The San Francisco Sweatfree Ordinance will prevent the City and County government from purchasing goods produced in sweatshops that refuse to meet minimum standards for wages and working conditions. To prevent the law from becoming merely a "feel good" ordinance, $100,000 has been earmarked in the current budget to provide funding for an additional city staff person and enforcement by an non-profit, non-corporate monitoring agency.

To protect the health and safety of all the workers in the chain of production, the Coalition also successfully pushed for companion resolutions that will maximize the purchase of Fair Trade and organic certified goods. These resolutions passed in July.

What is a SWEATSHOP?
A "sweatshop" is a workplace that repeatedly violates, or commits a severe violation of, laws governing wages, benefits, occupational health and safety, nondiscrimination, or freedom of association.

San Francisco must end taxpayer subsidies of sweatshops!
San Francisco spends up to $1 billion annually on all procurement, which includes firefighter uniforms, MUNI hats, computers and many other goods that may beproduced in sweatshops.

Key elements of the proposed legislation:

• Sweatfree code of conduct signed by all contractors, subcontractors and vendors
• Full scope—must cover all goods procured by the city
• Living wage, adjusted by labor markets
• Rights to assembly and collective bargaining
• Non-discrimination and a ban on child labor
• Safe working conditions
• Enforcement and independent monitoring by a non-corporate affiliated agency
• Multi-city consortium— Bay Area cities can work together to reduce monitoring efforts
• Intent to maximize purchase of locally produced goods
• Preference for Fair Trade and Organic certified products (in companion resolutions) to protect the health and safety of all the workers in the chain of production.

• Workers, both domestic and international, who toil long hours for poverty wages in unsafe and oppressive conditions, with no job security.
• Women and children who make up the majority of sweatshop workers and are the most severely oppressed.
• San Francisco—our city can demonstrate that local democracy can positively influence human rights and international labor policy.
• Activists and unions can use a San Francisco anti-sweatshop law to increase leverage on other Bay Area cities and for organizing drives around the world.
• Responsible contractors—this law would create demand for products produced by businesses that respect worker rights.