The Student Labor Action Coalition protested at Chancellor Biddy Martin's office Wednesday to voice their concerns with UW-Madison's actions toward sweatshop conditions.
SLAC members gathered in Martin's office and asked to speak with her regarding their concerns with clothing factories owned by Nike, who has an apparel contract with UW-Madison.
According to Daniel Cox, a UW-Madison student and SLAC organizer, Nike closed a factory in Honduras, fired their workers and refused to give them severance pay, which is prohibited under the code of conduct all apparel companies have with UW-Madison.
""The university is getting apparel from sweatshops with bad working conditions,"" he said. ""It reflects badly on the university and the students.""
Jonah Zinn, also a UW-Madison student and SLAC organizer, said UW-Madison plans to host a $50,000 educational program to inform the university's licensees about the code of conduct regarding the treatment of workers in labor shops.
Zinn said SLAC was uncertain about the necessity of the program.
""We don't think that these companies can really plead ignorance on the issue of the labor code of conduct,"" he said. ""By signing a legal document, they are aware of their actions and the implications.""
Zinn said aside from feeling the program was unwarranted, he was also concerned about where the funds were coming from.
According to Cox, SLAC submitted letters to Martin within the past month and never received a response.
However, both Cox and Zinn said they felt Martin listened to their concerns Wednesday and seemed willing to help take further action against sweatshop conditions.
""[Martin] was pretty respectful,"" he said. ""She expressed her concern and said that she would definitely take an active role once we have the official reports out.""
Cox said he hopes after today's event, UW-Madison will take a stronger stance against sweatshops.
""The administration should lean on these companies and make sure that they are expected to follow the code of conduct which they are legally bound to, and if they do not, they should no longer have the opportunity of making [University of] Wisconsin apparel,"" he said.
