The Resources for Research and Organizing have been selected with the aim of providing essential information and addresses especially for those engaged in action, organization and conscientization about multinationals as well as in action oriented research. In this section of the Guide, we are listing groups and organizations first and describing the written and audio-visual resources and other services they provide. Most of these groups and organizations are engaged in ongoing work on multinational corporations, and will be producing further materials in the future. Following the groups and organizations, the resources are arranged by periodicals, books and pamphlets, and audio-visuals.
Resources on the pharmaceutical industry are listed under the Health section. A special section of this guide deals with migration and tourism.
resource centers
Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC)
2 Man Wan Road 17-C, Kowloon, Hong Kong and 464 9th
Street, Oakland, California 94612, US.
The AMRC, established in the Fall of 1976 in Hong Kong, has built up an impressive data base on the activities of multinational corporations in Asia. It systematically surveys the most important daily papers in East and Southeast Asia and publishes a quarterly magazine Asia Monitor, covering trends and developments in each country of Asia in the field of foreign investments, economic development patterns and transnational enterprises. The Asia Book Monitor, a supplement to the Asia Monitor, is a quarterly review of books about Asia and related economic, political and social issues. In-depth reviews, prices and ordering information make this a valuable resource. Subscriptions: US$18 surface mail personal; $30 for libraries and non-profit organizations.
In 1976, AMRC published America in Asia, vol. I, a research guide on US economic and military activity in Pacific Asia. Vol. 2, a handbook on facts and figures on US economic and military activity in Pacific Asia, is in preparation.
AMRC also has a special project on Occupational Safety and Health in Asia's Chemical Processing Industry. In 1980, it launched a research and publication project on the US military presence in Asia.
In late 1982, the AMRC produced a Primer and a Case Study on problems of health and chemical hazards in the electronics industry. Especially useful for health workers and labor organizers, the easy-to-use and graphic Primer combines detailed information on jobs health hazards and appropriate protective measures. It details the hundreds of chemicals used in electronics industries, how they are used, their effects and what workers can do to protect themselves. The Case Study, which is also available in Chinese, describes the action taken by a community health center in Hong Kong in an attempt to deal with health hazards in the electronics industry. While these books focus on Asia, much of the information is applicable worldwide.
Asian Social Institute
1518 Leon Guinto Street, Malate, Manila, Philippines.
Among the numerous slideshows produced by the Institute on the situation of the Philippines, there is one of particular interest in the area of agribusiness: Saging (Banana). This is an analysis of the condition of workers in the banana industry, the injustices and exploitation committed against them by the company and their helplessness against an enemy which has not only power and money but the government on its side.
Center for the Progress of Peoples
48 Princess Margaret Road 1/F, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: 3 - 7145123-4
Among the activities of the Center for the Progress of Peoples is a study on women workers in electronics factories in Asia being carried out by Sr. Christina Tse. The first part of the study, already completed, focused on the mechanisms used by the electronics industry to control workers in factories in Hong Kong, particularly Fairchild. An important part of the study was conducted by involving the workers themselves in the research project. The aim was not merely to get a better and more reliable way to gather facts, but also to help the workers reflect on their work experience and environment and initiate a conscientization process. The report of the study entitled The Invisible Control is available from the Center. Price US$ 2.40. Discounts for third world and bulk orders.
Another book by Sr.Christina Tse is Reflections on Japanese Management: Letters to a Woman Worker (1982). Written in letter form, the book relates the author's insights into the manipulation of workers, especially women, in Japanese firms, gained through interviewing women workers. Price: US2.50 plus postage.
The Center also helps to link up workers and organizers in multinational corporations, particularly in Asia, by passing on requests for assistance from workers in one factory to others working for the same corporation elsewhere. It prepares reports on working conditions in the factories which can be used by organizations of workers.
The Center's newsletter,Asia Link, published six times a year, contains short news items on workers' struggles and on the Center's activities. Subscription rates are: outside of Asia US$3, Asia $1.50, Hong Kong $1.
Centre de Recherche sur L'Amerique Latine et le Tiers Monde
(CETRAL)
35 rue des Jeuneurs, 75002 Paris, France.
A research center on Latin America and the third world, CETRAL has produced a number of studies on agribusiness, including "Le Lait et Nestle en Columbie" (69 pages); "La Production du lait au Bresil. Le Cas Nestle" (135 pages); "L'Agroindustrie de la viande au Honduras" (106 pages); "La Structure agro-industrielle au Venezuela" (109 pages). Most of these studies are also available in Spanish from CEESTEM- Centro de Estudios Econornicos y Sociales del Tercer Mundo, Co. Porfirio Diaz 50, San Jeronimo-Lidice, Mexico 20 D.F., Mexico. CETRAL also produces a quarterly journal Amerique Latine on the political and economic situation of that continent as well as on transnationals. Price per copy for the journal and the studies: 30 francs in France, 35 abroad.
The Centre on Transnational Corporation
Room BR-1005, United Nations, New York, New York 10017, USA.
"The Centre on Transnational Corporations is an autonomous body within the United Nations Secretariat that serves as a focal point for all matters related to transnational corporations, and acts as secretariat to the Commission on Transnational Corporations. The objectives of the work program are to further the understanding of the nature of transnational corporations and of their political, legal, economic and social effects on home and host countries and in international relations, particularly between developed and developing countries; to secure effective international arrangements aimed at enhancing the contribution of transnational corporations to national development goals and world economic growth while controlling and eliminating their negative effects; and to strengthen the negotiating capacity of host countries, in particular the developing countries, in their dealings with transnational corporations." The Centre on Transnational Corporations publishes The CTC Reporter. Price US$ 3 per issue.
It also publishes studies such as the 242 page report on Transnational Corporations in Food and Beverage Processing showing the extent and impact of these industries in developing countries. Thoroughgoing and documented in detail. Price: US$17.
Christian Conference of Asia - Urban Rural Mission (CCA-URM)
57 Peking Road 5/F, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Actively involved with workers and their organizations in Asia, the CCA-URM office in Hong Kong has a great deal of information available on women and multinationals in Asia. It has also produced some excellent books on the issue including Minangkabau! Stories of People vs TNCs in Asia, a 154 page book which intersperses recent case studies of multinationals in Asia with a clear and concise overview of the issues. It covers areas such as the reasons why corporations are investing in Asia, the myths of benefits to the third world countries, the mechanisms for dominating the economy, and actions people are taking to combat the negative effects of multinationals. Price: US$ 2.
Struggling to Survive: Women Workers in Asia is another valuable and highly interesting book. This is a 62 page compilation of actual stories of the struggles of women workers in various countries of Asia. It gives details about their working conditions and treatment and recounts their attempts to organize for their rights. Besides description, the book gives background and statistical information as well as analysis and suggestions for organizing. Price: US$1.
Tea and Poverty (1980) by Nawaz Dawood is a study of the tea "plantations and the political economy of Sri Lanka." It documents the growth and development of this industry which employs great numbers of women in often extremely exploitative conditions. Price: US$5 From the Womb of Han: Stories of Korean Women Workers (1982) is a collection of historical articles, interviews and stories, many of them told by the women workers themselves. Price: US$1.50.
Christian Conference of Asia - Urban Rural Mission (CCA-URM)
2-3-18 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku.ku, Tokyo 160, Japan.
The struggles of the women workers at the Dong-II textile factory in Inchon, South Korea have been supported and documented by the CCA-URM in their newsletter Voices and in other publications. The ISIS International Bulletin 10 on "Women and Work" reprinted several documents on the case of these women who, when they attempted to organize and elect women to the leadership of their union, were brutally attacked by management and by male workers. They appealed for and received international publicity and support for their struggle which spans several years of educational and organizing work as well as strikes, occupation of the factory and direct confrontation with management. The experiences they share, both their victories and their failures, clearly illustrate the problems of organizing in repressive economic and political situations.
Citizens' Alliance for Consumer Protection
P.O. Box ;3153, Manila, Philippines.
