PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Students in Solidarity Dance to Oppose Sweatshops
by gwen Friday, Apr. 01, 2005 at 8:56 AM

The University of Pittsburgh is a member of the "Fair Labor Association" (FLA), but this is not good enough say the members of Pitt's Students in Solidarity. The university should be a part of the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), an organization that checks the companies for staying within the labor laws of their country.

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The FLA is an organization with an executive board of six corporate representatives, six NGOs (many corporate funded), and three board members and represent more than one hundred educational institutions. Unfortunately, since the board is made up of the same people who run the organizations it is supposed to monitor, the system is inherently flawed.

As a result, the FLA does not prevent excessive working hours, require wages that will keep a family from destitution, or require public disclosure of factory conditions. In fact, the small print allows factories to apply for "de minimis" status where they basically don't have to follow any rules. Only 10% of a company's factories have to be monitored annually, and the corporations can even choose which ones they will be.

Many of the major labor and church organizations (such as UNITE and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility) have left the FLA because they would not reconsider its position on wages and workers' rights to organize themselves.

The Worker's Rights Consortium (WRC) is a third party organization created by University professors, students, and labor rights experts to assist in the enforcement of manufacturing Codes of Conduct adopted by colleges and universities. They investigate the factories they approve to ensure that university goods are created in good conditions for the workers. If they find violations, they work with the factories and the universities to ensure that the problems are corrected. Unlike the FLA, the WRC demands full public disclosure of working conditions, "living wages" and hours. Over one hundred universities are already affiliated with the WRC.

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Handing out flyers to passerbys
by gwen Friday, Apr. 01, 2005 at 8:56 AM

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Pitt's Students in Solidarity would like to see the University of Pittsburgh sign on with the WRC to ensure that the university's merchandise is created from factories that are fair to the workers. They have started an active campaign to get the University to become affiliated with the WRC; previous presidents of the universities already signed on with the WRC have been encouraged to do so by student opinion.

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Students in Solidarity dancing
by gwen Friday, Apr. 01, 2005 at 8:56 AM

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As a part of this campaign, the Students in Solidarity held a dance on Thursday March 31st to bring awareness of the problem to the students of the University of Pittsburgh. The dance was started late due to a lack of batteries for the audio system. Once it started, about a dozen students danced on the walkway near the Tower dorms and handed out flyers to students passing by.

Other events to bring awareness to the cause have been the call-in to the chancellor's office last weekend, where 50-100 people called in requesting that the University join the WRC. They also head a fashion show last November, attended by around 250 students. Coming up will be a picket in front of The Pitt Shop on April 5th.

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Pitt Sweat Stinks
by gwen Friday, Apr. 01, 2005 at 8:56 AM

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If you are a student of the University of Pittsburgh, and would like to show your support for this, you are encouraged to please call Chancellor Nordenberg (412-624-4200), particularly and request that Pitt join Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne University -- already members in the WRC.

Information on the WRC can be found at: http://www.workersrights.org/

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