Human Rights Activist Targets Disney for Workplace Abuses Abroad.(Originated from The Miami Herald)

Jul. 22--Human rights activist Charles Kernaghan is worried about getting sued, and for good reason.

His recent video uses the Seven Dwarves' theme, "Heigh-ho, it's off to work we go," from the Disney classic Snow White. The video surely won't make the notoriously protective Disney Co. happy.

Kernaghan, perhaps best known for making Kathie Lee Gifford sob on TV, accuses Disney of exploiting Haitian garment workers, paying them seven cents per T-shirt, or one-half of 1 percent of the $12 retail price.

But at the moment he is mulling the possibility of a suit over the song, perhaps the least damaging part of his video, Mickey Mouse Goes to Haiti: Walt Disney and the Science of Exploitation.

The video depicts Haitian seamstresses and their hungry children living in one-room shacks on muddy, garbage-filled streets.

"All we're asking them to do is come to Haiti with us and improve conditions for the workers," said Kernaghan, 48, who works with the National Labor Committee out of New York.

For over a decade, Kernaghan has waged a tireless campaign to shine light on the low salaries and working conditions of Third World garment workers who stitch together the T-shirts and trousers donned daily by Americans.