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Group leads Adidas protest
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Dozens of University of Wisconsin students rallied Wednesday to demand the cancellation of a UW athletic apparel contract with Adidas. According to the protesting students, it has been two years since the El Salvador-based Hermosa factory —which produced UW athletic apparel — was closed, yet the workers have not received their compensation. In addition, the workers allegedly have been blacklisted and are unable to get jobs in the nearby factories. Protesting students delivered a collage with pictures of 70 students opposed to the Adidas contract posing near a 6-foot photo of Chancellor Wiley, along with a written statement requesting the immediate cancellation of the contract. "We need to start immediately. We don't need to sit around and wait for things to happen," said UW sophomore Chynna Haas, who was at the demonstration Wednesday. UW junior Jan Van Tol, one of the event organizers, said the group has demanded the contract cancellation since the beginning of 2007, but the problem has not been resolved. UW has 450 athletic apparel contractors, including 3,300 factories in 47 countries, according to Acting Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Community Relations Dawn Crim. Van Tol said the Student Labor Action Coalition has stayed in touch with Hermosa ex-workers, who have reportedly faced a "precarious economic situation" in addition to repression and discrimination by El Salvador businesses. The Badger Herald obtained a letter sent to SLAC that stated former employees said although certain progress has been made in recent months, their problem remains unsolved. "We continue to be unemployed due to the existence of blacklists. We don't have medical coverage from social security, and they continue to owe all our lawful benefits since May 11, 2005," the letter said in Spanish. Crim, however, said UW has engaged Adidas in promoting improvements in El Salvador. "Our policies state that we give businesses a chance to solve problems and work toward solutions," Crim said. "It benefits the workers for us to continue to keep companies engaged to improvements." According to Crim, UW is currently seeking financial assistance from its alumni in efforts to pay off the benefits owed to Hermosa ex-workers. "I think it is not accurate to call for a cutting of a contract at a time when the companies are fully engaged with the university on problem solving," Crim said. "I believe [today's] protest efforts are misguided." Haas said that while it is important the university is taking action, the measures taken have not been effective. "The total money was such a small fraction that it ends up just being a few hundred dollars per worker," Haas said. Wiley, who was not available Wednesday afternoon, has received the collage and written statement with SLAC's demands, Crim said. Students involved in the demonstration also requested a written response from the chancellor, according to a statement released by the group.
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No way! I love the Adidas apparel. I looks so much better than the old Reebok crap.
So the protests got some people fired and they didn’t get any severance pay?
Yeah, protest some more - that’ll help fer sure.
I want Under Armour.
-Slapps
Protesting did not get them fired, where did you come up with that? The workers organized because of their treatment in the factory, and because a few extra cents per shirt was unreasonable for adidas, the factory was closed.
So they wanted more wages than the employer wanted to pay? That SOB should be forced to pay them whatever they want! My employer also should be forced to pay me more! ME SOME TOO!!!
You need to remove from your self-centered selves from your tiny bubble and start trying to understand world culture. (By this I don’t mean that what Hermosa owes its employees shouldn’t be paid.) It should be pointed out, though, that US unions organized these people with the only intention of shutting down the facility - why would they do this you ask?
1. personal benefits for US union organizers - as they don’t have a job in the US, they look elsewhere to make money. 2. politics - US industry still believes they can compete in apparel and try to keep whatever hope left of a lost job alive 3. lack of ethics - found in every corner of the US culture worldwide, where the statement continues to hold true: this is America - Survival of the fittest!