Rapid Response Network

Category: Solidarity

  • $1,300 for Haitian May Day!

    $1,300 for Haitian May Day!

    May 1st is May Day – International Workers’ Day!

    This day began as a commemoration of Chicago workers’ fight for the 8 hour work day and the right to organize.

    In Haiti, workers are still battling for these essential rights.

    • Haitian garment workers receive the lowest wage in the western hemisphere – 350 Gourdes, or US $5.40.
    • Their wages are consumed just by the transportation costs of getting to and from work.
    • Most live in debt, and on the brink of hunger and homelessness.
    • Production quotas in factories are often set impossibly high. Factory owners and management do not respect the law, and often do not pay the minimum wage.
    • Union members and organizers are constantly harassed and arbitrarily fired for exercising their legal rights.

    Batay Ouvriye (Workers Fight), is an independent workers’ movement in Haiti, with affiliated textile unions throughout Haiti – SOKOWA, SOVAGH & SOTA-BO.

    For May Day, they are holding marches and activities across Haiti to bring attention to their fight.

    • They want  a decent wage that allows them to feed, clothe, house and educate themselves and their families.
    • They want safe working conditions, free of harassment.
    • They want the right to organize.

    Help the Rapid Response Network Raise $1,300 to Support Haitian May Day!

    Your contribution will be sent directly to Haiti to help pay for paper for:

    • Printing leaflets
    • Transportation costs for workers
    • Meals to feed workers at meetings
    • Costs of dealing with possible arrests.

    * * We’d like to send these funds on Monday, April 30, just in time for May Day – May 1st.

    All funds raised will be wired directly to Batay Ouvriye in Haiti.

    Every dollar counts.
    Every contribution has a direct impact in helping these workers fight for their rights.

    Thank you so much for standing with them!

    Click here to donate now through our GoFundMe page!

    #SolidarityForever <3
    #MayDayHaiti
    #RRNsolidarity

  • $1,590 Raised for Garment Workers! Thank You!

    $1,590 Raised for Garment Workers! Thank You!

    sota-anniv-1
    Happy 2018!

    Thank you so much to all who ended the year with a contribution to support Haitian garment workers!

    We raised $1,591.96 for workers in Port Au Prince and Carrefour!

    This money was directly wired to Haiti and Batay Ouvriye to be disbursed to a group of workers from four factories. They have been unable to go to work because of union-busting.

    Their firings were all found illegal by government and regulatory agencies, but factory owners and bosses wouldn’t budge. By the end of the year, they were out of work for several months with unpaid rent and hungry families.

    Thank you so much for standing with them, so they can continue their fight.

    If this is new news to you, check out this video to learn more.

    It’s Never to Late to Give.

    Our overall goal was $2,000. So, we are $408.04 short of this goal.

    It’s not too late to give! Every dollar counts.

    Many of the donations we received were in smaller amounts, like $15 and $25.

    It all adds up to critical support.

    Click here to DONATE.

    We look forward to a new year of international solidarity and continuing the struggle.

    Happy New Year!


    Be sure to stay up with RRN updates:

    Facebook – @RapidResponseNetwork
    Twitter – @RRNsolidarity
    Email – 

    Thank you for all you do! <3

    #SolidarityForever

  • Year End Goal: $2,000 to Fight Exploitation!

    Year End Goal: $2,000 to Fight Exploitation! <3

    Just $530 Left to Raise Before Midnight!
    We can do this.

    CLICK HERE TO DONATE     <3


    Illegally Fired Workers Face Hunger & Homelessness

    From May to July, 2017, SOTA-BO textile union led garment workers across Haiti in monumental mobilizations for an increased minimum wage. In the wake of these efforts, many of these union members were arbitrarily and illegally fired for exercising their legal rights.

    • SOTA-BO members from Quality Sewing factory have been out of work since March – another clear case of union-busting! The Ministry of labor found their firings illegal, and said they should be rehired… but, the boss refuses to let them in to work.

    As the holidays approach, these workers and their families are hungry. They face losing their homes, as they cannot pay rent.

    One of the workers from Quality Sewing just had a baby. The spouse of a worker from SISA also just gave birth. They are struggling to raise infants with no wages.

    Workers with older children cannot send them to school. In Haiti, public schools are few and far between. So, private schools are the norm. Without income, these workers cannot pay school tuition. Their children are unable to take year end exams, and fall behind in school.

    This is all because factory owners refuse workers’ basic rights.

    "Workers Organize!"

     

    Support Illegally Fired Workers – Let’s Raise $2000 before 2018!

    Workers’ survival and very lives are being attacked simply, because they insist on basic rights – a decent wage that allows them to feed, house, clothe and educate themselves and their families.

    Let’s help SOTA-BO members get through the year end & continue to fight!

    It’s likely the best thing you can do with your money and your conscience this holiday season.

    If just 50 people contribute, $40 each, we can reach this goal.

    If you can’t donate $40, please give what you can.

    Every dollar adds up and carries a major impact for these workers.

    Stand with garment workers in their fight against exploitation!


    DONATE HERE.     *


    Thank you SO MUCH for your ongoing solidarity <3

    HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

    *The RRN is not a 501(c)3, so your donation is not tax deductible.