This local consumers' union has several study/action groups: energy and public utilities, health and medical services, food and nutrition, entertainment and tourism, finance. It is an example of what local action groups are doing.
Consumers'Association of Penang(CAP)
27 Kelawei Road, Penang, Malaysia.
CAP is a local consumers' union. It publishes a monthly paper Utusan Konsumer containing news and features on health, food, complaints, prices, environment, and other vital consumer issues. Recent issues focused on sex tourism and on infant formula.
Contemporary Archive on Latin America (CALA)
1 Cambridge Terrace, London NWl 4JL, England.
CALA's Data Bank Project aims at monitoring and exchanging information about the activities of multinational corporations in Latin America. Information from relevant press and other sources is systematically monitored, clipped and cross-indexed by centers throughout the region, and the final indexes and clippings are brought together in a publication.
Corporate Data Exchange (CDE)
198 Broadway, room 706-7, New York, New York 10038, USA.
CDE investigates economic concentration and corporate control. It serves as an information clearinghouse for public interest groups, labor unions, churches, community activists and others who attempt to study or influence corporate behavior. The CDE has published so far a series of stock ownership directories (agribusiness, transportation industry, energy, etc.), a handbook on US bank loans to South Africa, and a report on the pension fund investments in the US.
Counter Information Services (CIS)
9 Poland Street, London Wl, England.
CIS publishes regular "anti-reports" with company profiles or trend descriptions in the various industries. Its issue on The New Technology is particularly interesting, dealing with the devastating social impact of the use of microprocessing in the industrial and white collar sectors, affecting job opportunities especially for women. The report also discusses the corporations' profits and state promotion of this new technology.
Data Center
464 19th Street, Oakland, California 94612, USA.
Tel: (415) 835-4692.
The Corporate Profiles Project of the Data Center documents the activities of industrial and financial corporations in the USA and abroad. Each profile covers a wide range of aspects on a particular corporation. The Data Center has extensive documentation on labor, human rights, foreign investment and multinationals and provides a search service for information. Contact the Center for prices.
Earthwork/Center for Rural Studies
3410 19th Street, San Francisco, California 94110, USA.
This is a clearinghouse of information and resources on land and agricultural issues with books, periodicals, films, slideshows and video tapes available. Of particular interest is the slide/tape show Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?, which examines the multinational corporation Gulf and Western and its involvement in agricultural exploitation in the Dominican Republic. 35 mins. 1976.
East-West Center
1777 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96848, USA.
The Culture Learning Institute of the East-West Center, a national educational institution established by the US Congress in 1960, sponsored a research project on the "Impact of Transnational Interactions" in 1979 and 1980. The research concentrated on the electronics industry and its impact on women workers and a number of useful working papers are available from the Center on this issue. These are: Silicon Valley's Women Workers by Susan S. Green; Electronics: The International Industry and The Electronics Industry in New Zealand by Mary Alison Hancock; and The New International Division of Labor and the U.S. Workforce by Robert T. Snow.
In her paper, subtitled "A Theoretical Analysis of Sex-segregation in the Electronics Industry Labor Market, " Susan Green attempts to examine in a more profound way than has been hitherto done, the international division of labor by linking it to the sexual division of labor. She also briefly reviews the contributions of socialist feminist labor market theory to the issue and questions the assumption that the employment of women breaks down their traditional roles and gives them power.
In her first article on the international electronics industry, Mary Alison Hancock gives an overview of the US firms operating in Southeast Asia. Her second paper examines the dependence of the electronics industry in New Zealand on the international industry and the sexual division of labor and exploitation of women within that industry.
Robert Snow's article deals with the effects of the new international division of labor on the US workforce and asserts that "the question must be posed much more specifically: who are the workers who have gained or lost jobs as a result of corporate decisions to move production overseas?" All of these papers are accompanied by bibliographies, tables and statistics.
In addition, the Institute has produced a 46 page bibliography compiled by Mary Alison Hancock on Women and Transnational Corporations. Unfortunately, it is not annotated, nor are addresses given
IDOC - International Documentation and Communication Center
Via Santa Maria dell' Anima 30, 00186 Rome, Italy.
lDOC is an important source of information and documentation on current international issues such as multinational corporations, human rights, liberation movements and people's struggles both in the third world and in industrialized countries. An independent organization founded in 1962, it specializes in alternative research and information. Its extensive collection of these materials is indexed in a manual system, using computer logic, OASIS. From this collection, it is able to answer information requests and compile bibliographies on request.
IDOC publishes a monthly IDOC Bulletin in English and occasional books. On the issue of multinationals it has published "The Microelectronic Wave" Bulletin no. 1-2, January- February 1981 with overview articles and an excellent annotated bibliography of materials in English, French, Italian and Spanish (28 pages). "Rural Conflicts" Bulletin no. 5-6, May- June 1979 with articles on agrarian reform, agribusiness and development, and an extensive, annotated;bibliography on these issues(50 pages). An updated bibliography on agribusiness (April 1981) is available on request. The Corporate Village, 1977, a 236 page book, deals with transnational control of communication systems. Price: US$8. Bulletin subscriptions: $1 per year, airmail postage $4 extra.
Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT)
1701 University Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA
Tel: (612) 331-2333.
An information and action coalition, INFACT monitors the promotional activities of the baby food corporations, promotes and coordinates campaigns and actions on the infant formula issue and provides a wide range of up to date informational materials on the industry and on actions of non-governmental organizations and the United Nations. In addition to press releases and occasional papers, it produces a monthly newsletter. Also available from INFACT is a one-half hour, three quarter inch video cassette entitled Formula Factor, produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Rental US$ 20. INFACT is part of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) and acts as the US clearinghouse for this.
Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
University of Sussex, Brighton BNI 9RE, England.
As part of its ongoing studies on the subordination of women IDS has produced a number of highly useful materials on women and development and on women, work and multinational industries. It has also been active in organizing seminar on these issues. Among its publications are two excellent bibliographies. Women in Social Production by Adrienne Cooper and Kate Young covers feminist and non-feminist literature on women's work, both waged and unwaged. It was prepared for a study seminar on Women in Social Production in the Caribbean, in July 1980.Women Workers in Export-Orientated Industries in Southeast Asia was prepared by Diane Elson for a seminar on this issue in Sri Lanka, November 1981. Both are compiled and annotated from a feminist perspective and are interesting and highly useful.
Institute for Food and Development Policy
2588 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94110, USA
The Institute for Food and Development Policy monitor agribusiness activities, especially as these influence the peasant communities in the third world. Recent publications include monographs on Chile and on Bangladesh; the Food First Resource Guide (documenting the roots of world hunger and rural poverty and discussing the causes of inequality in control over food producing resources and the solutions to world hunger); World Hunger: Ten Myths by F. Moore Lappe and J. Collins, co-authors of Food First (discussing the ten myth! of "scarcity, over-population, production solutions, food versus environment, rich world versus poor world, foreign aid and passive poor" in describing the causes and solutions to world hunger). Aid as Obstacle by Lappe, Collins and Kinley is subtitled "Twenty Questions about our Foreign Aid and the Hungry" and deals with the way official development assistance is actually hurting rather than helping the poor and the hungry. 1980.
lnstituto Latinoamericano de Estudio Transnacionales (ILET)
Apartado Postal 85-025, Mexico 20, D.F ., Mexico.
