U. Penn abandons FLA

By Jen Fish

Daily Staff Reporter

As student anti-sweatshop activists at the University of Pennsylvania are celebrating their successful sit-in demonstration in their president's office, students at the University of Michigan continue to push the administration for a firm commitment to the Worker Rights Consortium.

After a nine day occupation of University of Pennsylvania President Judith Rodin's office, members of Penn Students Against Sweatshops ended their protest yesterday after Rodin promised to withdraw from the Fair Labor Association.

The FLA is a White House-sponsored coalition of corporations and human rights group aimed at curbing labor abuses in the apparel industry. It has been criticized by anti-sweatshop activists as an inadequate solution to labor monitoring that favors corporations over workers. rival.

"He feels he can win more voters by not running ads that attack Bush," said Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), who chairs McCain's Michigan campaign.

Whether his decision to steer clear of attacking his opponent will bring about a McCain victory in the Feb. 22 Michigan Republican primary is still to be determined.

"It gives him the high ground," University political science Prof. Hanes Walton said.

"He's expecting it to translate into votes and we'll know on the 22nd," Walton added.

But recently McCain has come under attack for running ads in South Carolina that compare Bush with President Clinton, suggesting that both have problems being truthful.

The ads were in response to a South Carolina woman's claims that her young son received a call from someone who claimed to be a pollster but proceeded to attack McCain's personal character. Bush denies anyone from his campaign placed such a call.

Schwarz maintains McCain's new ads are a necessary response to the attacks. "I don't know how you can stand by and let (Bush) savage your integrity without responding," Schwarz said.

The McCain ads have been followed by a counterattack from the Bush campaign claiming that by airing the commercials, McCain was "over the line."

Although McCain has pulled the ads, the damage already may have been done.

But the intended target has emerged victorious instead of battered - a South Carolina poll has the Texas governor in front by seven points.

Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, said he thinks it is too soon to tell whether McCain's decision not to run negative ads will benefit or hurt him in Michigan.

"If you've got a lot of money, like Bush does, and run a negative campaign, it could hurt McCain if he turns the other cheek all the time," Ballenger said. "People are very impressionable and tend to believe negative ads."

A potential hindrance for McCain in Michigan is Gov. John Engler, who heads Bush's campaign in the state. Michigan Secretary of State Candice Miller and former state GOP Chairwoman Betsy DeVos also have given Bush their support.

Schwarz said this does not concern McCain.

"We've dealt with this by pointing out the fact that each high-ranking official has one vote, as does everybody else," he said.

Ballenger underscored that McCain's showing in Michigan is crucial to the future success of his campaign.

"Michigan really will be important, and McCain will have to win here if he loses South Carolina. If he loses both states, he doesn't have the resources to carry himself through to Super Tuesday on March 7," Ballenger said.

The Detroit News published a poll Sunday showing McCain with a nine point lead in the state.

One month ago, the newspaper conducted a poll in which Bush led McCain by a 34-point margin.

"He just started to connect with people and he got a tremendous boost from New Hampshire," Schwarz said.

Members of Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality plan to hold a rally today at 5 p.m. on the Diag to show their commitment to the WRC, a student-developed policy designed to enforce collegiate labor codes in the apparel industry.

SOLE has been campaigning for the University to join the WRC as soon as possible, but University President Lee Bollinger has been reluctant to commit the University to the consortium.

"We hope to show Bollinger that there is support for the WRC and we're not going to settle for less than full commitment to it," said SOLE member Rachel Edelman, an LSA junior.

Currently, the University Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights has been studying the WRC and plans to make a recommendation to Bollinger in March. But SOLE members have criticized the committee for taking too long in its assessment of what SOLE members consider an easy decision.

The compromise at Penn is being considered a significant victory by anti-sweatshop activists because in addition to ending their membership in the FLA,

Rodin agreed to move the deadline for the Ad-Hoc Committee on Sweatshop Labor's recommendation to Feb. 29.

PSAS member and student representative to the committee Sue Casey said that the committee will make this deadline. "We know we can't stall too long on this issue," Casey said.

But Casey stressed that the committee can only make a recommendation, and the final decision lies with Rodin. Theoretically, Rodin could choose to ignore whatever recommendation the committee makes and decided to rejoin the FLA.

Members of the anti-sweatshop movement expressed some suspicion at Rodin's apparent change of heart. Earlier this week, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported Rodin was beginning to lose patience with the protesters. Rodin said last Thursday that the protesters in her waiting room "have pushed past the envelope of acceptable conduct."

"There is a healthy amount of suspicion, but President Rodin did up the deadlines for the committee," said Laura McStedon, a representative for United Students Against Sweatshops.

McStedon described yesterday's compromise as a "huge victory for USAS" and added that dropping the FLA is just as important as endorsing the WRC.

Oberlin College in Ohio announced their endorsement of the WRC yesterday.

They are the fifth school to join the WRC, following Brown University, Loyola College of New Orleans, University of New Orleans and Haverford College.

Oberlin Student Labor Action Coalition member Katherine Blauvelt called the WRC a "wonderful alternative to the FLA." Blauvelt added that Oberlin President Nancy Dye seemed "very enthusiastic" about joining the WRC.