Universities to collaborate on anti-sweatshop effort
UW–Madison and two other major U.S. universities will join an anti-sweatshop monitoring group on a trial basis, leaders of the institutions have announced.
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Chancellor’s statements: Re: Progress on sweatshop issue (second) Feb. 19, 2000 Re: Progress on sweatshop issue (first) Feb. 18, 2000 In coordination with the University of Michigan, Indiana University Feb. 18, 2000
Related stories: UW-Madison leads national anti-sweatshop effort Feb. 18, 2000 More than 300 UW licensees disclose factory locations Report calls for partnership on living wages, sweatshops Highlights of the Living Wage Symposium Report
Related resources: UW-Madison and Sweatshops (Background stories and information) |
Chancellor David Ward said the decision advanced his goal of uniting academic institutions in an effort to monitor workplace standards for licensed manufacturers.
Leaders of UW–Madison, the University of Michigan and Indiana University jointly agreed Friday to conditionally join the Worker Rights Consortium, a new group to be set up to help monitor manufacturers that produce university-licensed apparel and other items bearing university trademarks. Other universities are considering the idea as well.
“We would like to help the WRC become a viable instrument for ensuring licensee compliance with workplace standards,” Ward said. “We will participate in this process so long as we are making progress towards achieving a fair and credible monitoring system.”
Ward said this new collaboration between universities would advance the national effort to promote campus anti-sweatshop initiatives.
University representatives will attend the WRC founding convention in April in New York, he said. Ward said the WRC would have to show that it is a viable organization with a clear governance structure.
At the same time, the chancellor called on student government leaders to join the effort. And Ward identified several other objectives for the university as it continues to lead efforts to identify and eliminate the use of sweatshop labor:
- Examine how well licensee compliance is being achieved through the Collegiate Licensing Company.
- Undertake continuous assessment of the WRC or any other monitoring organization,
- Evaluate other monitoring options, pilot programs and initiatives such as those recommended by the Living Wage Symposium hosted recently by UW–Madison.
“We are committed to making a difference in the global incidence of sweatshops, especially as it may impact our licensing program,” Ward said. “Today, we have identified how far we are willing to go to make this happen. But this is not a negotiation. We want to be part of a process that students can support, and will pursue through the appropriate