As the US companies unveiled their alliance in Washington, student protesters gathered outside, chanting "Shame on Walmart" and decrying the plan as a "fake safety scheme." It's not. It's a serious plan, with some money behind it, that includes a commitment to transparency, and mechanisms to enable workers to speak out about unsafe conditions. It's not perfect – the alliance's glaring flaw is a lack of participation from unions – but the US companies hope to bring in Bangladeshi and international labour groups...