Phrases like “Its up to you Mary Sue,” “SOLE was here” and “Sweatfree University,” covered two sides of the Fleming Administration Building in brightly colored chalk yesterday when Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality held a protest accusing the University of condoning sweatshop labor.
Yesterday’s protest was a continuation of SOLE’s attempts to pressure University President Mary Sue Coleman to cut ties with manufacturers of University apparel that employ sweatshop workers.
Protesters rallied on the steps of the Michigan Union before marching to Fleming.
As part of the group’s “Sweatfree University” campaign, SOLE called on Coleman to adopt the Designated Suppliers Program, an extension of international labor laws for factories that manufacture clothing bearing the University logo.
Under the program, all licensed factories would be required to demonstrate full compliance with international labor standards. A union or other third-party group would be required to represent employees, and workers would have to be paid a living wage, defined as the minimum wage needed to support workers and their families in no more than a 48-hour work week. Factories would also have to permit inspections by the Worker Rights Consortium, the organization overseeing the proposal.
SOLE first sent the proposal to Coleman’s office on Sept. 29 of last year. Coleman then passed the proposal to the Labor Standards and Human Rights Committee for review. On April 21, the committee is expected to vote on whether or not to recommend that Coleman approve the proposal.
Because of the committee’s advisory function, SOLE maintains that it is Coleman herself who should be pressured.
In a letter dated March 23, Gary Krenz, special counsel to the president, responded to SOLE’s repeated requests, emphasizing that the issue requires Coleman’s attention because of long-term implications for the University’s future business relationships.
“It requires careful consideration as to whether and how it is a better, or more feasible, approach to achieving the goals that we all share – namely, enforcement of the Vendor Code of Conduct and fostering of just behavior on the part of those who make products bearing the name and marks of our institution,” he wrote.
SOLE resorted to protests and “more disruptive” methods to push the issue only after Coleman repeatedly refused to meet with students, said LSA freshman Blase Kearney, who organized yesterday’s demonstration.
SOLE members also fasted for the day as part of the protest to represent workers earning “starvation wages” – a feat particularly difficult given the free food on the Diag yesterday, Kearney said.
Turnout was unexpectedly high, SOLE member Adri Miller said. Sporting red armbands and chanting slogans, about 50 students and community members marched.
Miller, an RC sophomore, said she was impressed with the diverse crowd the protest attracted.
“These are not the people who would normally turn out,” she said, which she cited as proof that workers’ rights are important to a wide swath of the campus community.
About 15 universities, including Georgetown and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, have already adopted the Designated Suppliers Program.