Yesterday members of UB's Students Against Sweatshops arranged a meeting with a member from the Workers' Rights Consortium and President Simpson. This group is an independent monitoring board that ensures that factories where clothing bearing the UB logo is produced are in compliance with labor standards.
UBSAS had little success trying to convince former President William Greiner to sign on to the WRC, but this first meeting with Simpson may hold promise. In the two years that UBSAS has been bringing attention to this issue, three SUNY schools have become members -- Cortland, New Paltz and Albany. Simpson's previous university, University of California Santa Cruz, is also a member.
Universities function as centers of knowledge and progress. Any responsible university should earnestly support the rights of laborers in developing countries. Although the factories that currently produce UB merchandise say they are in compliance with state regulations, the factories are self-monitored. If UB and these factories have nothing to hide, independent oversight through the consortium should be agreeable to both parties and should be implemented.
The Workers' Rights Consortium works to enforce many important standards to improve the work environment. Factories must pay a living wage and pay overtime. The standard workweek must not exceed 48 hours. Workers must be permitted the right to form unions. Children under the age of 14 are prohibited from working. None of these initiatives are revolutionary in scope. These standards simply support basic human rights.
Greiner refused to be involved with the consortium because he said that the factories were already in step with state regulations, and he did not feel that the university should not be involved in political matters or act as an enforcement agency for the Fair Labor Standards Act.
This is contrary to the historic role of American universities. The 1960s were a turbulent time of social change in terms of race relations and foreign policy. Many of these movements were fostered in universities. UB has the power to make an important statement in regards to worker's and human rights with the financial influence of college apparel and should do so.
Universities are arenas of progress and evolution through information, which sometimes produce change on a larger, national scale. UB has a chance to join 129 other schools in making a statement that supports the value of human beings and workers everywhere. President Simpson should recognize this opportunity and sign on with the WRC.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
