Bus shelter politics
Friday, May 24, 2007 The Examiner
Manish Patel
I was very proud of San Francisco when it passed the "Sweatfree Contracting Ordinance" that prevents our local government from purchasing goods produced in sweatshops that refuse to meet minimum standards for wages and working conditions for their employees.
That’s why I was so dismayed to learn last week that San Francisco is considering giving a contract for new transit shelters to Cemusa — a wing of the huge multinational construction company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas.
We know all too well the damage these multinational conglomerates do throughout the world as they exploit workers and strip natural resources — and any hope for a future — from struggling communities. Bechtel Corp., one of the worst, is headquartered right here in our own backyard.
Much was made in the last election of San Francisco values. Surely those values include a respect for the rights of other communities and a willingness to stand up against the use of our local resources to further discrimination and exploitation around the world.
I urge our local leaders to live up to the spirit of our Sweatfree Contracting Ordinance — and our San Francisco values — and disqualify Cemusa from this multimillion-dollar contract.
