Sweat Free

Sweatshirts, hats and shorts. Jackets, T-shirts and pants. UMBC logo merchandise is now made under fair labor practices, thanks to the Fair Labor Standards Advisory Group (FLSAG). The group, appointed by President Freeman Hrabowski, is chaired by Assistant to the President and Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Lisa Akchin and includes representatives of campus senates and members of the UMBC Solidarity Coalition, who brought this issue to campus administrators.

As a result of FLSAG deliberations, UMBC has adopted a code of conduct describing the fair labor standards required by vendors producing merchandise. The full code of conduct can be seen here. All merchandise for fall 2011 orders will be subject to the new code. UMBC has also joined 180 colleges and universities as a member of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a non-profit governmental organization that assists campuses with enforcement of manufacturing codes of conduct through education, compliance monitoring and remediation negotiations. 

“Like much clothing manufactured today, university-logo merchandise is usually produced in overseas factories,” said Akchin. “In fact, the fair labor issue extends to nearly all clothing people buy – not just university logo. This makes it challenging for campuses and apparel suppliers to ensure that fair labor practices are followed by suppliers. With this new code, we can ensure that merchandise will be made under safe conditions.”

 “We’ve all heard about mistreated workers, and it all comes back to our economic system,” said Stefanie Mavronis ’12, political science. “Through our work, we hope that other people understand what’s happening outside our bubble and recognize that these are humans – just like us. There are real people on the other end, and we are benefitting by exploiting them.”

Mavronis is a member of the Solidarity Coalition and has been passionate about fair labor standards since she was in high school. Although the Coalition is small in size, the group often partners with other on- and off-campus organizations to pursue a similar goal: ending harmful mistreatment of workers.

To engage the campus further, the Solidarity Coalition will present “Sweatshop Workers Speak Out!” on Thursday, April 29, 6-8 p.m., in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. This event will feature a Bangladeshi garment worker and a representative of home-based workers in Pakistan. It is co-sponsored by the International Labor Rights Forum, IWW, Red Emma’s Bookstore, The United Workers, Women Involved in Learning and Leadership, Gender and Women’s Studies, Media and Communications Studies and UMBC’s President’s Office.

“This event will be the biggest we’ve ever had,” Mavronis said. “I think it will be interesting to see what people ask and also how these workers see themselves in the bigger picture. We look forward to the campus learning more about this important issue.”

Other groups involved in FLSAG include representatives of the Professional Staff Senate, Graduate Student Association, Student Government Association, the Administration and Finance Division and the General Counsel’s Office. All Senates were invited to participate, and the University Steering Committee was engaged throughout the process.
For more information on the Solidarity Coalition, click here.

(4/23/10)