The 4 lessons that the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King teaches us on how to promote living wages and end forced labour in global supply chains.

A fortnight ago I was asked to hold an inspirational speech to a crowd of sustainability people in Amsterdam, all active in making global supply chains more fair, inclusive and sustainable. Straight away I knew that what I wanted most, was spreading the gospel of the freedom fighters of the black civic rights movement in the US. From this gospel, many lessons can be learnt for today's agenda on eliminating forced labour and promoting living wage in global supply chains.

Lesson 1: Political rights and social economic rights are linked and cannot be seen separately to realize a living wage.

The Freedom Fighter gospel promoted not only political rights for all, but also social economic equality for all. The Freedom Marches of the black civic right movement not only promoted civic rights, but also fair jobs and a living wage for all. Cause in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: 'What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter, if you can't afford to buy a hamburger'. What good is freedom, if you can't earn a living wage to have a decent living?

At the AFL-CIO Convention, December 1961, King explained: "Our needs are identical with labor's needs — decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community. That is why Negroes support labor's demands and fight laws which curb labor."

Lesson 2: Political freedom and labour rights are the backbone to fight modern forms of slavery

Whether Uyghur picking our cotton in China, migrant workers unfairly recruited to build infrastructure projects, or factory workers not being paid their wages, real fixes of modern slavery require political rights and freedom so workers can claim their rights.

The legendary Staple Singers sang political songs with a message, written at the time for Dr. Martin Luther King and the Freedom Movement, sung at the Freedom Marches. One of the Staple Singers' first political songs links worker rights to political freedom: “When will we be paid - for the work we have done” (1971).

Listen to the magnificent Mavis Staples of the legendary Staple Singers, and get inspired by the power of her voice and the lyrics: “We picked all your cotton, laid all your railways. We have given our sweat and all our tears. Will we ever see the sweet land of liberty? Will we ever have peace and harmony? I wanna know will we ever be paid for the work we have done...”. Mavis calls herself a Freedom Fighter, a soldier fighting for peace, love and happiness.?Today she still sings political songs with a message. Go check her out!

Lesson 3: Labour rights, social dialogue and collective bargaining are essential for sustainable living wages

In addition to racial equality, King thought labor rights to be essential to fight poverty and discrimination and achieve a fair society. If Martin Luther King Jr. still lived, he’d probably tell people to join trade unions. Not many people know nowadays that Dr. Martin Luther King not only protested segregation and racism, but also fervently promoted worker rights. He was a supporter of trade unions and collective bargaining. He participated in strikes for a living wage and spoke at many union events. Amonst others at the San Francisco dockworkers' union, the first union to allow mixed-race membership in the conviction that workers are stronger when united.

Translated to the goal to reach fair global supply chains today, this calls for the right of workers to organize and join trade unions and bargain collectively for a living wage. This requires political change in most production countries which may take a longer time to realize. Nevertheless, a living wage will only be sustainable if workers and employers are part of a self-sustained collective bargaining process. Therefore, companies need to support social dialogue and the right to collective bargaining of workers. In addition to their support for living wages via their own sustainable purchasing practices and paying a fair price, for example via living wage price calculations.

Lesson 4: Look beyond supply chain responsibility: support the rise of the legal minimum wage to a living wage level

Dr. Martin Luther's Dream included fair wages. He gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The 1963 March on Washington demanded “a national minimum-wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living.” King warned about the “gulf between the haves and the have-nots” and insisted that America needed a “better distribution of wealth.” A minimum wage that provides all workers a decent standard of living should provide for this.

The minimum wage sets the wage floor. In most production countries, workers in global supply chains find themselves with regular wages below the poverty level. Though global companies' commitment to fair buying practices, incl. sourcing at prices enabling a living wage, is what is needed. What is also needed is a level playing field at sectoral and national level, so all workers at least earn a living wage, and there is no competition on labour cost between employers.

Global brands should speak out in favour of increased minimum wages in sourcing countries and commit to continue sourcing there when minimum wage levels are raised to a living wage level. This means looking beyond supply chain responsibilities and an enlarged scope of human rights due diligence. Which includes a climate where workers have the right to join a trade union and bargain collectively.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V4rZsdmw1o

https://temple-news.com/martin-luther-king-jrs-dream-included-fair-wages/

https://www.afscme.org/about/history/mlk/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-on-labor

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-labor-day-remember-that-martin-luther-kings_b_59ab51d4e4b0d0c16bb525a9

https://www.businessinsider.com/martin-luther-king-jrs-thoughts-on-the-labor-movement-unions?international=true&r=US&IR=T