ILET is an international, non-governmental organization with programmatic aims to increase the empirical and theoretical understanding of the transnational phenomena, under the following sections: the foreign capital sector; communications industry complexes; the state and TNCs; global studies; political power and processes of change. ILET publishes books, monographs and reports. Of special interest is the book Compropolitan: El orden transnacional y su modelo feminino by Adriana Santa Cruz and Viviana Erazo. A study of the women's magazines in Latin America, this book shows how multinationals use the media to promote an ideology and image of women which they can exploit for their own interests.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
475 Riverside Drive, Room 556, New York, New York 10115, USA.
The ICCR is "an organization of church and religious institutional investors concerned about the social impact of corporations and the application of social criteria to investments." It monitors the social performance of American corporations and produces a wide range of informational materials. ICCR members are also involved in a number of activities such as shareholder resolutions, public hearings and boycotts. The ICCR has been particularly active in the infant formula campaign and has excellent information available. In its monthly newsletter The Corporate Examiner which includes an ICCR Brief highlighting a particular social area and focusing on one or more corporations, the ICCR provides up to date resources and information about action options for issues studies. Subscription: US$ 25, per year.
In 1978, the ICCR published the Agribusiness Manual: Background Papers on Corporate Responsibility and Hunger Issues (231 pages), an important resource for understanding the growth of US-based giant corporations that control food production, processing and marketing around the world, and for getting involved in supporting actions to counter their power. Price: US$ 6.
International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN)
European Clearinghouse: P.O. Box 157, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland
US Clearinghouse: 1701 University Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA.
IBFAN provides an international network coordinating and sharing among groups and organizations the research gathered in monitoring the promotional activities of the baby food industry. It promotes international actions and campaigns on the issue of infant formula and more appropriate infant feeding practices. IBFAN publishes a newsletter and has much useful information and resource material available.
The International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU)
9 Emmastraat, 2595 EG The Hague, Netherlands
IOCU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific: P.O. Box 1045, Penang, Malaysia.
The IOCU links the activities of consumer organizations in more than 50 countries, promoting worldwide cooperation in consumer protection, education and information and the comparative testing of consumer goods and services.
The IOCU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific published in 1980 a booklet entitled Consumer Action in Developing Countries, dealing with such varied topics as drugs, sweetened condensed milk and the relevance of consumer movements to less developed countries. It also propagandizes a Consumer Action Charter, pinpointing five principles as the basis for consumer actions and campaigns: critical awareness, involvement or action, social responsibility, ecological responsibility, and solidarity.
The booklet Appropriate Products is an 80 page report of the IOCU Seminar on appropriate Products held in Penang in March 1982. Before looking at particular cases of appropriate and inappropriate products, there is a discussion of the concept of appropriate product within the framework of appropriate technology.
One of 10 IOCU's action projects is Consumer Interpol a network which alerts people and takes action against the marketing of hazardous products, the dumping or exporting of dangerous goods by multinationals in the third world and health hazards in the workplace. IOCU also publishes Consumer Currents, a monthly digest of information on consumer issues. This is restricted to members of IOCU in the Asia and Pacific region. Of international interest is HAI News, published by IOCU for Health Action International. This network is described in the resources of the Health section of this Guide.
Interreligious Taskforce on US Food Policy
110 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA.
An ecumenical organization, the task force publishes Hunger and Food Policy Notes. While most of these brief overviews of food issues deal with US domestic policy, some are of wider interest. In 1980 Hunger no. 22 dealt with "The International Monetary Fund and the Third World." no. 24 with ''Multinational Corporations and Global Development," and no. 25 with "Which Way the Third Development Decade?" while Food Policy Notes no. 29 gives a bibliography on the International Monetary Fund. These are all short, concise, clear and critical looks at the issue. Good background material for study groups.
ISIS Women's International Information and Communication Service
Via Santa Maria dell' Anima 30, 00186 Rome, Italy and P.O. Box 50 (Cornavin), 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland.
A Women's International Information and Communication Service, ISIS has, among its wide range of resources, a great deal of information and material on women and multinational corporations, sexual harassment on the job and occupational health and safety. It is also in contact with networks, groups and individuals researching and taking action on these issues and is able to provide information about resources actions and research. In addition to this Resource Guide Isis has published two issues of its quarterly ISIS Women's International Bulletin on women and multinationals. ''Women and Work," no.10, focuses on women organizing in their place of work in all continents. "Women and New Technology" (no. 24 in English) looks at the impact of the microelectronics industry on women in both the industrialized and developing world. Both bulletins emphasize the interrelatedness of women's exploitation and of their attempts to organize in all parts of the world. Both contain a rich selection of annotated resource listings. Price per issue:US$ 4.50 for individuals and $ 6.50 for institutions, surface; 6, individuals and $8 institutions, airmail. Bulk rates available on request.
ISIS has also produced Bottle Babies: A Guide to the Baby Foods Issue by Jane Cottingham on the medical, marketing and socio-political aspects of the issue. It includes a section on the action undertaken in industrialized countries and substantial resources. Price US$3. English, French and German.
Mexico-U.S. Border Program
American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA.
This program has a number of materials available on multinational corporations on the United States-Mexico border including two unpublished manuscripts by Maria Patricia Fernandez. These are 1) "Francisca Lucero: A Profile of Female Factory Work in Ciudad Juarez," a 15 page overview and personal examination of the employment of women in "maquiladoras" -partial assembly plants of multinational corporations on the border; 2) "Mexican Border Industrialization, Female Labor Force Participation and Migration," a 26 page examination of the connections among gender, class, family structure and occupational alternatives for both men and women along the Mexican border in the context of its recent industrialization.
Mexico-U.S. Border Program
Mexican Friends Service Committee, Ignacio Mariscal 132, Mexico 1, D.F ., Mexico.
This program monitors the working conditions at the Mexico· U.S. border which since 1965 has been undergoing a rapid process of development known as the "Border Industrialization Program" or BIP. Encouraged by foreign investment! incentives, electronics and textile industries established themselves on the Mexican side. ·These industrial sectors have traditionally been considered "women's work" both in Mexico and in the U.S.
The Mexico-U.S. Border Program of the Mexican Friends Service Committee publishes a Boletin Informativo in Spanish and in English about developments at the border. It also sponsors two research projects: ''Women and Transnational! in Ciudad Juarez," by Jorge Carrillo V ., and "The Reality of the Maquiladoras," by Patricia Fernandez Kelly ("Maquiladoras" are assembly plants). Of interest also is the "Testimony" submitted by Luisa Maria Rivera, director of the program, to the California legislature in October 1980. This 4 page paper describes the exploitation of women in the "maquiladoras".
National Action/Research on the Military Industrial Complex (NARMIC)
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA
NARMIC is a research group within the American Friends Service Committee with a major focus on the corporations which participate in and profit from military involvement in third world countries. Recent NARMIC studies include: Nuclear South Africa, The Philippines, Arming the Third World, Investors in Apartheid. The group has also produced a slide tape show Sharing Global Resources: Toward a New Economic Order which examines the role of US multinational corporations in the development and exploitation of natural resources in the world, particularly in Chile, Jamaica and Appalachia. 25& mins. Price: rental US$ 10; sale $50.
Another slideshow Acceptable Risk? gives an overview of the production of nuclear arms and power with a focus on the corporations which produce them and the people who are affected. 35 mins. Price: US$ 60. Also available as filmstrip. Price:$ 50.
Nationwide Women's Program
American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA
Tel. (215) 241-7160.
The Nationwide Women's Program has as one of its major focuses the issue of women and global corporations, particularly agribusiness and the textile and electronics industries. In October 1978, the Program convened ;a conference on "Women and Global Corporations: Work, Roles and Resistance," out of which has come ;a wealth of resource material. This conference brought together over one hundred women workers, organizers and researchers from the United States and three other countries to examine the role of global corporations, actions and organizing to challenge corporate power, and ways to build communication and support among women working on these issues.The Women and Global Corporations Network grew out of this conference.
In addition, the Program has several excellent and indispensable resources for organizers and researchers. These are:
Study Packet of 24 reprints and articles used as resources and background for the conference, focusing on basic information about global corporations, women's jobs and the textile, electronics and agribusiness industries. It is appropriate both as an introduction to the issue and for deepening understanding of the dimensions of multinationals' impact on women. It can be used for a wide range of women's groups, union groups and classes. Price: US$ 4.
