of one of the most celebrated documentaries of all time, 1960's "Harvest of Shame," in which Edward R. Murrow exposed the plight of America's farm workers.

 

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Special Report | Wal-Mart Workers Strike: Week of November 25

  • The first Walmart strikes EVER
  • 7 New items including:
    • Walmart's Internal Compensation Documents Reveal Systematic Limit On Advancement
    • Fox's Fawning Pro-Walmart Segment "Brought To You By Walmart"
    • Walmart hit by Black Friday strikes across 46 states, say protesters
    • Walmart Retaliates Against Black Friday Activists
    • Fight back against Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom economics
    • Strikes Going Viral - Join Walmart Workers on Black Friday
    • Walmart Black Friday Strike Being Organized Online For Stores Across U.S.

David Culver, Ed., Evergreene Digest

Adam Zyglis

Walmart's Internal Compensation Documents Reveal Systematic Limit On Advancement, Alice Hines and Christina Wilkie, Huffington Post

  • Walmart’s hourly workers are (most) likely to wind up like the 30-year-old sales associate in Mississippi who told HuffPost he makes just $8.65 an hour after three years with the company.
  • Walmart hit by Black Friday strikes across 46 states, say protesters

Fox's Fawning Pro-Walmart Segment "Brought To You By Walmart" Matt Gertz, Media Matters for America

  • Following interview with company's spokesman, banner ad explains show is "Brought to you by Walmart"
  • How Fox News created a new culture of idiots
  • Fight back against Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom economics

Walmart hit by Black Friday strikes across 46 states, say protesters, Dominic Rushe, Guardian UK

  • Retail giant Walmart hit by protests and staff walkouts on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day in the retail calendar
  • Walmart Retaliates Against Black Friday Activists

Walmart Retaliates Against Black Friday Activists, Adele M. Stan, AlterNet

  • With its own workers standing up against poverty wages and exploitation, Walmart is siccing the cops on past and present employees, allegedly on false pretenses.
  • Strikes Going Viral - Join Walmart Workers on Black Friday
  • Papa John’s Obamacare idiocy

Fight back against Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom economics, Kaytee Riek, SumOfUs.org
Walmart workers are getting ready to strike on the biggest shopping day of the year, “Black Friday,” and they asked the SumOfUs.org community to help make the strike as big as possible.

Strikes Going Viral - Join Walmart Workers on Black Friday, American Rights at Work

  • We want you to be part of it. Can you join us at a Walmart store near you on Black Friday?
  • Walmart Workers are Standing Up
  • Fight back against Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom economics

Walmart Black Friday Strike Being Organized Online For Stores Across U.S., Kathleen Miles, Huffington Post

  • The outreach leading up to Black Friday follows a series of unprecedented actions taken by Walmart workers against their employer and working conditions. In October, for the first time in the company's 50-year history, more than 70 workers at multiple Los Angeles-area Walmart stores walked off the job, even though their jobs are not protected by an official union. The strike had a ripple effect, causing strikes in 12 other cities, in large part through online organizing.
  • Walmart’s Black Friday ultimatum
     
Section(s): 

Walmart hit by Black Friday strikes across 46 states, say protesters

  • Retail giant Walmart hit by protests and staff walkouts on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day in the retail calendar
  • Walmart Retaliates Against Black Friday Activists

Dominic Rushe, Guardian UK

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Lydia Howell

Protesters demonstrate outside a Walmart store in Chicago on Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day in the US. Photograph: John Gress/Reuters

Friday 23 November 2012 | Retail giant Walmart has been hit by protests and staff walkouts at stores across the US on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day in the retail calendar.

The actions began Thursday, as workers protested the retail giant's decision to open on Thanksgiving, which is traditionally a national holiday, and what they claim are attempts by Walmart to silence protests from workers. Industrial action continued Friday, with organisers claiming 1,000 protests in 46 states.

Full story...

