Ben Davis Garment Workers Win Contract

December 16, 2004
by Tracker

In a significant campaign victory, one hundred Ben Davis immigrant garment workers in San Francisco ratified their first contract with UNITE HERE, the garment workers' unon. This agreement provides a substantial average wage increase, reinstates generous vacation provisions, and decreases employees' share of health care premiums. The workers, all first generation immigrants from China and Mexico, voted unanimously for the contract.

Contract negotiations broke down in March 2004 over wages and benefits. The contract had expired in September 2003. While Ben Davis has been a union shop for seventy years, owners had expressed the need to drive down labor costs in the wake of a city referendum increasing the minimum wage.

Community, labor and political leaders led a strong national campaign that brought the company back to the bargaining table in November, including thousands of messages through email activism, community visits to stores, a threatened boycott by the presidents of the Carpenters, Laborers and Firefighters, a San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution urging the company to renew the union contract, and strong public support in San Francisco. Groups like the Chinese Progressive Association and Oakland's Sweatshop Watch actively backed t he workers

Union officials noted that victory was important because of the low rate of garment worker unionization in the city, about 400, from thousands of employees and the threat of overseas outsourcing in the industry

In the end, Ben Davis negotiated a solid, fair contract with the workers. Unite Here and worker advocates said the Ben Davis contract could serve as a model in a sector known for substandard wages and long hours. The next time you buy work clothes, look for the Ben Davis label: it keeps labor strong!