Directory of Resources, both printed and audio-visual, with a listing of conference participants, networks and groups focusing on women and global corporations, particularly electronics, textiles and agribusiness. This 95 page directory is an extremely useful resource with its selected, annotated listings of books, periodicals, articles, films and slideshows. Information on price and how to obtain the resources is included. Price:US 4.50. For postage and handling for both of the above, add 25% of purchase price.
The quarterly AFSC Women's Newsletter contains a special section on "Women and Global Corporations" with information and news about resources," conferences, campaigns and actions. It is an excellent source of information on what women are doing on the issue of multinationals and highly useful for networking among women. In addition, the program has a wide variety of up to date and useful informational materials, both written and audio-visual, including The Corporate Slide Show, a hard hitting look at the advertizing and employment practices of corporations, particularly in relation to women.
North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
151 West 19th Street, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10011, USA.
NACLA publishes bi-monthly a magazine of in-depth studies, the NACLA Report on the Americas. Each report analyzes a particular aspect of the effects that giant banking and corporate investors -with strategic support from the US government - have had on the direction of Latin American development. Recent reports have increasingly emphasized the links between issues of popular concern in the US and conditions in Latin America, demonstrating the need for working class struggles in the US to incorporate demands that are international in scope.
Full issues have been devoted to the apparel, electronics, asbestos, auto and steel industries on a global scale, as well as multiple issues on agribusiness. Corporate studies have included the Rockefeller empire, particularly Chase Manhattan Bank, Cargill, Del Monte, W.R. Grace, among others. In 1980, NACLA devoted many of its issues to understanding the roots of the struggle in Central America.
The September-October 1980 issue is devoted to "Latin American Women." Subtitled "One Myth - Many Realities,"it explores the nature of women's work and the sexual division of labor in Latin America, the largely female labor force in the US-Mexico border industries and how the Latin American
Pacific - Asia Resource Center (PARC)
P.O. Box 5250 Tokyo International, Japan.
The PARC was begun in 1969 to communicate to peoples abroad the struggles in Japan against US-Japanese collaboration in the military domination of Asia, particularly Vietnam. Since then, PARC has expanded to include reports and analyses on the economic and cultural as well as political and military role of Japan in the world, particularly the third world.
PARC publishes AMPO, Japan-Asia Quarterly Review, which continues to be one of the most significant and informative English language publications from the Japanese left (one year 4 issues, surface mail: US$ 12 for individuals, $20 for institutions).
ln 1978 PARC began a five-year action-oriented research project on Japanese Transnationals and their Impact on the Third World, the PARC TNE Project (Transnational Enterprises). The results of the research are published in AMPO as they are completed in order to make them available for use by action groups and people concerned, particularly victims of the activities of transnational enterprises. Study units have been formed and the subjects of study have been defined according to both industrial and geographic criteria. There is also a unit working on women workers and TNCs, centering on the textile industry.
PARC has produced two excellent audio-visuals. Who Owns the Sky, a 25 minute slideshow with English narration, is subtitled "Kawasaki Steel at Home and Abroad." It examines the case of this Japanese multinational's exportation of polluting plants from Japan to the Philippines. Price: US$70 or 20,000 yen. They Will Never Forget, a 8 mm color film with English narration, of 30 minutes, was produced with the People's Film of Thailand. It depicts the women workers' takeover and collective operation of the Hara Jeans factory during the short-lived period of democracy in Thailand. Price: US$ 350 or 80,000 yen, airmail postage included.
Pacific Studies Center
2228 View Street, Mountain View California 94041, USA
Tel: (415) 969-1545.
The Pacific Studies Center is a non-profit activist oriented information center, operating since 1969. It publishes a quarterly, Pacific Research, which focuses on US foreign and military policies, multinational corporations, and the political economy of Asia and the Pacific. It also maintains a library and information files on these subjects. This material is accessible through an Information for Hire service. The Center has recently created the Global Electronics Information Project.
Issues of Pacific Research which are particularly useful for research on the electronics and textile industries include:
"Fairchild Assembles an Asian Empire" by Lenny Siegel and Rachael Grossman, vol. IX no. 2, January-February 1978. This eight page article traces the growth and expansion of Fairchild Semiconductor in the United States and Asia. As one of the leaders in the electronics industry, Fairchild is representative of many other global corporations which bring huge benefits to stockholders and managers in their home countries at the expense of workers at home and abroad. The article gives detailed and documented information on how such corporations operate.
"Philippines: Workers in the Export Industry" by Enrico Paglaban, vol. IX, nos.3 and 4, March - June 1978. This 31 page study focuses on the garment and electronics industries in the Philippines, giving a profile of the industries, examining the conditions of the workers and the particular exploitation of women, and a history of the workers' movement in the Philippines. In addition to statistics the article is documented by statements from workers and management of various textile and electronics firms.
"Changing Role of S.E. Asian Women," vol. IX, nos. 5 and 6, July - October 1978. Published together with Southeast Asia Chronicle, this 32&'page issue is subtitled "The Global Assembly Line and the Social Manipulation of Women on the Job." Rachael Grossman's excellent article, "Women's Place in the Integrated Circuit," reports on the electronics industry and its impact on women in Southeast Asia and the United States, examining corporate policies and control. This issue also contains an article on the growth of tourism and prostitution in the Philippines and one entitled "Orchestrating Dependency" by Lenny Siegel, showing how export-oriented industrialization is being promoted as a development model by the US government, global corporations, and financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.
"Microelectronics Does Little for the Third World" by Lenny Siegel, vol. X, no.2, 1979. This six page essay gives an overview of the export-oriented electronics industry in Asia.
"Delicate Bonds: The Global Semiconductor Industry" by Lenny Siegel, vol. XI, no. 1, first quarter, 1980. This thoroughgoing 26 page study summarizes and analyzes the growth of the semiconductor industry in the USA and abroad.
"Mattel: Not So Swell" by Linda Robbins and Lenny Siegel, vol. XI, no. 2, second quarter, 1980. This good description of the activities of the "runaway" Mattel industry also relates how women's groups have effectively organized pressure on a multinational t improve conditions. The issue also contains an article on competition between the US and Japanese electronics industry and a good bibliography.
Individual subscriptions to Pacific Research cost US$ 10 ($12 foreign surface mail) for eight issues (two years). Institutional subscriptions cost $& 22 ($ 24 foreign). Airmail subscriptions can be arranged at cost. Copies of single issues may be ordered at US$ 1 a piece ($ 1 50 for vol. IX, no. 3 and following) by individuals and$ 2.20 each($ 3.30) by institutions.
Global Electronics Information Project. The project has three key goals: 1) To establish an international network of researchers, journalists and activists concerned about global production in semiconductors and other similar industries. The project intends to link up labor, human rights,and women's groups on an international scale. 2) To produce a pamphlet documenting the structure of the semiconductor industry and its global implications. 3) To develop a program of policy alternatives designed to make the electronics industry more responsive to the needs of workers in rich and poor countries alike. The Global Electronics Information Newsletter is a four to eight page monthly which serves the network of the project. It provides data and short news items about the industry and about research and action. Newsletter subscribers are asked (not required) to donate US$ 5 ($10 foreign airmail).
Southeast Asia Resource Center
P.O. Box 40000, Berkeley, California 94704, USA
Tel: (415) 584-2546.
The Southeast Asia Resource Center is a major source of information on current developments in the countries of Southeast Asia, and on US involvement there. The Center follows and interprets events in the new societies of Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea (Cambodia), and also covers Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Center maintains a mail-order service specializing in hard-to-find books and pamphlets on Southeast Asia. A free catalogue is available on request. The Center publishes the Southeast Asia Chronicle six times a year. Of particular interest is the issue on "Changing Role of S.E. Asian Women," no. 66, January - February 1979, published together with the Pacific Studies Center, with an excellent article by Rachael Grossman on ''Women's Place in the Integrated Circuit" and others on tourism and export- oriented industry. This issue offers a documented look at new corporate strategies for social control on the job, and the attempt to orient every facet of employees' lives around the company's plant. It is a first-hand report featuring interviews with women ;in Hong ;Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, who talk about the impact of these policies on their lives and about their efforts to resist them. It is an excellent resource for organizing and educational work.
