Demanding Accountability from RJ Reynolds
Written by barb howe Wednesday, 04 June 2008 04:23
Earlier this month, over 150 farmworker advocates traveled to Winston-Salem to attend the annual meeting of RJ Reynolds Tobacco and call for a shareholder resolution to require the company to respect workers' rights. The action was a part of the RJ Reynold's Tobacco Campaign organized by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and the National Farm Worker Ministry, two ally organizations who have members on our Board of Directors.
The resolution, presented by Fr. Michael Crosby, would have created a human rights protocol for the company and its suppliers. It describes problems for farmworkers such as acute tobacco poisonings (Green Tobacco Sickness, or GTS) caused by nicotine being absorbed through the skin as the workers are harvesting the plants and calls on the Board of Directors "to create procedures for the implementation of the internationally agreed core human rights conventions in the countries in which it operates and
to find ways to ensure that its suppliers are in compliance with these as well.
At the meeting Virginia Nesmith, Executive Director of the National Farm Worker Ministry, spoke to second the resolution, calling on the company "to facilitate a process that gives farm workers – who are critical employees in your industry – a way to have a voice and representation in the industry".
The resolution 13% support amongst the shareholders.
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