SLAC has been holding such marches on the chancellor’s office for three years, according to SLAC member Jan Van Tol. Wednesday was the first time they have been granted entry and given the chance to engage in meaningful dialogue with the chancellor regarding the issue.
According to Daniel Cox, SLAC organizer, multiple attempts had been made to communicate on behalf of the coalition with the chancellor’s office this semester without response.
Once admitted to the chancellor’s office, however, a “thoughtful and productive dialogue” took place between Chancellor Martin, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Community Relations Dawn Crim and SLAC members, Van Tol said.
Of particular concern to SLAC are two documented cases of serious workers’ rights violations that occurred in two factories in Honduras where UW apparel is manufactured.
“One of those cases there, in particular, were fairly serious freedom of association violations, where workers were prevented from forming a union,” Van Tol said.
He added an estimated $2.5 million of owed wages has yet to be honored between the two cases.
“It does tarnish the name of the university if students can’t trust that when they go into the bookstore that [apparel] is made under moral and just conditions,” Cox said.
While the Worker Rights Consortium, an international group that enforces workers’ rights by upholding codes of conducts, has not filed an official report regarding the two incidents yet, Crim said once they do, the best course of action would be to get a comprehensive group of universities throughout the country together to talk with the licensees.
A central focus of the discussion hinged around the Collegiate Licensing Company’s ER6 program, in which $50,000 of university funds could be used in the future to fly in representatives of UW apparel licensees to educate them about their responsibilities under the code of conduct for apparel manufacturers — a legally binding document that ensures they honor proper labor standards, Crim said.
Crim assured Martin and SLAC, in addition to educating the licensees, the program also elicits a commitment from corporations that they will uphold proper labor codes.
Crim also confirmed that of the total, $25,000 could come from funds that would otherwise go to need-based financial aid. The program is in the intermediate stages of planning, however, and the program details are not concrete as of yet.
Martin said she would like to learn more about the program, but if it will take money away from need-based aid, “the chancellor’s highest priority,” she would really want to hear a strong case.
“It takes $50,000 from university money to get corporations that have an army of lawyers to know what they are expected to do and what they are expected to follow legally,” Cox said. “It is a suspect situation.”
Ultimately, SLAC is pushing for substantial implementation of the another program known as the Designated Suppliers Program, according to Van Tol.
The program would designate certain factories for UW apparel manufactures where working conditions have been positively demonstrated.
UW signed onto the program in principle a couple of years ago but has not displayed sufficient dedication, according to Van Tol.
