Solidarity Center partners SITRAJERZEESH and the Honduran General Confederation of Workers signed a landmark agreement with Russell Athletic/Fruit of the Loom, Inc., the largest private employer in Honduras. The signing ended a year-long campaign protesting the controversial closure of the company’s Jerzees de Honduras apparel factory.

	SITRAJERZEESH President Moises Montoya, flanked by Vice President Norma Mejia and Negotiating Committee member Mirna Chavarria,  shakes hands with Rick Medlin, VP of Manufacturing for Russell Athletic/Fruit of the Loom, Inc., after signing a historic agreement to protect worker rights in the Honduran garment industry.

Jerzees de Honduras workers formed their union in 2007, overcoming repressive employer tactics and obstacles to official registration. In 2008, in the midst of the union’s first contract negotiations, the company declared an impasse at the bargaining table and announced that the plant would close, ostensibly for economic reasons. A subsequent investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent monitor of codes of conduct, found significant and rampant violations of workers’ associational rights at the factory and concluded that the plant closure was due largely to anti-union motives.

In July 2009, with the support of the Solidarity Center and other U.S. allies, the union and the company began to discuss a settlement. Under the terms of the agreement, signed on November 14, 2009, Russell Athletic will open a unionized apparel factory in Choloma, Honduras, rehire a significant number of the 1,200 former Jerzees de Honduras workers, and improve respect for workers’ associational rights in all of its facilities in Honduras.

An agreement of this magnitude is a rarity in Central America, where worker rights violations are rarely brought to justice. “This is a significant achievement for unions in Honduras, particularly in the maquila (garment) sector, which has largely closed spaces for unions,” stated SITRAJERZEESH President Moises Montoya. “This agreement has no precedent. In this effort, our union’s unity has been crucial, as are the solidarity and international support that we have received. We are deeply grateful and indebted to our U.S. allies, including the Solidarity Center, for this incredible accomplishment.”