Organizers of a forum on sweatshops are criticizing UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley for his plans not to attend an event of which, they say, his office was a cosponsor.
While the Chancellor's Office denies cosponsorship of the event, Pat Barrett, administrative director of the Haven Center, the organization in charge of publicity for the forum, said he believes the Chancellor's Office was a cosponsor.
The forum, titled 'What Can the UW Do About Global Sweatshops'?, was organized by the UW Labor and Licensing Committee, a shared governance committee that advises the chancellor on sweatshop issues, said Daniel Long, a member of the committee.
'We made it explicit that [the forum] would not be antagonistic,' Long said. 'We had hoped to get past some of the antagonism that had existed before.'
Due to a prior long-standing conflict, Wiley, who had been scheduled to speak at the event, will not attend, according to Kent Barrett, university relations specialist for University Communications, who also said the Chancellor's Office was a cosponsor of the forum.
'What has happened is that the chancellor had a long-existing commitment and if he can break off he will try to attend. He can't promise,' said Pam, program coordinator of the Chancellor's Office, who declined to give her last name.
Brian Rothgery, a member of the Madison Anti-Sweatshop Coalition, said he was disappointed the chancellor would not be at the forum.
'I'm really frustrated that the chancellor called for this event and now is claiming that he has a long-standing previous commitment,' Rothgery said. 'For him to back out at the last minute apparently because he fears opposition to what he wants to do ... is really anti-democratic.'
Two possible organizations to monitor the conditions in factories are the Workers Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association. Pat Barrett said students have favored the WRC as the best tool to fight issues concerning sweatshop labor abuse while university officials have favored the FLA.
Kate McCormick, a UW-Madison sophomore and member of the Madison Anti-Sweatshop Coalition, said she too was disappointed Wiley would not partake in the forum.
'We're concerned that [Wiley] has already made up his mind [regarding which monitoring organization to choose],' she said. 'We are calling for another forum in which the chancellor can participate.'
Rothgery said he did not believe Wiley even had another engagement, but had opted out of the engagement because he 'feared opposition.'
'We'd like to think he's genuinely concerned,' Rothgery said. 'But there's little evidence based on our past interactions on this issue and his past actions with this issue that he really is concerned.'
The forum will bring together people who have very divergent opinions concerning the question of how the issue should be dealt with, Pat Barrett said. The forum will include speakers from the FLA and the WRC.
Pat Barrett said he anticipated some discord between opposing sides.
'It's not intended to be a nasty exchange,' he said. 'But rather a productive dialogue assuming everyone wants to have a good outcome of improving working conditions. It's just a question of discussing different means of getting there.'
