Three major labor unions operating in the United States issued a joint statement to Thai Union Group, urging the company to “immediately reform their social and environmental practices” to promote sustainable seafood and avoid human trafficking.
Marc Perrone, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), Rome Aloise, international VP and director of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Mary Kay Henry, international president at Service Employees International Union (SEIU), all issued the statement via Greenpeace. In it, the unions pledged to “stand in solidarity” with Greenpeace, particularly on human trafficking issues.
“We know that environmental and social justice issues are absolutely intertwined and increasingly solutions that protect workers are the same solutions that safeguard the environment and natural resources,” the unions said in their statement.
Both the unions and Greenpeace cited articles from various mass media that have connected human trafficking problems with major seafood producers, including TU. In the joint statement, the unions called on TU to:
- Clean up their supply chains
- Become fully transparent
- Ensure workers the freedom of association and the right to join unions
- Require improved fishing practices
- Stop relying on overfishing and exploited labor to make short-term profits
“It’s increasingly clear that the global tuna industry is out of control, jeopardizing workers, harming marine life and emptying our oceans of fish,” said Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard. “Companies like Chicken of the Sea and its owner Thai Union have the power to change the fishing industry and save lives by insisting on sustainable and socially responsible tuna."
