(Sacramento) "The State of California should not use taxpayer dollars to purchase uniforms made by sweatshop labor," states Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (Berkeley). Assemblywoman Hancock and Senator Richard Alarcón (Los Angeles) will be joined by former State Senator Tom Hayden, representatives from UNITE, the AFL-CIO and Sweatshop Watch to urge the State Legislature to pass “Sweat-Free” legislation, AB 1557 by Hancock and SB 578 by Alarcón.

The Press Conference will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 9:00 a.m. in the Governor's Press Room, #1190 at the State Capitol. Assemblywoman Hancock's sweatshop labor bill will be heard in Assembly Labor Committee on April 23 at 1:30 p.m.

The “Sweat-Free” legislation will prevent the use of taxpayers’ dollars to purchase products which are manufactured in sweatshops. Currently, the state spends millions of taxpayerss dollars annually to buy uniforms and other goods which are made in sweatshops.

SB 578 and AB 1557 will:

• Mandate that contractors sign a Code of Conduct (under penalty of perjury) certifying that they adhere to minimum worker protections;
  
• contracting officers in state agencies ensure the Code of Conduct is signed by the contractor;
  
• the Department of Industrial Relations will have the authority to oversee implementation;
  
• violating contractors will be removed from state procurement lists for 360 days and face fines of up to $1000 or 20% of the value of the non-complying products sold.
  
  

The following organizations and individuals support SB 578 and AB 1557 and are expected at the press conference: No More Sweatshops, UNITE, the California Labor Federation, Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees, Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, United Students Against Sweatshops, the LA County AFL-CIO, Sweatshop Watch, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, Progressive Christians Uniting, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Americans for Democratic Action/Southern California, TeamX/SweatX, the Urban Leadership Institute, and others.