Members of the Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to delay recommending the chancellor cut the university's contract with athletic apparel company Adidas.
At an April 4 meeting, the LLPC recommended to Chancellor John Wiley that he require Adidas to implement hiring benchmarks for the former workers of the Hermosa Manufacturing factory in El Salvador.
When Hermosa shut down in 2005, it failed to give 260 workers back pay upon their dismissal. Sixty-three workers were allegedly blacklisted after attempting to unionize over the severance discrepancy.
The committee agreed that before it recommends Wiley cut the university's apparel contract with Adidas, the company should have time to instate the benchmarks. By June 1, the athletic company is required to secure employment for 10 of the workers and by Sept. 1, 10 more workers must be employed.
Committee members also agreed to ask the chancellor to formally clarify what the consequences will be if Adidas does not meet the hiring requirements.
Not all members of the committee thought the recommendation to the chancellor would be effective. Several called for the contract cutting process to begin and only halt if the hiring benchmarks are met.
