Amanda Martin

Luz Marina Peñalosa

The Carolina Peace Resource Center is proud to sponsor a talk Thursday, Oct. 12 by Luz Marina Peñalosa, Colombian Organizer, “Trade, Women, and Labor Reform in the Flower Industry”. The talk will be translated by Witness for Peace worker and former CPRC director Amanda Martin. Luz and Amanda are scheduled for a press interview Thursday morning, followed by 1:00 p.m. lunch at the Columbia College Cafeteria; they will speak at three different locations and will attend an evening reception:

1:30 Columbia College Student Union (B106)

3:00 USC Spanish House (McBryde Quadrangle B (Blossom St. at Sumter)

4:45 Benedict College, N.A. Jenkens Board Room (Library, Second Floor )

7:00 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (Heyward & Woodrow Streets). Reception for Luz Marina Peñalosa and Amanda Martin

The general public is invited to a fair trade celebration in honor of Luz Marina Peñalosa and Amanda Martin Penaloza, following the daytime talks on "Women, Trade, and the Flower Industry in Colombia" (3pm at the USC Spanish House) on Oct. 12.

The party will start at 7 p.m. at the Universalist Unitarian fellowship (at Heyward and Woodrow).

Ten Thousand Villages will be selling their fairly traded global arts and crafts. Floral and Hardy Farm, familiar to local market customers, will be selling locally grown bouquets. Delicious savory and sweet a la carte items from shops such as Al Amir, Rosewood Market, Ben & Jerry's, and Tios; local beer; fair trade wine and coffee; and fair trade chocolate will also be available for a donation. In addition to a silent art auction and white elephant table, Lamb's Bread will be selling eclectic arts and natural supplies. Free salsa lessons and dancing take place from 7pm until the event ends at 9pm. Visit www.carolinapeace.org for more information.

For the reception we are asking people to donate $15-$25, or else get admission and a CPRC membership for $35, plus a free gift; but even a $5-7 donation (the average price of a movie ticket) would be helpful.

flyer

During two years working for Witness For Peace, Amanda has documented social injustice, advocated for the voiceless, and led U.S. delegations in Colombia. Luz works for CACTUS in Bogotá to improve the conditions for workers in the flower industry. Most workers are women, many the heads of households without other options for income. The women and their families face great health risks--including exposure to pesticides--for poverty wages. CACTUS does research, education, communication and organization with flower workers and the local communities that are affected by the industry.

The Flower industry arrived in Colombia in 1960, landing in the Savannah of Bogota, where water is abundant and there is easy access to paved highways and an international airport. Flowers were recommended by the World Bank and IMF as an agroindustrial export to generate income to pay off the Colombian debt. ¨Flor America¨, a US company, brought US investments into the agricultural export model. Tax breaks and tariff cancellations paved the way for increased profits and no investment in local infrastructure.

The industry created jobs and people migrated to flower growing areas. However, municipal development did not grow at the same pace and public utilities for the increasing population are not sufficient. The quality of life has dropped as the population increases and the resources remain static. Workers are contracted from other municipalities, transported to work in a town that is not their own. This decreases complaints of environmental damage by the industry, as people leave their job each day and are not directly affected by the consequences.

Over 30 years ago, Colombia became the principal flower exporter to the US and the second largest flower exporter in the world (to Holland). These exports generate over $700 million annually, making flowers the second largest agricultural export after coffee, 3.3% of total Colombian exports.

There are 94,300 workers directly employed in the floral industry, 15% of whom are union members. 60,000 are female. The average age is between 20 to 39 years. 89% of these jobs are manual labor. 77% of the manual jobs are held by women. Including indirect hires, there are 200,000 people working in the flower industry. This represents about one million Colombians who depend on the salaries of these workers.

In 1998, the US company DOLE Fresh Flowers bought out Flor America, buying up 30% of Colombian flower production. Their Colombian companies are Splendor Flowers and Fragrancia. 5 of the 30 largest flower exporters are owned by Dole. The ¨Caribbean Commercializer¨ in Fontibon, Bogota, is owned by Dole and is the largest export company for bouquets. They hire cooperative workers at less than minimum wage ($180 per month in Colombia).

The Savannah of Bogota and the department of Antioquia are the largest flower producing regions of Colombia. The top three export flowers include the pompom, rose, and carnation. 82% of the exports go to the USA, 9% to Europe, and 3% to Canada. 95% of all Colombian flowers are exported. 6,544 hectares of Colombian soil are dedicated to flower cultivation. Two out of every three flowers sold in the USA are Colombian.

The production cost of one rose is 18 cents. This rose is sold to the US for 55 cents, and resold for $5 per stem in the US. A dozen roses costs $60 in the US, representing one-third of the monthly salary of a flower worker in Colombia.

CACTUS, born in 1996, was the result of a European campaign to improve labor and environmental conditions in the flower industry. A campaign to raise awareness of corporate responsibility and flower workers conditions resulted in CACTUS. CACTUS is working with the floral workers for dignified working conditions and a fair wage. There are four work areas:

1. Judicial: Technical legal assistance for workers and analysis of cases of exposure to chemicals.

2. Research: Impacts of agrochemicals on people and the environment, labor rights, export model.

3. Communication/Education: International, national, & local community education campaigns, publications.

4. Lobbying: Political actions, interaction with flower companies, international campaigns to pressure companies to improve working conditions.

