Please provide definitions and discussion of the following terms:
Blank check firm
Anarchism"The Battle in Seattle"
Caribbean Basin Initiative: A 1983 United States policy created by the Reagan Administration that expanded garment production in the Caribbean as part of a general program of anti-communist foreign aid. (Bender and Greenwald, 86)

Central American Free Trade Agreement - CAFTA: It was proposed to promote trade liberalization between the United States and five Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Modeled after the ten-year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), CAFTA is widely considered to be a stepping stone to the larger Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) that would encompass 34 economies. CAFTA must be approved by the U.S. Congress and by National Assemblies in the Central American countries before it becomes law. (http://www.wola.org/economic/cafta.htm)

Coalition: An alliance among entities, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant (Wikipedia definition).

Collective bargaining- Negotiations between a union and management to reach a binding contract (freedom of contract)

Consumer Cooperative (see also "worker-owned cooperative")

Contracting (and sub-contracting): practice that arose within the American apparel industry in the 1960s. Brands source their apparel through contracting manufacturing companies that may themselves subcontract out to smaller production facilities within the USA or around the world. The practice offers the Brands increased flexibility in responding to market shifts and wage pressures. It also reduces industry accountability for abuses such as sweatshops and child labor.

Cooperatives-collectively owned by the workers themselves. Workers have control over their own wages and labor conditions. (global exchange)

Direct action: public, usually in the street, demonstration on some issue.

Equitable-fair and just

Equal Exchange- "The oldest and largest for-profit Fair Trade company in the U.S." (http://equalexchange.com/) The company sells coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate bars in association with worker co-operatives from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Fair Labor Association (FLA): A non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to combine the efforts of industry, civil society organizations, and colleges and universities to protect workers’ rights and improve working conditions worldwide by promoting adherence to international labor standards. The FLA conducts independent monitoring and verification to ensure that the FLA’s Workplace Standards are upheld where FLA company products are produced. Through public reporting, the FLA provides consumers and shareholders with credible information to make responsible buying decisions (www.fairlabor.org).

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (referred to as "the Act" or "FLSA"), is published in law in sections 201-219 of title 29, United States Code. The Act provides for minimum standards for both wages and overtime entitlement, and spells out administrative procedures by which covered worktime must be compensated. Included in the Act are provisions related to child labor, equal pay, and portal-to-portal activities. In addition, the Act exempts specified employees or groups of employees from the application of certain of its provisions (http://www.opm.gov/flsa/overview.asp).

Fair Trade-
(1) "a voluntary program utilized by coffee importers and food companies to create an alternative model for traditionally disadvantaged producers in developing countries, usually small scale farmers.The components include: Targeted purchasing of coffe through democractically organized farmer cooperatives; agreed upon commodity floor prices that provide for a dignified livelihood; direct exports by producers; a promise by importers to make affordable credit available to the farmer cooperatives; a world-wide network for non-profit certifying organizations; a fee paid by importers and wholesalers to cover the cost of certification; a seal that assures consumers that the product was fairly traded" (www.equalexchange.com)
(2)"trading patnerships [that] are based on reciprocal benefits and mutual respect; that prices paid to producers reflect the work they do; that workers have the right to organize; that national health, safety, and wage laws are enforced; and that products are environmentally sustainable and conserve natural resources" (http://www.fairtradefederation.org/faq.html)


Flexibility : the ability of firms to adjust quickly to changes in profitability prospects due to wage pressures, resource costs, market demands, and other factors.

Fluidity - the gendered definitions of roles, their hierarchial order, and the rationale applied to justify them are shaped by the flexible but highly competitive structure of the garment industry, and have been inherently unstable (Bao, 125).

Freedom of ContractGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - GATTGlobal ExchangeHorizontal Integration: The acquisition of additional business activities at the same level of the value chain.Horizontal growth can be achieved by internal or external expansion through "mergers and acquisitions" of firms offering similar products and services. Benefits are economies of scale achieved by selling more of the same product and by sharing resources, increased market power, and reduction on the cost of international trade by operating factories in foreign markets. However, if the industry concentration of firms increases significantly, anti-trust issues may arise. (http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/horizontal-integration/)
International Monetary Fund - IMFIndustrial homework
International Labor Organization (ILO) - branch of the United Nations devoted to researching labor conditions and promoting labor rights around the world.

Labor union - A union (labor union in American English or trades union in British English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers in a particular industry. A union is formed for the purpose of collectively negotiating with an employer (or employers) over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. (www.investordictionary.com)

Labor unions - China - an example would be the ACFTU,All China Federation of Trades Unions (ACFTU), which is the official government-run union in the PRC (Peoples Republic of China).