Subscriptions: US$8 regular; $6 low income; $ 12 institutions; $10 foreign surface mail; $15 foreign airmail and $20 sustaining.
The Third World Studies Center
Room 3134, Faculty Center, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
The Third World Studies Center is formed by a group of economists and sociologists of the University of the Philippines. They publish regular reports and studies the series, The Philippines in the Third World Papers . Those already published include:
"Foreign Investment the Multinational Corporations in the Philippines";
''Philippines Studies on Transnational Corporations: a Critique";
"Multinational Corporations: a Sociological Perspective";
"The Politics of Major Japanese-Filipino Joint Ventures: a Sociological View."
Transnational Information Exchange (TIE)
c/o Transnational Institute, Paulus Potterstraat 20, 1071 DA Amsterdam, Netherlands, or c/o IDOC, via S. Maria dell' Anima 30, 00186 Rome, Italy.
TIE is a network of research organizations and action groups whose work is European-based and who are gathering information or promoting campaigns on the growing influence of transnational corporations in the world economy. It began in 1978, and in 1979 held a Consultation on the Auto industry in Europe which brought together members of action and research groups and representatives of workers' organizations from seven European countries. A consultation on the Telecommunications industry following the same pattern was organized in June 1980.
TIE's aims are defined as follows:
1. to enable the exchange of information and experience between action and research groups working on TNCs, mainly in Europe, but also between Europe and the rest of the world.
2. to develop a similar dialogue between such groups and workers'organizations and trade unions in order that the type of& information produced may be of most help to those whom it most affects, and that the contacts between workers' representatives from TNC subsidiaries in different countries may be strengthened and more fully informed.
3. to promote discussion and debate on the effects of growing corporate power, both within Europe and in other parts of the world, with a view to exploring the most effective forms of countervailing power.
The network is formed by more than fifty groups throughout Europe, all of them involved in research and/or action on TNCs. Two among them have a permanent task in the network: the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam which produces the TIE Bulletin (US 10 per year, 3 per copy) and IDOC in Rome which coordinates the documentation work. The Bulletin regularly lists resources on women and corporations.
The Transnational Corporation Research Project
University of Sydney, Faculty of Economics, Sydney, Australia 2006.
This research and publications project focuses on the impact of transnational corporations in Asia and the Pacific and on Australian responsibilities in the region. It publishes books, occasional papers and research monographs. Current work is concerned with: transnational corporations in fisheries in the South Pacific; agribusiness in Australia; transnational corporations in Malaysia; advertising and politics in S.E. Asia; Japanese transnational corporations in Australia, etc.
The United Nations Commission on Transnational Corporations
United Nations, New York, New York 10017, USA.
The UN Commission on Transnational Corporations is charged with negotiating a code of conduct which is expected to contain comprehensive and generally acceptable standards regarding the behavior of TNCs and the treatment of TNCs by home and host governments. These standards would require TNCs inter alia,to respect national sovereignty, adhere to economic and social objectives, respect human rights, and abstain from interference in internal political affairs and intergovernmental relations. In addition to these general principles, specific standards would deal with the behavior of TNCs regarding ownership and control, balance of payments and financing, transfer pricing, consumer and environmental protection. In the matter of employment and labor, the standards would refer to the ILO Tripartite Declaration. The Working Group is also developing standards regarding disclosure of information by TNCs to the public, governments and trade unions and other representatives of employees.
Women, and particularly feminists, are beginning to criticize the lack of participation of women in the formulation of this code and to analyze the impact or lack of it that this code will have on the lives of women.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Program for Women
Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 300, A -1400 Vienna, Austria.
The UNIDO Program for Women was presented in July 1980 at the World Conference of the UN Decade for Women in Copenhagen. It upholds the view of "involving females in development planning," highlighting "constraints on women in taking a more active part in industrialization,"recommending "remedies and pinpointing areas where they could make major economic contributions."
Women and Global Corporations Network
American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA
Tel: (215) 241-7160.
Focusing on women in agribusiness, electronics and textiles, the Women and Global Corporations Network brings together people, information and resources in order to break down the isolation of local groups and strengthen individual efforts to combat the negative effects of global corporations on women's lives. The network is:
- Building links among groups in the United States and abroad concerned with the impact of corporations on women.
- Creating a growing store of information and analysis of the ways global corporations touch women's lives.
- Bridging the gap between researchers and activists.
- Offering information and support for women organizing against corporations their own communities.
The Network members provide resources and are actively working with groups on research organizing and analysis. Some of the areas of work are the electronics workers in the Santa Clara Valley, California; the computer industry; data compilation on multinational activity in Latin America; a strike by textile workers in Texas; electronics workers on the US-Mexico border; women farm workers in Arizona. The Network is establishing contacts with labor unions and women's organizations in the United States and other countries.
The Network is an important source of information, resources and technical assistance in the areas of agribusiness, electronics and textiles. Groups and individuals wishing to participate in the network are invited to make contact.
Women and Work Hazards Group
c/o British Society for Social Responsibility in Science (BSSRS), 9 Poland Street, London WI, England.
A good source of information and materials on occupational health and safety hazards, this group has a number of publications available including a Health and Safety Information Packet. They contribute to the Hazards Bulletin. The Politics of Health Groups of the BSSRS has produced a pamphlet Food and Profit - It Makes You Sick which examines the food industry and how this contributes to ill-health in society. Price: 35 pence each.
Women's Occupational Health Resource Center
School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, B-1, New York, New York 10032, USA.
A good general resource for literature on many aspects of women and occupational health including the hazards of housework, this center can provide a list of publications on this issue. While it is US oriented, much of the material has wider application.
World Council of Churches (WCC) Program on Transnational Corporations
World Council of Churches, 150 route de Ferney, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
The World Council of Churches has an ongoing program of research on transnational corporations. "Struggling for the Sharing of Wealth and Power," or simply Sharing, is the title of the news bulletin about the developments of this program. A permanent feature of the Bulletin is different sections reflecting on churches' actions on multinational corporations and workers' opinions on the same subject. There are also reading suggestions and presentations of alternatives (alternative ways of relating to TNCs and alternatives to the TNC's model of development).
The purpose of the bulletin is to create links between churches, church councils and conferences, grassroot communities, research groups, labor organizations, peoples' movements and individual Christians on the issue of transnational corporations and their impact on the life of people.
The program has also produced a packet of reports and studies dealing with Transnational Corporations: A Challenge for Churches and Christians, February, 1982.
World Health Organization (WHO)
Maternal and Child Health, Division of Family Health, I 211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.
WHO has a number of publications, many of which were produced together with UNICEF, on infant feeding and the marketing of infant formula. Infant and Young Child Feeding Current issues, published in 1981, deals with the issues of breastfeeding, appropriate weaning practices, appropriate marketing of breast milk substitutes and provides back ground information on nutritional requirements in infancy, human milk, breastfeeding, supplementation and weaning. It contains the recommendations of the Joint WHO/UNICEF Meeting on Infant and Young Child Feeding of October 1979 and the World Health Assembly resolution of May 1980 on Infant and Young Child Feeding.
Also published separately, the recommendations cover: the encouragement and support of breastfeeding, promotion and support of appropriate and timely complementary feeding practices with the use of local food resources,strengthening of education, training and information on infant and young child feeding, development of support for improved health and social status of women in relation to infant and young child health and feeding, and appropriate marketing and distribution of infant formula and weaning foods.
periodicals
Other periodicals dealing with multinational are listed under the organizations which produce them
Aegis
P.O. Box 21033, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
This quarterly "magazine on ending violence against women" is an excellent resource for information about sexual harassment on the job. It lists books, periodicals, audio-visuals on this issue as well as groups and organizations. While most of the information is from North American sources, Aegis also provides news and resource listings from other countries. One of the groups publishing this magazine is the Alliance Against Sexual Coercion (AASC), a US action and information group working on this issue.
