Three firms agree to pay $213,000 in back wages to foreign student workers at Hersheys plant
Three companies have agreed in settlement to pay more than $213,000 in back wages to hundreds of foreign students for summer jobs they held at a Hershey candy company facility, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday. The settlement also requires two of the companies to pay fines totaling $148,000. Hersheys was not cited because it contracts out the operation of the warehouse and distribution center to Exel, Inc, an Ohio-based company. Exel, SHS Group, and the San Clemente, California-based Council for Education Travel USA agree to pay these back wages to $1,087 at an average of $207 per student.

Ikea Admits Forced Labor was Used in 1980s
Ikea, the popular Swedish furniture company, recently admitted that political prisoners in the former East Germany were used as forced labor to make components of Ikea furniture. Some of the employees were aware. The accusations began about a year ago, stirring more victims to demand compensation for work they were forced to do under the Communist government.

Human trafficking victims freed in prostitution bust
Last week, authorities broke a $7 million three-state prostitution and money laundering ring, rescuing two human trafficking victims and arresting more than a dozen people in New York. The crackdown was a result of a 16-month investigation into Somad Enterprises, Inc., an advertising agency with offices in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania that placed classified ads for five escort services. Approximately half of the $7 million went to Somad, while the other half went to the escort services. Two of the 19 people indicted remain at large.

U.S, Burma agree human trafficking pact
The U.S and Burma have agreed to cooperate on anti-trafficking measures, according to a statement issued by the Department of State, hours before the first visit to Burma by a U.S. president. Burma will use its efforts against forced labor and illegal recruitment of child soldiers while the U.S. pledged to "provide technical assistance, training, and the regular sharing of best practices in the areas of law enforcement investigations, victim/witness interviewing, victim assistance, and trafficking prevention, through U.S. government-funded programs."

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

With A Phone Call, Truckers Can Fight Sex Trafficking
Eight years ago, Willis Wolfswinkel, a truck driver, was parked at a travel center near Detroit when he made a phone calll that changed a life. He called 911 after having two young girls knock on his truck door, bothered by something about those girls. It turns out that Wolfswinkel's phone call marked the beginning of a major investigation. If You See Something, Say Something
 You can also listen to the story. Just click the link.

 Cuts Threaten Scotland Yard's Anti-Trafficking Unit
The future of Scotland Yard's pioneering anti-trafficking unit is uncertain less than a year after David Cameron promised to make Britain a "world leader" in the fight against people smuggling. Senior police sources have voiced fears that the Metropolitan police's flagship trafficking unit, the human exploitation and organized crime command (SCD9), may be forced to lose specialist officers due to budget constraints.  Government figures showed the number being trafficked into the UK was rising. But immigration minister Mark Harper warned that the number of those being prosecuted was still "not enough".

Child Labor Concerns Across Hershey's Supply Chain Prove it Pays to be Proactive

In early October, Whole Foods Market said it has haltered orders of Scharffen Berger chocolates - one of The Hershey Company's artisan chocolate brands - over concerns about child labor in Hershey's West African supply chain. Whole Foods says the chocolates will remain off store shelves "pending receiving further information from Hershey's." Whole Foods's decision came in response to a campaign organized by Raise the Bar, Hershey, a coalition made up of leading nonprofits and advocacy groups. Since 2010, Raise the Bar has mobilized more than 150,000 consumers to send emails, talk store managers, and post handbills at stores around the country demanding that Hershey be held accountable for child labor in its supply chain.

The Dark Side of Chocolate

Monday, the FREE Project hosted a screening of the film The Dark Side of Chocolate, sponsored by George Washington University (GWU) Elliott School Institute for Global and International Studies. 

The film reveals the hidden practices of the chocolate industry, including the use of child slaves on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast. Afterward, there was a question and answer session with Sean Rudolph, Campaigns Director of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF). 

The ILRF is campaigning against two organizations, Hershey's and Whole Foods. Why these two companies? Well, Hershey's owns Dagoba chocolate, an organic high-quality brand of chocolate that makes up a very small percentage of the chocolate products sold by Hershey's and is sold in the Whole Foods markets. Unfortunately, Hershey's has been known to be a participant in child labor and the non-fair trade market through their supply chains. Many other food cooperatives have refused to support Dagoba chocolate until Hershey's proves that it is willing to commit to ending child slave labor in West Africa where much of its chocolate comes from. 

Rudolph mentioned that some of the governments of these African countries are trying to find solutions to the child slave labor problem with cocoa companies. Child labor is a significant issue in West Africa, especially in countries such as the Ivory Coast. An estimated 1.8 million children in West Africa are in the cocoa industry. The First Lady of the Ivory Coast is trying to hold cocoa companies accountable by making it so that these companies have her approval before continuing their work. In Ghana, the government, buys all cocoa products and sets prices. Still, part of the problem is the inequality of the supply chains. The governments of these African countries have some control, but they do not necessarily have as much power over multinational companies as one may think they do. The campaign, called Raise the Bar, Hershey!, seeks to gather support in urging the Hershey Company to commit to ethically sourced, Fair Trade cocoa.

Although I love Hershey's candy, I do not approve of their use of child labor. I've joined the Raise the Bar, Hershey! campaign and have committed myself to not purchasing Hershey's products until the Hershey Company commits to ending this problem.

Support the raise the Bar, Hershey! campaign. Also, support the Bridge to Freedom Foundation by registering or donating to our team for the 2012 DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk!!! Go to sms.kintera.org/btff.