Labor unions - Mexico - some examples would be the F.A.T., or Authentic Workers Front. FAT has an alliance with the United Electrical Workers in the United States, the goal being to improve conditions in Maquiladoras in Mexico and to defend the jobs, wages, and working conditions in North America.

Labor unions - United States of America - Some prominent examples would be the textile industry union (UNITE HERE!) and the service industry's main union (Service Employees International Union, SEIU).
Labor SolidarityLiberalism and Neoliberalism -
Living Wage: Also called a "livable wage." The concept of a living wage arose in the early twentieth century in response to advanced industrialization and the extreme poverty associated with "unskilled" wage labor. In its current form, a living wage can be defined as a rate of pay calculated to cover the health, food, transportation, child care, and housing needs of the worker. It is commonly far higher than a "minimum wage."

Micro loanNational Consumers' League-created in 1899 by labor groups to raise consumer awarness about sweatshop made products

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) North- Americanpassed Freeas Tradepart Agreementof (NAFTA)Neoliberalismthe -New seeDeal in the USA in 1933. The NLRA created the modern regime of labor relations in the United States. It guaranteed "liberalismcertain labor rights but also regulated unions and neoliberalism"Newset Deallabor Erarelations on a path of stability, rather than mobilization, thus limiting the radical possibilities of the labor movement.

OutsourcingNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Parochiaslism - limited in interests and perspectives

Private company - A company whose stock is held entirely privatley and not traded ona market or exchange.

Progressive Era - 1900-1920 in the United States, a period marked by labor protests and a wave of new legislation to regulate industry and protect labor.

Public company - a company whose stock is traded on the open market.

Runaway shop: A plant transfered to another location, usually another city, in order to destroy union effectiveness, and evade bargaining duties. The best way to prevent a runaway shop is unambiguous contract language which prohibits any move of a plant. (American Rights at Work)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Speed-up - when a factory manager attempts to get more work out of each worker by increasing the pace of the machines ("speeding them up"). The results can be dangerous to employees, though the factory may become more "productive" too.

Stakeholders-somebody or something with direct interest, involvement in something

Strategic research (also "corporate research"): Type of research meant to uncover data, pressure points, and campaign possibilities. At Soka we can use First search "discolusre," Lexis-Nexis, and Proquest for public companies (available through the Ikeda website). For researching private companies, see the LOC sites: http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/company/private.html (for international companies, see the links on the right column of this page).

Strike - (see also "wildcat strike")

Sweatshop - n.
(1) "a workplace 'that violates more than one federal or state labor law governing minimum wage and overtime, child labor, industrial homework, occupational safety and health, workers compensation, or industry regulation'" (United States General Accounting Office, 1994, as quoted in Bender and Greenwald, Sweatshop USA, 5).
(2) "a term long associated with immigrants' jobs, garment work, and arduous, physically demanding toil" (Bender, 20).
(3) A place offering only "'low wages, a long working day, insanitary workshops, and speeded-up workers'" (Frank Tracy Carlton as quoted by Bender, 22).
(4) "any factory where workers' basic human rights to form independent trade unions are violated, or where employees are not paid a living wage--which means enough money to support their families with dignity" (global exchange)

SyndicalismUniversal Declaration on Human Rights - labor provisionsUprising of the Twenty ThousandVertical Integration-a type of ownership in which the means of production are under a common owner. An example of Vertical Integration is American Appearal

Wildcat Strike: An unauthorized work stoppage while a labor contract is still in effect (www.investorwords.com). Wildcat strikes are not authorized by union management and are illegal...[usually] result[ing] from disputes regarding wages and working conditions (www.answers.com).

Worker-owned Cooperative (see also "consumer cooperative") - n.:
A form of business enterprise of any type--service or industrial production--in which the workers directly own and govern the firm. Often synonymous with a collective.

Workers Rights Consortium (WRC): WorldOne Tradeof Organizationtwo -major WTOvoluntary monitoirng regimes intended to limit or eradicate sweatshops (the other being the Fair Labor Association or FLA). The WRC, unlike the FLA, has greater teeth. For example, companies that sign on with the WRC must agree to unannounced spot-checks at their sourcing facilities. The FLA does not require such surprise checks. All inspections under the FLA are announced in advance to the facilities in question.

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ENDNOTES:

Bender, Daniel E. and Richard A. Greenwald, eds. Sweatshop USA: The American Sweatshop in Historical and Global Perspective. New York: Routledge, 2003.