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<P>On Wednesday, more than 300 people died after a garment factory
collapsed in Bangladesh. <STRONG>Yesterday, hundreds of thousands
of people were in the streets demanding safe workplaces.
</STRONG></P>
<P>We know the key to stopping tragedies like this ultimately lies
with Gap, which has refused to sign a building safety
agreement. <STRONG>Sumi and Kalpona went to Gap's
headquarters this week </STRONG>to demand the company sign the
agreement<STRONG>.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Can you help amplify their message</STRONG> by
delivering a letter to the manager of a Gap store near you?</P>
<P><A
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none"
title=http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=1&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR
href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=1&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR"><IMG
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<P> </P>
<P>On Wednesday in Bangladesh, nearly 2,000 workers were trapped as the Rana
Plaza building -- which housed a major garment factory -- crumbled to pieces.
Emergency personnel are still searching for survivors trapped in the rubble,
and<STRONG> the death toll is rising every hour. So far, more than 300 people
have been confirmed killed</STRONG> and hundreds more have been injured.</P>
<P>According to workers who were on the scene, a crack had developed in the
building on Tuesday, triggering an evacuation order. Bank employees were told
to stay home the next day, but <STRONG>garment workers sewing clothes for
major western brands were ordered to return to the production
floor</STRONG>.</P>
<P>Of everything about this tragedy, there is one main thing that makes our
blood boil -- <STRONG>Gap, Walmart, and other retailers have been actively
obstructing reforms that could protect Bangladeshi workers from disasters like
this.</STRONG> For years labor unions, human rights activists and hundreds of
thousands of consumers like us have <STRONG>called on these retailers to sign
the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement</STRONG>, which would ensure
that Bangladeshi garment workers don't have to work in death traps. But
corporations keep refusing to sign, factories keep burning and collapsing, and
workers keep dying.</P>
<P>At this point, <STRONG>Gap is key to the success of this
agreement.</STRONG> It is a major purchaser of Bangladeshi garments, and other
retailers look to Gap for cues on safety standards. Gap was even in
negotiations with labor leaders to join the agreement -- but it inexplicably
backed away.</P>
<P>We need to show Gap that consumers are still holding it accountable for the
deplorable conditions in the Bangladeshi garment industry. If Gap executives
realize we are upset enough by this catastrophe to take time out of our busy
days and talk to managers at our local stores, we will certainly get the CEO's
attention and get the company back to the negotiating
table.<SPAN> </SPAN><STRONG>Let's translate our sorrow and anger over
this catastrophe into action. A few meaningful conversations with Gap managers
could hopefully prevent this from happening again.</STRONG></P>
<P>Can we count on you to deliver a letter to a Gap store, or a location of
one of the other brands Gap owns, Old Navy or Banana Republic?</P>
<P><A style="COLOR: #00abbd; FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"
title=http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=2&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR
href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=2&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR">Click
here to download our letter to store managers and to get further instructions
on delivering it.</A></P>
<P><SPAN><SPAN>In the wake of the Tazreen fire, which killed 112 Bangladeshi
garment workers last November, the SumOfUs.org community mobilized to show
these brands that we are paying attention to the deplorable conditions in
their supply chain. With our help, Sumi Abedin, a Tazreen survivor, and
Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor activist, came to the U.S. to challenge
brands to take responsibility for their workers' safety. Retailers don't want
to listen to them, but this latest tragedy shows how urgent these reforms are.
Gap might not have sourced from Rana Plaza, but if it doesn't sign the
building safety agreement,<STRONG> a similar disaster could strike a Gap
supplier any day.</STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P>It would be easy for Gap to<STRONG> ensure that that people making its
clothes have access to fire extinguishers and unlocked doors and other basic
fire safety precautions that we take for granted</STRONG>. Other retailers,
like the German retailer Tchibo and PVH (which own Calvin Klein and Tommy
Hilfiger), have already signed on to the Bangladesh Fire Safety Agreement.
This agreement funds independent monitoring and investments in the most basic
safety precautions. But instead of joining this existing program, Gap struck
out on its own, <STRONG>creating a program that's not accountable to anyone
except Gap</STRONG> shareholders.</P>
<P>Yesterday, <STRONG>hundreds of thousands Bangladeshi workers walked
off the job and took to the streets</STRONG> demanding justice. They're
marching on government offices and the headquarters of the country's main
manufacturer's association. Meanwhile, Sumi and Kalpona were in San Francisco,
rallying with their allies at Gap's corporate headquarters. All of them have
<STRONG>one simple message: no one should die making clothes. We want that
message to echo across the globe.</STRONG></P>
<P>Will you join us?<STRONG><BR></STRONG></P>
<P><A style="COLOR: #00abbd; FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"
title=http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=3&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR
href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/1573?t=3&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR"
target=_blank>Yes! Sign me up to drop off a letter at a Gap store.</A></P>
<P>Thanks for standing up for workers everywhere,<BR>Rob, Kaytee, and the rest
of us</P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P>****************************************<BR>More info:</P>
<P><A title=http://act.sumofus.org/go/1624?t=4&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR
href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/1624?t=4&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR">"Rescuers
Still Hope For Survivors In Bangladesh Collapse,"</A> NPR, April 26<BR><A
title=http://act.sumofus.org/go/1623?t=5&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR
href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/1623?t=5&akid=1624.282876.uFwRrR">"Big
brands rejected Bangladesh factory safety plan," </A>Yahoo! News, April 26</P>
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