Dear DCL Letter-Writing Volunteers!

 

Thank you for volunteering to write letters to companies in our Detention Camp Labor project, asking them to pledge not to use detention camp labor in their business.

 

If you didn't make it to one of the trainings please be sure to watch the video at this link so you understand what we're doing and how to do it well.  Thank you.

 

We are asking you to write two letters per week, one each to two different companies.

 

Here's the background:

We have researched about 60 companies so far, finding their contact information and background information for what they make or do. We'll write to two companies per week and every week we'll send you an email with two new companies to write to.

 

For now, we are focusing on companies the research indicate currently use prison labor, and we assume they would be likely to use detention camp labor as well.  Later, we will shift focus to other types of companies.  One exception is one our companies below - Costco.  They prohibit prison labor use, so we want to write a different kind of letter to them, as you'll see.

 

Below are the descriptions for the two companies we're starting with.  Please write a letter to each of them. 

 

 Step 1 - Learn How To Write The Letters

 

First, please check out the suggested language you can use in your letter at this link. Please follow the instructions at the top for writing a letter that's more likely to be read!  

 

Step 2 -Write and Send Your Letters

 

Write your letters to this week's companies using the ideas in the suggested language document. And put them in the mail!  You did it! 

 

Step 3 - Tell us you wrote and mailed your letters

 

After you mail your letter, please fill out this short form to tell us you did it, so we can keep track. Thanks!  Also, you can email us here if you have any questions.

 

Below is the information for our two companies this week. 

 

THIS WEEK'S COMPANIES

 

COMPANY NAME:  ARAMARK CORPORATION

CONTACT PERSON:  John Zillmer, CEO

COMPANY ADDRESS: 

2400 Market Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

 

COMPANY BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

Through its subsidiary Aramark Correctional Services, Aramark provides food services to some 450 U.S. prisons and jails. Aramark also provides food to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration jails.  

 

Aramark uses prison labor under the company's IN2WORK program, where "over 6,000 incarcerated individuals have worked in Aramark prison kitchens — many for 40 hours per week. The company, however, classifies incarcerated workers as “students” rather than “employees,” making them ineligible for adequate pay." 

(https://investigate.info/company/aramark)

 

Aramark’s In2Work program uses incarcerated labor to make premium meals for other inmates, sold to their families and friends, without providing any compensation. Inmates are forced to labor for Aramark for virtually no pay. 

 

 

COMPANY NAME:  COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION

CONTACT PERSON:  Ron Vachris, President, CEO and Director

COMPANY ADDRESS: 

999 Lake Drive

Issaquah, WA, 98027

 

COMPANY BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

As you will see below, Costco is on this list because they do a very good job monitoring to ensure their suppliers do not abuse their workers and we want to thank them. You can read more at the bottom in their Code of Conduct.  Please ask them to pledge to continue their current policy found in their Code of Conduct.  

 

Costco Wholesale Corporation, doing business as Costco, is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Costco is the world's largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, with just under a third of American consumers regularly shopping at Costco warehouses. Costco is ranked 11th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue, as of 2024. (Wikipedia)

 

Costco previously purchased eggs from Hickman's Family Farms.  But as of late 2025, Costco has stopped selling eggs produced by Hickman's Family Farms, likely due to a combination of factors including a severe avian flu outbreak and Hickman's controversial use of incarcerated labor. Reports from earlier in the year indicate that Costco "appears to have quietly removed Hickman's products from its shelves". investigate.afsc.org/company/costco-wholesale  

 

Here is Costco’s Disclosure Regarding Human Trafficking and Anti-Slavery, describing its Code of Conduct prohibiting human rights abuses in its supply chain.

 

~ In Solidarity,

Vicki Miller and the Indivisible Philadelphia Team