Anti-sweatshop groups hold protests nationwide

By Jen Fish

Daily Staff Reporter

As members of Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality prepare to meet tomorrow with University President Lee Bollinger concerning the University's possible endorsement of the Worker Rights Consortium labor policy, other college anti-sweatshop groups are staging protests on campuses across the nation.

While other schools are considering the WRC, the University's Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights has been examining the student-developed proposal since October.

Yesterday, 13 members of the University of Pennsylvania's group, Penn Students Against Sweatshops, stormed President Judith Rodin's office, demanding Penn drop out of the Fair Labor Association and join the WRC.

The FLA is a White House-sponsored coalition of human rights groups and corporations. The student activists contend the FLA's corporate presence discredits the group.

The student activists at Penn are part of the United Students Against Sweatshops, an umbrella organization for many student anti-sweatshop groups, including SOLE.

PSAS member Miriam Joffe-Block said the WRC was introduced to Penn's administration in October, but the protest against the FLA has lasted since April.

Like the University of Michigan, Penn's administration has set up a committee to study the feasibility of implementing the WRC. "The committee is basically a stall tactic," Joffe-Block said.

This protest, reminiscent of SOLE's 51-hour occupation of Bollinger's office last March, comes at the heels of the University of Wisconsin chancellor's decision not to join the WRC.

Currently, only five schools have endorsed the WRC - Brown University, Haverford College, Loyola University in New Orleans, Bard College, and the University of New Orleans.

Student anti-sweatshop activists at Loyola University in Chicago are staging a fast to protest sweatshop labor and show their support for other student groups.

The fast, which started Sunday evening, is scheduled to last until Friday evening.

"We're staging this fast to make people more aware of the issues and show our solidarity with other student groups, such as Penn," Loyola Students Against Sweatshops member Mara Dillon said.

Protesters in Los Angeles, including some University of California at Los Angeles students, removed their clothing in front of a local GAP, because they'd rather "wear nothing, than wear GAP," The Daily Bruin reported yesterday.

Similar protests were staged in Austin, Texas by the University of Texas Students Against Sweatshops.

USAS coordinating committee member Sarah Jacobson commented on the protests. "I think that all these protests are really explicitly linked together to make a concerted effort toward making the WRC succeed," she said.

USAS organizer Laura McSpedom said she supported the students' efforts. "We're definitely supportive of students taking direct action to get their universities off the FLA and onto the WRC.

In the case of Penn, I think this is a totally legitimate and probably wise move. Negotiations don't seem to be getting us anywhere."

McSpedom said many schools seem to be unnecessarily dragging their feet in signing onto the WRC.

"We've been patient and it's gotten us nowhere. You come to a point where it becomes clear that the universities won't take action until forced." McSpedom and Jacobsen agreed the University of Michigan's endorsement of the WRC is key. "Michigan signing would definitely give the WRC greater legitimacy," Jacobson said.

Meanwhile, the students at Penn are waiting to meet with their administration. "We're planning on putting more pressure on the administration until they meet with us," PSAS member Anna Roberts said.