Why We Can Stop Sweatshops

By Travis Pillow

This morning the front page of the New York Times’ business section proclaimed a hard-won victory for United Students Against Sweatshops – the national group that started the Worker Rights Consortium, which I described in my letter to Tim Tebow in our most recent issue.

Russell Athletic, a major maker of licensed collegiate apparel, reached an agreement to rehire workers it had fired for trying to form a union, and to allow workers to organize in its other Honduran factories.

The Times quotes WRC director Scott Nova:

“This represents the maturation of the universities’ codes of conduct. There’s a recognition by the universities of their ability to influence the actions of important brands and change outcomes for the better.”

He said the agreement was “unprecedented” in terms of scope and size and in “the transformative impact it can have in one of the hardest regions of the world to win respect for workers’ rights.”

Mr. Nova also praised Russell for changing course. “I think the executives at Russell recognized it was time for a new approach,” he said. “They decided it was important for the success of their company.”

But this is my favorite part:

“For us, it was very important to receive the support of the universities,” Moises Alvarado, president of the union at the closed plant in Choloma, said by telephone on Tuesday. “We are impressed by the social conscience of the students in the United States.”

Which is exactly why UF should join the WRC. As a marketing powerhouse in the world of collegiate athletic apparel, we have the power to ensure human rights are respected in factories everywhere. Right now we’re a member of the Fair Labor Organization – an industry-sponsored group that did nothing for the workers in Honduras.

UF actually cut ties with Russell after USAS contacted them during its campaign in solidarity with Central American factory workers. I’d say that’s a start, but I hope it’s only the beginning.