Augusta, ME – Yesterday Maine Governor John E. Baldacci announced a groundbreaking initiative to end sweatshop exploitation in apparel and other industries around the world and in the United States.  In a letter sent to all governors on February 28, Governor Baldacci proposed a new collaborative effort to use state government procurement as a tool to level the playing field for ethical businesses and advance justice for sweatshop workers.

The State of Maine adopted the nation’s first sweatfree procurement law in 2001 to end taxpayer support for sweatshop abuses.  The centerpiece of the law is a code of conduct requiring state contractors and subcontractors of apparel, textiles, and footwear to adhere to basic international fair labor standards.  But “we can accomplish more together” the Governor noted in his letter to governors.

"There's power in numbers,” said Governor John E. Baldacci, D-Maine.  “We've been doing great work on sweatfree procurement in Maine, but if we team up with other states we'll have even more influence in the global marketplace.   Workers around the world deserve any influence or leverage we can bring to the table."

The Governor’s Coalition for Sweatfree Procurement and Workers’ Rights will consider a variety of strategies to end sweatshop abuses including cost-effective and reliable independent monitoring mechanisms of contractor and subcontractor manufacturing facilities.  The coalition will also consider forming a purchasing consortium to allow states to leverage purchasing power in support of sweatfree supplier factories.

The letter comes as Maine’s state legislature is considering a bill, LD 1769, which would allow the state’s Division of Purchases to take the first steps toward developing a protocol for using independent monitors to investigate alleged violations of the state’s code of conduct for contractors supplying footwear and apparel.

Sean Donahue, Director of PICA, the Bangor-based human rights organization which initiated the campaign that lead to the passage of Maine’s sweatfree procurement law said, “States working together have tremendous power to force apparel makers to treat their workers fairly. Its impossible to overestimate the potential impact of Gov. Baldacci’s initiative.”

“The Governor’s Coalition for Sweatfree Procurement and Workers’ Rights is an enormously significant initiative in the anti-sweatshop movement,” said Bjorn Claeson, Director of SweatFree Communities, a national organization that supports and coordinates local sweatfree procurement campaigns and maintains an office in Maine.  “Combined with a similar municipal effort led by the Mayor of San Francisco, it has the potential to create a hundred billion dollar market for sweatfree products and services which would completely transform apparel and other industries where sweatshops are pervasive.”

In addition to Maine, the states of California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have adopted sweatfree procurement laws, along with over 60 cities, counties, and school districts.

Governor Baldacci’s letter is available at: http://www.sweatfree.org/documents/BaldacciLetter022806.pdf