Last update: 10/19/09

Dear Councilperson ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________________,

                Hello, my name is ____________, and I am contacting you as a (concerned citizen/ volunteer/ supporter) on behalf of the SweatFree Louisville Campaign.  The SweatFree Louisville Campaign is a local chapter of a nationwide nonprofit organization called SweatFree Communities (sweatfree.org).   SweatFree Communities is an anti-sweatshop agency looking to make global change by working on a local level in several different cities and states around the country.  The overall goal is end public endorsement of sweatshop labor with the use of citizen’s tax dollars.  Through the efforts of SweatFree Communities and similar organizations, dozens of cities and eight states nationwide have passed SweatFree ordinances and resolutions.

                Most citizens are completely unaware of the injustices they inadvertently support every time they pay their taxes to the city.  I know that I was. It was discouraging for me to hear that I endorse child and prison labor, 70 hour work weeks, below sustenance wages, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, women’s rights violations, and the suppression of the right to unionize and use collective bargaining.  While those words may be hard to hear, it was even more difficult for me to find out that there was a solution: a way to end our public support of those injustices, a way to reform those jobs, and a way to become a more economically responsible community.  That’s why I am writing you today.

                The SweatFree Louisville Campaign plans to introduce their/ our ordinance before the end of this year.  The ordinance will mandate that Louisville join the SweatFree Purchasing Consortium (BuySweatFree.org).   The Consortium is a league of other just communities, cities, and states who have also decided to end their support of sweatshop labor.  The Consortium functions with two essential purposes: 1) To inspect manufacturer’s factories ensuring that the local labor laws are being followed, and to check for human right violations; and 2) To be a resource to connect cities with SweatFree manufacturers: rewarding just manufacturing practices, and reforming those that are unjust.

                To join the Consortium sends a message to the retailers and the corporations who employ injustice as means to justify their bottom line.  To join the Consortium helps level the paying field for businesses who respect human rights, in a market that ignores the true cost of cheap prices.  To join the Consortium shows that we, as a city, recognize the injustices that have been hidden for to long and we do not support them.  When it’s time for you to vote on the SweatFree ordinance, vote yes, send a message, and make Louisville a SweatFree city. 

                                                                                                                                                Thanks,

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