Alternative New and Features (ANF)
4A Bhagwan Dass Road, New Delhi 110001, India.
"A counter-information service from the third world," this monthly service, begun in 1980, aims to respond to the information needs of alternative networks and institutions within and outside India. Among the issues it deals with is the role of multinationals in India.
Asian Women's Liberation
Asian Women's Association, Paste Restante, Shibuya Post Office, Shibuya, Tokyo 150, Japan.
This English version of a Japanese newsletter is produced by the Asian Women's Association, a group of women whose goals are "to liberate ourselves from the oppressive forces in Japanese society and to respond to the desperate cries from other Asian countries." One of their main areas of concern and study is the involvement and impact of Japanese corporations in other countries of Asia and the exploitation of women workers by these corporations. The April 1980 issue contains several reports on Japanese multinationals in South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia as well as on the working conditions of women in Japan itself. It is an effort to build links and solidarity among working women. Price per issue: US$ 2.50 plus postage (Asia and USA $1, elsewhere $1.50).
BALAI Asian Journal
P.0. Box S.M. 447, Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines.
A quarterly Asian journal produced by a team of researchers, BALAI analyzes and presents in popular form issues relating to transnationals and the control of natural and human resources in Asia. Issues include: oil (December 1980), minerals (March 1981), marine wealth (June 1981), forestry (September 1981) and women workers (December 1981).
Food Monitor
350 Broadway, Suite 209, New York New York 10013, USA.
This by-monthly magazine critically examines rural development and food aid programs, agricultural policy and the problems of world hunger.
lbon
P.O. Box S.M. 447, Sta. Mesa Manila, Philippines.
Ibon's distinctive feature is popularization of economic data. It is a fortnightly newsletter aiming at presenting in clear and simple terms which the majority of the people can understand, basic data about the economic situation of the Philippines and its dependence on foreign interests and how this affects the daily life of the people.
Multinational Monitor
P.O. Box 19312, Washington, DC 20036, USA.
This monthly magazine examines the role of multinationals in the global economy, with an emphasis on corporate power in the developing world. Issues include: US export of hazardous industry, foreign investment, women's labor, commodities trading, US foreign policy impact. Each issue contains concise reports on new developments, interviews with activists and corporate managers, relationships between host countries and multinationals; notes on new publications, organizations and in-depth reviews. Subscription: 12 issues US$ 15.
Newsletter of International Labour Studies (NILS)
Galileistraat 130, 2561 TK The Hague, Netherlands.
This newsletter serves to facilitate an exchange of information among scholars concerned primarily with the working class of Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Concerned mainly with transnational capital, the international division of labor, and working conditions in third world countries, the newsletter gives information about the struggles of workers in the third world and links these with struggles in the rest of the world.
The July 1980 issue is devoted to the issue of women and wage labor. It includes a detailed report on a study of women workers and their struggles in South Korea, an extensive bibliography on women and wage labor, and information about research and projects on this issue. Subscription: individuals US$ 10; libraries$35, for 10 issues.
Off Our Backs
1841 Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
A women's news journal with a feminist perspective, Off Our Backs has been covering news and providing information and analyses for the past ten years. It appears monthly. It regularly covers women organizing in the workplace in the USA, especially in textiles and agribusiness. The June and November 1980 issues, for instance, give information on the strike of, mainly black women, workers at Sanderson Farms chicken processing plant in Mississippi. Subscription: US$ 8 regular; $14 contributing; $ 20 institutions; sample copy $ 1.50; 15 overseas sea mail.
Praxis
World Student Christian Federation Asia, Kiu Kin Mansion 12F, 568 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Tel: 3-852 550.
This newsletter of the World Student Christian Federation deals occasionally with the situation of women workers in Asia. The May- August 1980 issue contains several articles on women. Of particular interest is Kumari Jayawardena's analysis of the "Participation of Women in the Social Reform, Political and Labour Movements in Sri Lanka."
Raw Materials Report
P.O. Box 5195, S-102 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
A quarterly magazine which published its first issue in October 1981, this reports on raw materials, particularly metallic minerals and the role of transnational mining corporations. It also analyzes viable alternatives to the existing exploitation of the world's resources. Subscriptions: Swedish crowns 130 per year or 150 airmail, individuals; 380 per year, institutions.
Union Women's Alliance to Gain Equality (Union WAGE)
P .0. Box 462, Berkeley, California 94701, USA.
Dedicated to achieving equal rights, equal pay and equal opportunities for women workers and to building an organization that will represent US working women, Union WAGE produces a bi-monthly newspaper devoted to news of women's activities in unions and union women's struggles to improve women's working conditions. It is usually limited to US issues but includes good coverage of the problems and activities of minority and migrant women within the US union movement. Subscriptions: US$ 3.50 for individuals and$ 7.50 for institutions.
books and pamphlets
Other books and pamphlets are listed under the organizations which produce them.
The Baby Killer Scandal
Andy Chetley, War on Want, 467 Caledonian Road, London N7 9BE, England. 1979.
Published in 1979, this is an update on the original Baby Killer written by Mike Muller in 1974. It gives considerable detail of the role of industry and its activities, and the recent action by boycott and other groups, with the responses of companies. Probably the best complete work on all aspects of the issue with the exception of the situation of women. Price.Ll.50.
Bebes de Biberon
Colmena, Apartado 470, San Pedro, Montes de Oca, San Jose, Costa Rica. 1981.
This is the Spanish-language version of the ISIS publication Bottle Babies: A Guide to the Baby Foods Issue, translated and adapted by a group of Latin American women. It contains a special section on the activities of baby foods companies in Latin America, Latin American resources and an updated section on current action. Price: US$3. Also available from ISIS.
Cigars and Support Hose: Women and the Multinationals
Joyce N. Chinen, American Friends Service Committee, Hawaii Area Program Office, 2426 Oahu Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA. 1977.
A short, clear paper on why women and multinationals is an important issue, this also discusses the importance of a feminist analysis of multinationals.
The Debt Trap: The International Monetary Fund and the Third World
Cheryl Payer, Monthly Review Press, New York 1974.
This book is an expose of the use of international loans to pressure borrowing countries, influence policies, and undermine social change movements.
Decoding Corporate Camouflage: U.S. Busine Support for Apartheid
Elizabeth Schmidt Institute for Policy Studies, 1901 Q Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. 1980.
This 127 page book examines US multinational involvement in South Africa and how it supports the racist regime of that country. Price: US$ 4.95.
Exportinteressen gegen Muttermilch
Arbeitsgruppe Dritte Welt, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Hamburgerstrasse 17, Reinbek/Hamburg 2057, Federal Republic of Germany, 1976
Documents the problems of bottle feeding in the third world; the advertising methods of multinational corporations, especially Nestle; chronology of events in the Nestle trial against the Third World Action Group Bern (Switzerland) in 1974-5.
Export Processing and Female Employment: The Search for Cheap Labor
Helen I. Safa, Wenner-Gren Foundation, 1865 Broadway, New York, New York 10023, USA.
A 23 page paper, this examines women's employment in export industries as a strategy for integrating women into development and concludes that this enhances the possibilities of exploiting women as cheap labor. It gives an overview of the rise and spread of export oriented industries and their impact on women.
Feeding the Few: Corporate Control of Food
Susan George, Institute NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. 1979.
In this 79 page book, Susan George elaborates her argument that "the battle for control of the world food system is now being waged, and its chief combatants are agribusiness and the State."
Femme et Multinationales
Andree Michel, Agnes Fatoumata-Diarra, Helene Agbessi-Bos Santos, Editions Karthala, 22-24 Boulevard Aragon, 73013 Paris, France.
