CANADIAN LABOUR:

SOLIDARITY WITH MONTREAL GARMENT WORKERS:

The following is a further appeal from the UNITE union over the case of garment workers in Montreal. Molly has featured this item before on her blog, and she is happy to repeat their appeal to Men's Warehouse to not close their Montreal factory. Some things deserve repetition.

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Last March, Texas-based men's apparel giant Men's Wearhouse -which owns Canadian retail chain Moores as well as MW Tux -announced it will close Golden Brand, its Montreal factory where suits for the company are made, leaving 540 workers out in the cold. Men's Wearhouse CEO George Zimmer claims they have no choice but to close the factory in order to "remain competitive"- this from a company that reported revenue of $2.1 billion and profits of $147 million last year. Something doesn't add up!

Golden Brand workers have already traveled to the company's headquarters in Houston, Texas and presented a petition to George Zimmer demanding that he keep their factory open. Now they are reaching out to the company's Board of Directors, who also have the power to save the Golden Brand workers' jobs. You may have already supported this campaign by sending Mr. Zimmeran email. Please take the time to send another message - this time to members of the Men's Wearhouse Board of Directors. Add your voice to help us convince these directors that the only responsible thing to do is to keep Golden Brand open!

Below are the Board of Directors to whom we are sending an email to:

George Zimmer; David Edwab; Rinaldo Brutoco; Deepak Chopra,M.D.; Larry Katzen; Michael L. Ray, Ph.D.; William B. Sechrest;and Sheldon I. Stein. You can take action on this alert either via email (please see directions below) or via the web at:

http://action.unitehere.org/campaign/goldenbrandfactory/85xdniw2r7787wjd?

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://action.unitehere.org/campaign/goldenbrandfactory/forward/85xdniw2r7787wjd?

We encourage you to take action by August 10, 2008

Men's Wearhouse is a Socially Responsible Company? Prove it!

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:

If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://action.unitehere.org/campaign/goldenbrandfactory/85xdniw2r7787wjd?

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:

Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email program. Your letter will be addressed and sent to:Men's Wearhouse

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

Men's Wearhouse presents itself as a company that is committed to social responsibility, yet its plans to close Golden Brand Factory reveal the company's decision to prioritize greed over humanity. Men's Wearhouse is a profitable company and does not need to outsource North American Jobs. I hold the Directors of Men's Wearhouse accountable for the way the company treats its workers. Closing this plant will devastate 540 families unless you advise against this decision.Do the right thing and use your power as a Director to save these jobs.

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

CANADIAN LABOUR:

MONTREAL- TELL GEORGE ZIMMER- OUR JOBS MATTER:

Texas based 'Men's Warehouse' which also owns Moores and MW Tux has announced that it will close its Montreal factory. This factory, Golden Brands, has been making suits since 1961, and the corporation is giving little thought to the 600 workers that will unemployed in the service of making still higher profits by moving production to sweatshops elsewhere in the world. Here is the appeal from Unite, the union representing the Montreal workers. You can read more and join the online campaign to pressure Men's Warehouse to keep the factory open by going to http://action.unitehere.org/camapign/menswearhouse?rk=J1ayCvM1jIUcE .

Tell George Zimmer: Our Jobs Matter!
This February, Texas-based men’s apparel giant Men’s Wearhouse – which owns Canadian retail chain Moores as well as MW Tux – announced it will close its Montréal factory where suits for the company are made, leaving 600 workers out in the cold.

Men’s Wearhouse CEO George Zimmer claims they have no choice but to close the factory in order to “remain competitive” – this from a company that reported revenue of $1.9 billion last year. From the same company that has seen its net income more than double between 2005 and 2007 – something doesn’t add up!

TALKING POINTS
By moving its clothing production to countries where low pay is the norm, we suspect that Men’s Wearhouse executives think they can cut costs and pocket larger profits.

Since 1961, workers at Golden Brand factory in Montreal have been making quality suits, helping to build the reputation of Moores and later its parent company, Men’s Wearhouse – and this is how they’re repaid.

You can help workers like Nelia Tavares(see photo above-Molly), who has worked at Golden Brand as a machine operator for 16 years, and her husband who is also employed there.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without this job,” she explains. “The company is forgetting about the workers who have given years of their lives to make the company strong.”