Members of the Student Labor Action Coalition delivered a giant boot to Chancellor John Wiley Wednesday, urging him to ""give Adidas the boot"" in protest of alleged workers' rights violations in Adidas factories.
Students demanded the university sever its contract with Adidas, which supplies merchandise sporting the Wisconsin logo and apparel for university athletic teams.
""There have been numerous labor violations and the university is very aware of that,"" said Molly Glasgow, SLAC member and United Students Against Sweatshops Midwest organizer. ""They've sent letters to Adidas to say they need to stop doing this. Now the university needs to act on its words.""
Assistant to the Chancellor LaMarr Billups said companies like Adidas must agree to a set of labor standards when contracting to sell merchandise with university-patented logos. These include maintaining a safe working environment, abiding by minimum wage laws and respecting workers' rights to organize, a provision SLAC said Adidas has violated in some factories.
SLAC member and UW-Madison sophomore Jan Van Tol said about 20 students went to Wiley's office in hopes of pressuring the university to act upon its requirement that suppliers adhere to its code of conduct.
""The university has both a moral and legal obligation to cut the contract as soon as possible,"" Van Tol said.
UW-Madison is a member of the Workers Rights Consortium, an organization that monitors conditions in factories producing goods for universities. As part of the contract with Adidas, the company is required to meet with the WRC and change its practices whenever conflicts of labor violations arise.
""If the factory or brand refuses to do what is required, their license could be suspended or the university could stop ordering from that company,"" Billups said.
The current contract was renewed last year and does not expire until 2011, but UW-Madison could seek termination if it believes Adidas has violated the agreed-upon labor practices.
Billups said he will discuss the Adidas contract Friday with the Labor Policy Licensing Board, an advising committee of students and faculty, and will seek a recommendation regarding further action.