CACTUS is representing three cases of women workers who were poisoned by exposure to toxic agro-chemicals on the job. Cactus´ former director visited the US Congress in 2005 to discuss ATPDEA and FTA impacts on the floral industry and workers rights. He was invited by the AFL-CIO and USLEAP.

UNTRAFLORES is the umbrella organization for flower workers unions. It includes SINTRASPLENDOR, SINTRAFRAGRANCIA, and SINTRACONDOR among many others. There are 500 flower companies in Colombia. 170 of these are represented in UNTRAFLORES.

ASOCOLFLORES is the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters. Of the 500 export companies, 200 are big, and 5 are huge. At the end of 2004, The US government decided to financially support the ASOCOLFLORES program of ¨Cultivating Family Peace¨ which began in 1999. The program teaches workers, their families, and their communities how to handle conflict in the workplace and in the home. USAID donated $1 million to expand this program.

CACTUS organized a protest in front of their office in 2006, in opposition to the hiring of cooperative workers instead of contracted workers. 30% of Colombian flower workers are cooperative hires. These cooperative workers are denied the right to collective bargaining, organizing, and striking. Their contract is for a short time- one to three months- and their benefits are defined through the cooperative, with no workers rights.

The FTA will not guarantee a minimum wage, nor access to health care or basic workers rights. The floral industry currently enjoys Preferential Treatment under ATPDEA. ATPA, the Law of Andean Commercial Preferences, was passed in1991 and renewed in 2002 as ATPDEA. This eliminated tariffs for certain Colombian exported goods and is scheduled to end on December 31, 2006. ATPDEA was voted on by Congress periodically. Under the Free Trade Agreement, ATPDEA will become permanent, with no periodic voting.

Under ATPDEA, the flower companies are allowed to import agrochemical products without paying taxes on them. They also use huge quantities of water for the flower production at no cost, despite the cost incurred to the municipal water supply. The same amount of water used to maintain 10 hectares of flowers (22 acres) for one year could sustain a population of 660,000 people. No taxes are paid by the companies to the municipalities for this service. The average tariff paid on exported Colombian products is 12%. Flower companies enjoy tariff-free status. Toxic chemical waste is poured into the local rivers and soil at no cost to the company but at great cost to the local environment and population. Furthermore, US companies are benefiting from this tariff free status. Dole is one of the largest flower companies in Colombia, owning one third of the market. The competitive advantage of a workforce with no guaranteed labor rights or workplace standards allows the flower companies to continue exploiting their workers. The Colombian labor reform laws extended the workday until 10pm, thus cutting overtime pay (no bonus between 6-10pm) and cutting Sunday wages from double wage to 175%.

As the race to the bottom continues in terms of flower production, lower cost of labor, increased workload and hours, and increased amounts of land dedicated to flower cultivation, the amount of land dedicated to food production in Colombia dwindles. Food security will become an increasing concern for Colombians. Mono-cropping has negative effects on the soil and the environment. The amount of plastic garbage produced from the hundreds of square kilometres of greenhouses is not sustainable for the Savannah ecosystem. The amount of agro-chemicals used in flower production destroys native vegetation and takes 80 years recuperate the land after continued exposure. Underground water supplies are also contaminated by the chemicals.

The number one occupational health risk in Colombia is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Motion disorders, including back pain. Both of these disorders have a high incidence among flower workers. Workers who complain of these disorders are often fired. In the past, it was required for a woman to have a pregnancy test before being hired. Some companies required a tubal ligation. No independent health studies have been conducted to determine the incidence or prevalence of birth defects among pregnant flower workers exposed to on the job chemicals.

From 2005─2006, the flower industry in Colombia grew by 6.1%. 25% of the annual flower sales occur around Valentines Day. CACTUS has launched an international campaign to recognize February 14 as Flower Worker´s Rights Day. Ecuador, England, Austria and Germany have supported the campaign. The British NGO ¨War on Want¨ supports the campaign through writing letters, postcards, and hosting speakers tours in Europe and the US. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of purchasing Colombian flowers as a political act- at what environmental, labor, and food security costs are these flowers produced?

The goal of the Valentine´s Day campaign is not to boycott the Colombian flower industry, but to raise consumer awareness. The public relations campaign of ASOCOLFLORES has spent enormous amounts of money to paint an image of the happy flower worker, but the reality is quite different, according to UNTRAFLORES representatives in Facacativa, department of Cundinamarca.

FIAN, a German NGO, is focused on food security issues. They brought international attention to the Colombian flower company, Benilda, which was denying its workers the right to organize. They called and visited the company in Colombia. Untraflores was born out of this. In 1996, the Clean Flowers Campaign began in Europe, with a coding system for flowers produced under adequate working conditions. In the US, this coding system is nonexistent.

In 2001, the ¨Flor Verde¨or ¨Green Flower¨label was created by ASOCOLFLORES to denote sustainable environmental conditions for flower production. Specifically, the label represents an effort to control water and chemical consumption in flower production. 60 companies are certified under this code. This evaluation system is not monitored by an outside party nor does it include working conditions or workers rights, especially in terms of the right to organize. Work load and work hours have increased while wages have dropped, to make the Colombian flower market more competitive. The label carries no obligation for companies to agree to working conditions. It is a marketing strategy for consumer recognition. The prepared visits for the monitoring body do not represent a change in working conditions. In March 2006, Colombian politician Piedad Cordoba presented the UNTRAFLORES campaign to Congress. In November, 2006, a Colombian Congressional session on Women worker´s rights will be held in Bogota. US congresswoman will participate.

flyer