By Arj Arjunan
Daily Bruin Contributor
The University of California will join the Fair Labor
Association to help the UC enforce its own code of conduct for its
trademark licensees.
The university joined the FLA, which monitors labor practices of
companies licensed to make products bearing the university’s
logos, on Jan. 9 after a committee met to study how the UC’s
code of conduct could be better enforced.
“We realized that we could accomplish more by being a
participant in the organization rather than a critic from the
outside,” said Mary Spletter, a spokeswoman for the UC Office
of the President.
A significant number of the university’s trademark
licensees, such as Jansport, Adidas and Nike, are already members
of the FLA, according to Spletter.
The UC established standards on child labor and workplace safety
for its contracted companies as part of its code of conduct after
considerable pressure from student groups, Spletter said.
“We have a strong code of conduct that demonstrates the
university’s concern for humane working conditions,”
she said. “But we need an equally strong monitoring and
enforcement system.”
The UC approached the Fair Labor Association a week ago to
inquire about forging a partnership, said Moreen Murtha, university
liaison for the FLA.
“Universities and companies realize the value of the FLA
as an organization that has the ability to monitor labor
practices,” said Drew Hammill, the university program
associate with the FLA.
Companies that approach the UC must sign its workplace code of
conduct before an agreement is reached, Spletter said.
The university will rely on the FLA to report which companies
violate standards for labor practices set forth in the UC’s
contractual agreements.
For its part, the FLA will use its own code of conduct separate
from the UC’s to monitor participating companies, Spletter
said.
“The university is entering the agreement with the
understanding that no organization is perfect,” Spletter
said. “But this decision puts us in a better position to
enforce our code of conduct.”
The FLA will further help the university in its ongoing
partnership with the Workers Rights Consortium, another
organization that alerts the university about companies violating
workplace standards.
Last year, information provided by the WRC led the UC to pull
sweatshirts sold through the Associated Students of UCLA that were
manufactured by an international trademark licensee that violated
the UC code of conduct, Spletter said.
But pulling products from store shelves does little to improve
the conditions of workers, Murtha said.
“You want companies to think that workplace conditions are
important for their workers and their business,” she
said.