Related:

Walmart Retaliates Against Black Friday Activists, Adele M. Stan, AlterNet

  • With its own workers standing up against poverty wages and exploitation, Walmart is siccing the cops on past and present employees, allegedly on false pretenses.
  • Strikes Going Viral - Join Walmart Workers on Black Friday
  • Papa John’s Obamacare idiocy
     
Section(s): 

Walmart Retaliates Against Black Friday Activists

  • With its own workers standing up against poverty wages and exploitation, Walmart is siccing the cops on past and present employees, allegedly on false pretenses.
  • Strikes Going Viral - Join Walmart Workers on Black Friday
  • Papa John’s Obamacare idiocy

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Lydia Howell

Photo Credit: Oree Originol/ArtistsVsWalmart.tumblr.com

November 22, 2012 | As Black Friday approached, the honchos at Walmart, the largest employer in the United States, found themselves at a loss to respond to a nationwide rebellion within the ranks of their near-captive workers -- people who work for an average wage of $8.81 per hour, according to The National Memo, often in areas where Walmart is the only game in town for a job if you don’t have a college degree (or even if you do). And so it seems they started making stuff up, and pulling strings -- in at least two locations -- to get local police to do their bidding.

Across the country this Friday, Walmart workers and their supporters are conducting rallies and protests at or near Walmart stores, as shoppers line up in the pre-dawn hours for a crack at the super-bargains that are the retailer’s Black Friday hallmark.

Full story...

Related:

Strikes Going Viral - Join Walmart Workers on Black Friday, American Rights at Work

  • We want you to be part of it. Can you join us at a Walmart store near you on Black Friday?
  • Walmart Workers are Standing Up
  • Fight back against Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom economics

Papa John’s Obamacare idiocy, Prachi Gupta, Salon
CEO John Schnatter insists that the Affordable Care Act necessitates price increases. Experts disagree.

 

Section(s): 

Papa John’s Obamacare idiocy

CEO John Schnatter insists that the Affordable Care Act necessitates price increases. Experts disagree.

Prachi Gupta, Salon

This article is made possible with the generous contributions of all reader supported Evergreene Digest readers like you. Thank you!

November 16, 2012 | Papa John’s Pizza seems to be gunning for Chick-fil-A’s “most heartless fast-food chain” title after CEO John Schnatter threatened to increase pizza prices by 11 to 14 cents per pie and cut back employee hours if the Affordable Care Act isn’t repealed. Schnatter has found support from more than 20,000 Facebook users (and counting), who have staged an “eat-in” to protest Obamacare and its effects on the food chain:

Papa Johns has been targeted by the left for a boycott, for simply articulating that ObamaCare would hurt profits and force cutbacks in employee hours. Stand up to this nonsensical and illogical action and support Papa Johns this Friday!

Full story...

Black Friday slips into 'Grey Thursday'

  • Retail giants face staff backlash
  • Workers criticise 'pure greed' as stores like Walmart and Target encroach on family time by opening on Thanksgiving Day
  • Walmart Black Friday Strike Being Organized Online For Stores Across U.S.

Dominic Rushe, The Guardian UK

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Lydia Howell

If you like reading this article, consider contributing a cafe latte to
all reader-supported Evergreene Digest--using the donation button above—so we can bring you more just like it.

Walmart will open its doors at 8pm on Thanksgiving Day, while Target (pictured) will open at 9pm. Photograph: Sean D Elliot/AP


November 14, 2012 | Jackie Goebel has worked for Walmart for 24 years, but this year, for the first time, she will spend the Thanksgiving holiday working at the retail giant. Like many of her colleagues, she is not happy. "Walmart has become a company so obsessed by the bottom line and greed that it no longer values the importance of the people and families that work for it," she said.

For decades, Thanksgiving has been sacrosanct for Americans – a non-denominational national celebration, and a guaranteed family holiday for most big companies. For retailers, it's also the day before Black Friday, the shopping bacchanal that marks the start of the holiday season.

Full story...

Related:

Walmart Black Friday Strike Being Organized Online For Stores Across U.S., Kathleen Miles, Huffington Post

  • The outreach leading up to Black Friday follows a series of unprecedented actions taken by Walmart workers against their employer and working conditions. In October, for the first time in the company's 50-year history, more than 70 workers at multiple Los Angeles-area Walmart stores walked off the job, even though their jobs are not protected by an official union. The strike had a ripple effect, causing strikes in 12 other cities, in large part through online organizing.
  • Walmart’s Black Friday ultimatum
     
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