Russell Athletics, a clothing company that formerly produced licensed UW-Madison athletic apparel, announced plans last week to reopen a factory in Honduras and rehire the 1,200 workers who were let go when the factory shut down business last year.
Russell announced the closure of the factory, Jerzees de Honduras, in October 2008, allegedly in response to workers unionizing for increased wages and better working conditions.
UW-Madison then ended all business with Russell in February, saying the incident violated the university's code of conduct for licensees. Many other universities nationwide also ended business with Russell after the plant closure.
Russell agreed last week, however, to reopen the factory and rehire the employees who had lost their jobs.
UW-Madison's Student Labor Action Coalition has been the main group on campus involved in the campaign and has participated in several events throughout the year to protest the issue.
Daniel Cox, a SLAC organizer, said the reopening of the plant was one of the organization's most significant victories.
""We are really excited because this is historic,"" he said. ""It's a huge game-changer in the university antisweatshop movement.""
Cox said he feels cutting ties with companies like Russell is the best way to continue pushing for better working conditions in factories.
""I think this Russell campaign shows us something really important: that cutting contracts of companies who have violated the code of conduct is the best way to bring them into compliance with the laws and help maintain the respect with their workers,"" he said.
SLAC is currently involved in a similar case with Nike, another company that produces UW-Madison apparel and has shut down factories in Honduras.
Cox said UW-Madison officials are trying to work out an agreement with Nike, but SLAC members feel more serious action needs to be taken.
""Cutting ties really puts a lot of pressure on these companies to begin respecting the rights of their workers,"" he said.
