On May 1 at the Holyoke mall, activists held a rally against sweatshops. Most clothing that people wear in the USA is made by workers in poor nations who in many cases are abused by their bosses. "Our action was in solidarity with Bangladeshi garment workers," Liana Foxvog told the Valley Post. She organized the rally. She works in Northampton for a group that has a web site at www.LaborRights.org.

The rally was outside the H&M clothing store at the Holyoke mall. "H&M is the largest buyer of clothing from Bangladesh, even bigger than Walmart," Foxvog said. Three years ago, 1,134 workers who sewed clothes for multinational brands and retailers were killed in Bangladesh in the Rana Plaza building collapse. "The majority of H&M's 255 supplier factories in Bangladesh still don't even have adequate fire exits," Foxvog said.