This is an anthology of essays from a meeting in May 1980 of thirty women, including twelve African specialists, on "Women, the International Division of Labour and Development." It is entirely devoted to Africa, and deals with the impact of patterns of trade set up by multinational companies and banks on women in Africa, both in production and consumption. There is careful examination of the way in which "development" is carried out through multinationals and how, for instance, new technologies introduced into rural areas do little to help women. It also looks at food production and agribusiness in Africa, the role of women in agriculture in France, and the textile industry.
In her introduction, Andree Michel sums up by saying: "Multinational banks and companies are able to use a panoply of techniques: publicity, mass media, development planning, expertise in science and technology, to extend and reinforce all over the world western values, needs and models of development which are indispensable to their continuing economic domination."
Fight Back Says a Woman
Clotil Walcott, Institute of Social Studies, 251 Badhuisweg, The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.(070) 572201. 1980.
This is a compilation of the writings of a militant woman trade unionist in the Caribbean. In them she recounts her struggles against the injustices and the exploitation of workers, especially women, in the factory where she worked. The writings span the period 1963-1980. Her wish is that her experiences maybe a lesson and a guide for other workers.
Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain
Amrit Wilson, Virago Publishing Co. Ltd., S Wardour Street,London WIV 3HE, England. 1978.
This book is about Asian women in Britain. The third chapter particularly speaks about the plight of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women who work in factories and sweat shops. Asian women are extensively quoted as they recount their experiences with discriminatory employers and wages, atrocious working conditions, and unionizing and strike attempts at a number of plants.
The Halfway House Mncs, Industries and Asian Factory Girls
Soon Young Yoon, United Nations Asian and Pacific Development Institute (UNAPDI), Bangkok, Thailand. 1979.
Based on studies of young women workers in multinational export industries in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, this page paper concludes that the problems of workers stem not only from their exploitation by the corporations but also from institutional barriers, sex segregation, a large reserve of labor, unequal education and cultural biases and myths. The paper makes some recommendations for institutional reform, including integrating women into development planning, higher investments in social development, unions which belong to the workers, and some restrictions on the private sector.
How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger
Susan George, Allenheld, Osmun and Co., New Jersey, USA 1977.
This 308 page book is an excellent analysis of the interrelations of government elites, banks and corporations whose programs perpetuate hunger instead of ending it. The author clearly explains why technology and the "Green Revolution" are artificial non-solutions to problems of hunger and malnutrition in the third world. Price: US$ 5.95.
Microelectronics at Work: Productivity and Jobs in the World Economy
Colin Norman, Worldwatch Paper no. 39, Worldwatch Institute, l 776 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA. October 1980.
The first part of this 63 page pamphlet describes the development of the microelectronics industry and the innovations this is bringing to the factory and the office. The second part explores the implications this has for workers, productivity, employment and the world economy. Accepting the microelectronic revolution as inevitable and essentially beneficial, the author points out a number of issues which must be dealt with if "the benefits ... are to be equitably shared."
Microelectronics: Capitalist Technology and the Working Class
Conference of Socialist Economics Microelectronics Group, CSE Books, 25 Horse]] Road, London NS, England. 1980.
This 152 page book examines the impact of microelectronics on work and workers and especially the control of electronics by capitalist management and the implications of this on labor organizing. Price:£ 2.95.
Mujeres Dominicans
Distributed by Centro Dominicano de Estudios de la Educacion (CEDEE), Juan Sanchez Ramirez No. 41, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
This is a series of nine brief pamphlets produced by the Proyecto de Investigacion-Educacion para· Mujeres, coordinated by Magaly Pineda and Moema Viezzer, about and for women workers in agriculture, industry, free trade zones and in the home as domestic workers and housewives. Brief, simple and clear with many illustrations, they are excellent materials for women to discuss their problems, rights, and possibilities to organize.
The New Gnomes: Multinational Banks in the Third World
Howard M. Wachtel, Transnational Institute, 1901 Q Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA 1977
This 60 page pamphlet documents and analyzes the growth of third & world debt by private US-based multinational and the impact of this new form of indebtedness on the politics and economic policies of third world countries. Price: US$ 3.
No Time for Crying: Stories of Philippine Women who Care for their Country and its People
Alison Wynne, Resource Center for Philippine Concerns,
C.P.O. Box 2784, Kowloon, Hong Kong. 1979.
This book recounts, through interviews, the lives and struggles of women in the Philippines. In doing so, it gives a small voice to those who would otherwise remain unheard beyond their own place of life and work. One section of the book has interviews with several women working for multinational corporations in agribusiness and textiles. They give a real feeling of the working conditions and the attempts to organize in oppressive situations.This is an excellent resource for consciousness raising. Price: US$3 (add $ 2.50 for airmail). It is also available in Dutch, German and Italian.
In Dutch, available from: Filippijnengroep Nederland, van Lidth de Jeudestraat 26, 3581 GJ Utrecht, Netherlands.
In German, available from: Aktionsgruppe Philippinen, Uhlandtrasse 9, 5444 Polch, Federal Republic of Germany.
In Italian available from: Kasama, c/o Lega Internazionale dei Popoli, Via L. il Magnifico 68, Florence, Italy. Price: Lire 5000.
SEWA Marches Ahead
Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), c/o Gandhi Majoor Sewalaya, Bhadra, Ahemdabad, Gujarat, India.
SEWA is a trade union of-economically active women engaged in producing goods or rendering various services. Among the major groups of women organized in SEWA are the garment dealers and garment workers. The services provided to members include banking and loans, legal aid, child care, health and social security schemes, training and literacy classes. SEWA is an attempt to help organize some of the poorest and most exploited women workers in India.
Sexual Shakedown: The Sexual Harassment of Women on the Job
Lin Farley, McGraw Hill, New York, USA. 1978.
A feminist analysis of the sexual harassment of women in waged work, this is a good introduction to a complex subject.
Technological Change and Women Workers: The Development of Microelectronics
Marit Hult, Background paper A/Conf. 94/26, World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women, United Nations, New York New York 10017, USA, 1981.
This paper reviews the current debate in industrialized countries on the impact of microelectronics technology on employment, especially of women, and recommends that governments and decision-making bodies establish policies to prevent adverse effects on women.
Who Really Starves? Women and World Hunger
Lisa leghorn and Mary Roodkowsky, Friendship Press, New York, USA. J 977.
This 40 page booklet shows how women are particularly vulnerable to the economic and social forces which bring about hunger and malnutrition. Price: US$ 1.25.
Women and Men in Asia
World Student Christian Federation, Asia Regional Office, Kiu Kin Mansion 12/F, 568 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. 1979.
This book is a compilation of reports and studies made by groups in several Asian countries. Of special interest are the studies on women garment workers in the Philippines and women in the plantation sector in Sri Lanka. These contain both statistical data on wages, working conditions and corporations, and statements from women workers themselves.
Women at Farah - An Unfinished Story
Reforrna, El Paso Chapter, P.O. Box 2064, El Paso, Texas 79951, USA. 1980.
This pamphlet tells the story of what happened after Farah textile/garment workers were able to organize a union in the USA after a nationwide boycott of Farah Pants in support of their strike. Available in English and Spanish. Price: US$ 2. Postage and handling $ 1.25 for one to three copies, 20 cents for each additional copy.
Women, Men and the Division of Labor
Kathleen Newland, Worldwatch Paper no. 37, Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA. May 1980.
This 43 page pamphlet by the author of The Sisterhood of Man, describes the worldwide trend toward greater participation of women in the labor force and shows that their newly won access to the formal labor market has not been matched by an increased involvement of men in unpaid work in the home. The result is an unequal division of labor, a pronounced imbalance between male and female work loads, with unhappy consequences for women, men and children. Price: US$ 2.
Women, Production and Reproduction in Industrial Capitalism
Helen Safa, Women's International Resource Exchange Service (WIRE), 2700 Broadway, Room 7, New York, New York 10025, USA.
Draft paper prepared for presentation at the Conference on the Continuing Subordination of Women and the Development Process, Ins titute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, England. September 16 - 22, 1978.
