Background: Tens of thousands of Central American banana workers and

their

families face a bleak and uncertain future in the wake of Hurricane

Mitch.

Mitch wiped out nearly all of the Honduran banana production, most of

Nicaragua's and some of Guatemala's. Not only have many workers lost

lives,

family members, homes and/or possessions, and not only do they face

emergency needs with respect to shelter, clean water and food, they also

face an insecure future as banana workers.

While the banana companies are generally getting good marks for

responding

with emergency assistance, there are conflicting reports about how these

companies are responding to the long-term need to rehabilitate damaged

plantations. Some have publicly stated that they intend to remain (e.g.

Chiquita in Honduras), but there have been no public statements regarding

what percentage of farms will be rehabilitated. There are also reports of

threats to leave in other countries as well as reports that banana

companies

are demanding concessions from workers in return for staying. In some

countries, banana companies have reportedly fired workers and are cutting

medical benefits. And while a company may be responding relatively

positively in one country it is not clear that it is doing so in another.

In short, it has not yet been possible to obtain a clear overview on how

the

banana companies are responding in each country. The lack of firm

information is due to a variety of problems, not least of which is that

many

banana union leaders have been working night and day in response to the

immediate needs of their workers; and banana union offices and computers

in

Honduras have been destroyed. Rumors are swirling and it is hard to

separate

fact from fiction. Regardless, the message to the banana companies is

clear:

They should move quickly to assure workers that all their plantations and

those of their suppliers will be rehabilitated, they should not use Mitch

as

a club against their workers and they should provide transitional

assistance.

Urge Chiquita, Fresh Del Monte Produce, and Dole: (a) to pledge in

writing

that they will rehabilitate as soon as possible all plantations damaged

by

Hurricane Mitch; (b) not to use the threat of leaving or abandonment of

plantations to wrest concessions from their workers; (c) to provide

transitional assistance, full medical benefits, other emergency aid and a

minimum level of income support to their workers; (d) to respect all ILO

conventions with respect to worker rights; and (e) to ensure that their

suppliers do the same (note: in addition to owning their own plantations,

these banana companies also buy from third-party suppliers).

Note #1: On November 12, 1998, Chiquita met with the Coordination of

Latin

American Banana Workers Unions (Colsiba) in Guatemala. The meeting had

been

scheduled prior to Hurricane Mitch in order to discuss concerns by the

banana workers, but Mitch was added to the agenda. Leaders of the

coordination say that few concrete actions were taken or promised but

that

Chiquita did pledge to remain in Honduras and Guatemala (it is not

present

in Nicaragua). A separate report on this meeting and next steps in a

Chiquita campaign will be prepared and circulated later.

Note #2: The U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project has offered to serve

as

a conduit for emergency funds intended specifically for banana workers.

Checks may be sent to US/GLEP, P.O. Box 268-290, Chicago, IL 60626 and

earmarked for "Mitch." The money will be forwarded directly to the

Coordination to distribute according to its assessment of needs.

******************

ACTION REQUEST

******************

Following is a letter to the CEOs of each of the three major U.S.-based

banana companies with interests in Central America. Please adapt three

copies of this letter - inserting the correct address information and the

correct salutation at the top and the correct company references in the

body

of the letter - sign the copies and send them to the respective

addresses.

Please also send the signature portion (with your own name and address)

of

any one copy to Campaign for Labor Rights via email <CLR@igc.org or fax

(541) 344-5410. We will forward this information to the U.S. Guatemala

Labor

Education Project.

Contact information:

Mr. Carl Lindner

Chief Executive Officer

Chiquita Brands International

250 East Fifth Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

Fax: 513-784-6754

Mr. Mohammed Abu-Ghazeleh

Chief Executive Officer

Fresh Del Monte Produce

800 Douglas Entrance

North Tower, 12th Floor

Coral Gables, FL 33134

Fax: 305-442-1059

Mr. David Murdock

Chief Executive Officer

Dole Food Company

31365 Oak Crest Drive

Westlake Village, CA 91361

Fax: 310-824-2159

Sample letter (for Dole, in this case):

Dear Mr. Murdock:

Hurricane Mitch is said to be the greatest natural disaster in Central

America in this century. Among the hardest hit have been banana workers

employed directly or indirectly by U.S. banana companies like Dole.

I urge Dole not to abandon any of its operations as a response to Mitch

and

furthermore not to use the threat of abandonment to wrest concessions. I

also urge that Dole: provide transitional assistance, full medical

benefits,

other emergency aid and a minimum level of income support to its workers;

respect all ILO conventions with respect to worker rights; and ensure

that

its suppliers do likewise.

I understand that some U.S. banana companies have been responding well in

terms of emergency relief. I would appreciate learning more about what

Dole

is doing in this area and in terms of the longer-term concerns raised in

this letter.

Thank you for your consideration of my concerns.

Sincerely,

NAME:

ADDRESS: