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"LOOKING BEHIND THE LABELS" - A WEEK OF SCREENINGS ACROSS THE USA ON SWEATSHOPS

WITNESS (http://www.witness.org), in collaboration with Campaign For Labor Rights, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Global Exchange, UNITE!, Behindthelabel.org and Mediarights.org, is organizing a coordinated week of screenings of 'Behind the Labels: Garment Workers on US Saipan', a new video produced/directed for WITNESS by Tia Lessin. a new WITNESS-produced video.

During the week of April 24 - May 1, "Looking Behind the Labels Week," there will be over 30 screenings across the USA, on campuses and in communities, as well as a national media outreach campaign. On May 21 these screenings will be followed up with a briefing/showing on Capitol Hill. At all screenings information will be provided on how to take concrete action on the issues seen in the video including pressing for responsible behavior by the GAP, and for legislative reform.

"Behind the Labels: Garment Workers in US Saipan," by WITNESS and Director/Producer Tia Lessin, with narration by Susan Sarandon, exposes how thousands of Chinese and Filipina women pay high fees to work in the garment factories on the Pacific island of Saipan - the only U.S. territory exempt from U.S. federal minimum wage and immigration laws. The clothing they sew, bearing the 'Made in the USA' label, is shipped duty and quota free to the U.S. for sale by the GAP, J. Crew, Polo, and other retailers. Hidden camera footage and garment worker's personal stories, reveal a world of
indentured labor on the US territory of Saipan, where 14 hour shifts, payless pay days and lockdowns are routine. "Behind the Labels" takes the story from the sweatshop floor to the streets, where protesters across the US and throughout the world, wage an ongoing battle against irresponsible globalization.
Excerpts from the video can be seen in the RIGHTS ALERT section of www.witness.org

FOR MORE DETAILS ON LOCAL SCREENINGS, SEE THE LINK IN THE RIGHT-HAND "NEWS" SECTION OF THE WITNESS HOMEPAGE at http://www.witness.org **

** FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEEK CONTACT
witness_sweatshops@hotmail.com**