A licensing committee prepared a statement Friday urging the University of Wisconsin to cut its clothing ties with Adidas after the Student Labor Action Coalition delivered a giant paper mache boot to Chancellor John Wiley's office last week.
SLAC has been a longtime supporter of the rights of workers in a particular El Salvador factory that produces Adidas clothing.
While the factory closed more than two years ago, several investigations said nearly 63 workers remain unpaid and on a blacklist.
"The situation has been going on for years now," SLAC member Joel Feingold said. "We're at the point now where brands are losing interest because pressure seems to be slacking."
Wiley has already threatened the contract in the past, and Adidas responded with several measures to address the problem.
But according to LaMarr Billups, who headed the meeting of the Labor Licensing Policy Committee, Adidas only "touched the bases" on their promises, to make it appear the company was addressing the problems at its factories.
"They went through the motions such that they could make an argument," Billups said. "The problem is that none of it was effective — the people are still without their money, severance and jobs."
The committee urged Wiley in a unanimous vote to deliver a message to Adidas asking for a break in their exclusivity agreement. All UW athletes are currently sponsored with Adidas equipment, and the license agreement is slated to continue through 2011.
Billups said UW will need to provide Adidas with evidence of a "material breech in contract," including social security and pension payback, to break ties.
"We have the expectation of our brands to do more than is minimally required," Billups said. "We have a code of conduct so they buy into the idea that they should be paid correctly and have a safe working condition."
According to Jane Collins, faculty representative on LLPC, Wiley put his trust in Adidas to ensure the workers were fairly treated after the previous claims from SLAC that the company was mistreating its workers.
"I think [Adidas] embarrassed [Wiley] and the Board of Regents by behaving this way after knowing they were under pressure," Collins said.
Patrick Barrett, UW economic staff member and LLPC representative, said there is a chain of responsibility, and the university needs to take charge to make the athletic corporation clean up its act.
Although Adidas went through their required programs, Barrett said they did not live up to the "spirit" behind the agreements.
"The brands are the place where the real power lies," Barrett said. "The chancellor and the Board of Regents are justifiably pissed off that they didn't live up to the specific contract."
With the recent success of the UW basketball and football teams, Barrett added this year is a great opportunity to be a national leader on the labor stances again.
Ralph Rodefeld, LLPC representative from the Local 2412 Labor Union, added the drastic action of terminating the contract may be the way to make Adidas listen to their concerns.
"Sometimes you need to hit someone over the head for them to pay attention," Rodefeld said.
