On August 2, 2016, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) instituted a Third Party Complaint investigation with respect to the factory C.S.A. Guatemala Sociedad Anónima located in Guatemala City. The complaint, filed by the Ad Hoc Committee of United Workers of the Enterprise C.S.A. Guatemala Sociedad Anónima, alleged a range of worker rights violations, centering on freedom of association. The allegations appeared to violate a number of Compliance Benchmarks associated with FLA Code Elements on Freedom of Association, Harassment or Abuse, Hours of Work, and Compensation.
FLA members Nike, Inc. (Converse brand) and Delta Apparel (Junkfood Apparel brand) sourced from the factory at the time the complaint was submitted. Both FLA member companies chose to conduct their own assessments of the allegations and submitted individual reports to the FLA. As the two reports were similar in most respects, they are treated jointly in the reports posted below. The assessments conducted by the two FLA brands confirmed many of the allegations included in the Third Party Complaint. The factory, working with the two FLA brands, developed a remediation plan that addressed findings related to freedom of association and communications with workers. Through a review of documentation from the factory provided by one of the brands, the FLA has confirmed that the remediation embodied in the plan has been implemented.
