• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

By Eric Burlingham

Daily Bruin Contributor

UCLA Students Against Sweatshops has been working with the Associated Students of UCLA to develop a proposal that would employ domestic union labor to produce university T-shirts.

USAS anticipates meeting with the ASUCLA board of directors in upcoming months. If the board votes in favor of the proposal, ASUCLA will begin an eight-week process of bringing the shirts to the store.

If this occurs, both parties said they believe it best for the association to enter an agreement with an agency it already has an existing contract with.

Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, a third-year international development and Latin American studies student, met two weeks ago with Patricia Eastman, executive director of ASUCLA, to draft a proposal.

“The goal is to make all apparel manufactured in humane conditions,” Eastman said.

After ASUCLA’s recent approval of the sale of coffee bought under the fair trade system, in which retailers and importers purchase from certified coffee cooperatives in developing countries, USAS members are optimistic about negotiating with the association.

“I want to say this is going to happen,” Benjamin-Gomez said. “It looks feasible (since) the fair trade coffee went through. It shows that (ASUCLA) is supportive of being socially responsible retailers.”

Benjamin-Gomez founded SAS at UCLA in 1999. It is an on-campus chapter of the United Students Against Sweatshops, which began in 1998 at Duke University and the University of Michigan.

USAS is pushing for clothing made in union factories to ensure compliance with the University of California code of conduct. The code, passed by the UC Office of the President in January 2000, outlines how factories producing UCLA clothing should operate, including such requirements as public disclosure of the factories’ location and name, overtime pay for workers and proper ventilation and safety equipment.

“A union is the only way to guarantee that the clothes are not made under sweatshop conditions,” Benjamin-Gomez said.

In October 2000, several universities, including the UC, commissioned an Independent University Initiative report, which identified factories with sub-par working conditions in those countries investigated.

While university licensed apparel is produced in these countries, the report did not indicate whether the factories manufacturing UCLA merchandise operate under poor conditions.

Nevertheless, Cynthia Holmes, general manager of UCLA Trademarks & Licensing, said UCLA should push for factories to adopt internal monitoring systems to ensure the code of conduct is being upheld.

“Our code is more than just a piece of paper,” Holmes said.

But because ASUCLA has contracts with approximately 250 companies, it is virtually impossible for the university to investigate every factory, Benjamin-Gomez said.

According to Holmes, the university has sent agents to many of the local factories.

Though employing union labor will induce additional costs and thus push up the price of T-shirts, Cecily Clements, a fifth-year psychology student, hopes students will support the workers through their willingness to pay the extra money.

The biggest problem Benjamin-Gomez anticipates is the ability of union factories to handle UCLA’s high demand for clothing.

Eastman, who said she is concerned with the broader social issue of sub-par working conditions, said the university will continue to investigate other options since employing domestic unions won’t stop foreign factories from operating in poor conditions.

“I don’t think overseas manufacturing is going away,” Eastman said.

Comments

Post a comment