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.