The Associated Students of Madison received a letter from Chancellor John Wiley Tuesday in response to a proposal aimed at the university's apparel-licensing policy.

In a letter dated Oct. 31 — but which ASM representatives said did not reach them until Nov. 8 — Wiley neither endorsed nor opposed the proposal, but rather stated his intention to look further into the issues of changing UW's Code of Conduct on apparel licensing.

In an effort to ensure UW apparel is not manufactured in sweatshops, the ASM proposal urges the chancellor to be more critical of licensees' labor and oversight policies.

If adopted, the policy would require the university to gradually increase the percentage of UW clothing manufactured in factories that comply with various workers'-rights policies — including the right to unionize — over the next four years.

According to ASM representatives, UW's current Code of Conduct does not effectively guarantee workers' rights are being protected in factories producing UW apparel.

ASM Secretary and Chair of the ASM Workers Rights Campaign John Bruning said the policy UW currently has in place requires a certain percentage of university-licensed clothing to be produced in factories sanctioned by the Workers Rights Consortium.

UW is a member of the consortium, which monitors factories and requires them to permit their workers to organize and satisfy specific working-condition standards.

However, Bruning said the problem lies not in the creation of these policies, but their implementation.

"UW has the policies, but they're not really enforced," Bruning said.

If the ASM proposal is adopted, UW would be mandated to increase the percentage of apparel manufactured in WRC-sanctioned factories by 25 percent within 18 months. These figures would incrementally raise the percentage to 75 percent over the next three-and-a-half years.

In his letter, Wiley questioned the proposal's feasibility and how much of an effect the proposal would have on changing factory conditions.

"I have seen no evidence — not once — to support the assertion that the proposed change would lead to and/or guarantee better working conditions for workers," Wiley wrote.

Wiley also stated he would seek the advice of his legal department to "identify any potential problems," as well as an "expert in the field of global production" to "assess the practicality of this gradual change."

According to ASM representatives, the proposal has already received the unanimous endorsement of the Labor Licensing Policy Committee, which serves as an advisory board for the chancellor.

However, Bruning is unsure what effect this will have.

"Historically, [Wiley] hasn't listened to the LLPC — only when he has been put under pressure," Bruning said. "Last year, LLPC presented another proposal that was a step to what we're doing now, and Wiley came back and essentially said, 'You're only an advisory board. I don't have to listen to you.'"

Despite the potential difficulties, Bruning is confident UW will eventually reduce the amount of university-licensed apparel manufactured by sweatshop labor and urges students to support ASM's proposal.

"It all depends on what kind of pressure is applied on [Wiley]," Bruning said.