This 31 page paper examines the way in which larger economic forces impinge upon women's productive and reproductive roles, in two societies at very different levels of capitalist development: Brazil and the United States. The study focuses on women factory workers in these two societies and on their conditions of employment and work as well as the impact of these conditions on the roles of women in the home. Price: US$ 1.80.
Women Workers in Multinational Corporations: The Case of the Electronics Industry in Malaysia and Singapore
Linda Y .C. Lim, Occasional Paper IX, Women's Studies Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. 1978.
This 60 page study examines female-intensive manufacturing for export by multinational firms, effects of multinational corporate employment on women workers, and its impact on women's position in developing countries. It concludes that this type of female industrial employment benefits neither the women themselves nor the host countries.
"Women's Work ls ... " - Resources on Working Women Bobbi Wells Hargleroad, Editor, Institute on the Church in Urban-Industrial Society (ICUIS), 5700 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. ICUIS Bibliography Series no. 4, 1978.
An extensive bibliography dealing with many aspects of women and work (hours, pay, health and safety, day care, history etc.) interspersed with graphics, quotes, poems, and graphs. Each book, periodical, article or film is abstracted. There is a section on women's work as an international concern, with many resources on Asia and Latin America in particular, while the rest of the book is primarily concerned with women and work as they pertain to the United States. There is also an extensive section on organizing, including names of US organizations of and for working women. In all, an excellent and well-organized resource for working women in the US, interesting reading as well as a useful sourcebook.
Working Class Women View Their Own Lives
Meera Savara, Institute of Social Research and Education (I.S.R.E.), Carol Mansion, 35 Sitladevi Temple Road, Mahirn, Bombay 400 016, India.
A 43 page monograph,this highly interesting study examines "how women working in the textile industry in Bombay themselves experience their world of work and home and what their desires and aspirations regarding their own lives are." It includes case studies and reports on the discussions with women about their work in the factory and in their families, about domestic violence, about housework and about their relationships with other women.
articles
Other articles are lited under the periodic alsin wich they appear and under the organizations which produce them.
"Cheaper than Machines"
Diana Roose, The New Internationalist, April 1980. 62a High Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 OEE, England.
A short, succinct description of the working conditions and problems of women in the electronics factories in Southeast Asia.
"Farming Out the Home: Women and Agribusiness"
Sally Hacker, Science for the People, March -April 1978.897 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA.
Originally published in The Second Wave, this 12 page article examines the role of women in agribusiness in the United States, using first-hand accounts of women farmers and migrant women farm workers. It also looks at agribusiness ideology and what this means for women not only as workers but as consumers and transmitters of culture. An interesting study of how agribusiness works.
"Imperialism in the Silicon Age"
A. Sivanandan, Raceand Cla &, vol.21 no.2,Autumn 1979. Institute of Race Relations, 247 /249 Pentonville Road, London N l , England.
Also available in pamphlet form (price 40 pence), this 19 page article traces the new industrial revolution caused by the silicon chip and its impact on work in both the industrialized and developing countries. The Autumn 1980 issue, vol. 22 no.2, of this journal contains a short but very clear article on "Free Trade Zones: A Capitalist Dream," describing what a free trade zone is, how it operates and what it means for a country and its workers. Price: £ I .SO plus 30 pence postage per copy.
"Life on the Global Assembly Line"
Barbara Ehrenreich and Annette Fuentes, M . Magazine, January 1981. 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017, USA.
Examining electronics and textile multinationals in particular, this 7 page article gives an excellent overview of the operations of these industries both in the USA and in the third world and what it means to be a woman worker in these factories. It also looks at how United Nations agencies, the World Bank and the United States government promote the multinational corporations in the third world and, thus, the exploitative conditions for women workers. In conclusion, the authors look at how women are beginning to organize and fight back and some attempts at linking first world feminists and women struggling against multinationals in other parts of the world.
"Microelectronics and Employment"
European File, 16/80, October 1980. Commission of the European Communities, Information Department, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049..Brussels, Belgium.
This 7 page brochure describes the impact of microelectronics on employment and the problems which will arise from this. The main concern seems to be markets and productivity rather than jobs and people's welfare
"Multinationals and Female Labour in Latin America"
Ofelia Gomez and Rhoda Reddock, Scholas Journal, no.1, J 979. Institute of Social Studies, 251 Badhuisweg, The Hague, Netherlands.
In this 29 page paper, the authors examine the phenomena of multinational corporations and manufactures for export in Latin America and the use of female labor by these corporations. They argue that the present use of unskilled female labor in these enterprises does not represent an integration of women into the industrial labor force but rather a temporary exploitation or "super-exploitation" of the very fact that women are not fully integrated. The paper also reviews the main theories used to explain the position of women in the labor market.
"Politics and Technology -Microprocessors and the Prospect of a New Industrial Revolution"
Michael Goldhaber, Socialist Review, no. 52, July - August I 980. New Fronts Publishing Co., 4228 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, California 94609, USA.
Exploring the rapid changes being brought about by the new technology of the microprocessor, this 29 page article examines the possible responses of workers and the significance of these responses for socialism.
"Women and Chips"
Spare Rib, no. 83,June 1979.27 Clerkenwell Close, London EC! OAT, England.
A basic article describing what microtechnology is and how it is affecting women's lives in Britain; this concentrates on the development of word processors, minicomputers using silicon chips. It concludes that their use will create more alienating work conditions and health problems for office workers, who are mainly women.
"Women and the U.N. Code of Conduct on Multinationals-A Development Concern"
Anita Anand and Ann Fraker. United Methodist Board of Church and Society, 100 Maryland Avenue NE,Washington, DC 20002, USA.
This working paper summarizes the history and the draft resolutions of the UN Code of Conduct on Multinationals and examines the possible impact it could have on women workers. It criticizes the lack of women's participation in the formulation of the Code and the consequent failure of the Code to deal with issues of first importance to women workers.
audio-visuals
Other audio-visuals are listed under the organizations which produce or is tribute them. See especially: Asian Social Institute, Earthwork, INFACT, the National Action Research on the Military Industrial Complex NARMJC, the Nationwide Women's Program and the Pacific-Asia Resources Center PARC)
Bottle Babies
NCC Audio-Visual, Room 860, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10115, USA.
Filmed in Kenya in 1975 this 30 minute color film in 16mm provides an excellent introduction to the issue of the promotion and use of infant formula in third world countries. Price: US$270.
Controlling Interest: The World of the Multinational Corporation
California Newsreel, 630 Natoma Street,San Francisco, California 94103, USA.
This 45 minute color film gives an excellent, hardhitting look at the operations and effects of multinational corporations, focusing on Brazil, Chile and the Dominican Republic. Price: US$550rental $ 60.
Formula for Malnutrition
Service Center, UMBGM, 7820 Reading Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45237, USA.
A 16 minute color filmstrip with audio-cassette on the issue of infant formula and its promotion by multinationals.
lnto the Mouths of Babes
CBS. Available from NCC Audio-Visual Room 860, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10115, USA.
This 30 minute documentary in 16mm was made in 1978 for Bill Moyers' CBS Reports. It gives a good picture of the methods multinationals use in promoting the sale of baby foods in the third world. Price: US$ 270; rental$ 40.
Managing the Global Plantation
American Friends Service Committee, 2426 Oahu Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 06822, USA.
This 35 minute slideshow gives the profile of one of the USA's largest agribusiness corporations, Castle Cooke. It looks critically at the process of diversification which transformed Castle Cooke into a global corporation, and at its impact on its workers and their communities. Rental: US$ 10.
The Shirt Off Our Back
WBGH, Box 1000, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA.
A one-hour video program produced by David Fanning, this examines the impact of the shifting textile industry from the western to the southern hemisphere and the adverse impact this has had on workers in both parts of the world. Well documented with interviews with workers, labor organizers, and business representatives. Transcripts are available at US$3.