MEDIA ADVISORY
The University of Colorado at Boulder has accepted the chief recommendations of the Licensing Advisory Committee, which has expressed qualified support for the Designated Supplier Program proposed by the national United Students Against Sweatshop Apparel and campaigned for on the Boulder campus by students and others aligned with the Coalition Against Sweatshop Apparel (CASA).
Paul Tabolt, vice chancellor for administration at CU-Boulder, announced his acceptance today of the committee's chief recommendations regarding the DSP plan. The plan addresses manufacturing practices in factories that produce collegiate apparel in foreign countries.
Tabolt outlined a number of "issues needing attention" in his report, which is attached and reprinted below.
Tabolt states in the report, "We are pleased to announce our commitment to the design of a viable program that can improve the lives of workers around the world. With this expression of support, the CU-Boulder campus urges CASA to end its eight-day hunger strike."
The Licensing Advisory Committee issued its recommendations to Tabolt on Tuesday, April 18, calling for "qualified support" of the DSP.
For more information contact Barrie Hartman at (303) 735-6183 (office), (303) 818-7496 (cell) and (303) 666-7874.
April 20, 2006
(Vice Chancellor Paul Tabolt has prepared this document to outline the University of Colorado at Boulder's position in response to demands by the Coalition Against Sweatshop Apparel (CASA) that CU-Boulder support a Designated Suppliers Program. The document also presents our commitment of support that is required by a Working Group of higher education institutions in order for the CU-Boulder campus to participate in the detailed design of the Designated Suppliers Program).
Prepared by: Paul Tabolt, Vice Chancellor for Administration, University of Colorado at Boulder
For five years, the University of Colorado at Boulder has been actively engaged in efforts to improve working conditions for those involved in the production of licensed apparel bearing the University of Colorado's name, marks and logo. The University requires all licensees that have a contract with the University to adhere to ethical business practices when manufacturing or contracting for the production of licensed apparel.
The University also requires licensees to adhere to a code of conduct that calls for safe and humane working conditions and fair wages. Licensees are expected to conduct business with honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, and respect for the intrinsic value of each human being.
The Designated Supplier Program (DSP) was proposed by the national United Students Against Sweatshop Apparel in October 2005. The CU-Boulder Licensing Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor of History William Wei, subsequently participated in national and regional conferences and teleconferences on this matter.
The Licensing Advisory Committee, which is made up of faculty, students and staff from the three University of Colorado campuses, has reviewed a plethora of materials related to this matter and submitted a formal recommendation to the University on April 18, 2006. The Licensing Advisory Committee's chief recommendation is that the University express qualified support for the DSP. The recommendation is available at:
CU-Boulder has decided to act on the recommendation because we want to be an active part of the conversation to help bring about an effective, workable and fair DSP.
In that regard, the CU-Boulder campus has sent Professor William Wei to Washington, DC with this statement of support in hopes that he will be allowed to participate in Friday's Working Group with other institutions of higher education that are also supporting the concept of a DSP.
We are pleased to announce our commitment to the design of a viable program that can improve the lives of workers around the world. With this expression of support, the CU-Boulder campus urges CASA to end its eight-day hunger strike. We appreciate the sincere efforts of the students, but now is the time to move ahead.
ISSUES NEEDING ATTENTION
CU-Boulder has identified several issues that require further discussion and refinement that it believes will make the DSP more attractive to institutions of higher education. Those issues include:
o Obtaining a favorable Business Review of the DSP from the Department of Justice. That will alleviate on-going concerns from the higher education community about possible anti-trust violations.
o Bringing together representatives from the Fair Labor Association, factories, licensees, workers, and higher education to design the final details of the DSP.
o Agreeing upon a more inclusive process for the determination of which factories are to be included in the DSP. We expect a stronger commitment to better working conditions if representatives from the Worker Rights Consortium, the Fair Labor Association, licensees, and campus licensing directors are all engaged in the identification and selection of factories that demonstrate a clear commitment to improved working conditions and fair wages.
o Recognizing that workers should have a freedom of association, including the option to voluntarily come together, or not come together, for the purpose of employee representation, within the domestic laws of the nation where the work is being performed. The DSP proposes that factory employees must be represented by a legitimate, representative labor union or other representative employee body as evidenced by a collective bargaining agreement. CU-Boulder believes that it is important to find ways to encourage and achieve compliance with university codes of conduct without this requirement.
o Requiring that employees be paid a living wage. The University promotes wages and benefits which comply with all applicable laws and regulations where the work is being performed or the local prevailing wage and benefits provided by the relevant industry, whichever is higher. For five years, the University has sought clear definitions of what constitutes a living wage. The ambiguity of the term "living wage" and the suggestion that the Worker Rights Consortium will determine a living wage as a means to resolve labor disputes clearly needs to be discussed and addressed if the DSP is to be adopted by CU-Boulder in its final form.
o Maintaining a steadfast and long-term commitment from the Worker Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association to monitor the results of the DSP and a commitment to revise the program when needed.
o Ensuring that retail price increases for licensed collegiate apparel constantly remain within the Worker Rights Consortium's retail price increase estimates of 1-6% when compared to non-collegiate apparel prices.
o Establishing a relationship between the timeline and the percentage of goods that are to be manufactured in the DSP that allows adequate time for an analysis of the impacts the program's implementation is having on workers, factories, licensees and the retail market. We believe it is important that the DSP allow adequate time to revise and modify the program as lessons are learned.
o Proving assurances to public institutions that the DSP will be in compliance with applicable state laws, including right-to-work laws.
The University is pleased to express its support for the further refinement of the Designated Supplier Program. We also hope that CASA sees our action as a positive step forward and will support our efforts to get a number of important issues resolved.