The UW Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to recommend that Chancellor Biddy Martin begin taking steps to terminate the university's contract with Nike because of labor rights abuses.
LLPC is a shared governance committee that advises Martin on sweatshop issues. Martin sent a letter to Nike in November stating the company had a responsibility to remedy its labor rights violations to uphold the university's code of conduct.
Nike closed two of its Honduran factories, which make collegiate apparel, in January.
According to a statement from the Student Labor Action Coalition, Nike neglected to pay ""legally mandated severance and back pay to the 1,800 workers.""
The committee's recommendation follows in the wake of a statement released to universities by Nike in which it defended its actions pertaining to the two factories, Vision Tex and Hugger de Honduras.
According to Jan Van Tol, SLAC member and LLPC student representative, Nike's letter blamed the economic decline in the United States, among other reasons, for its actions.
""It's been eleven months since the factories closed,"" Van Tol said in an e-mail. ""If Nike were truly serious about respecting the UW's code of conduct, they would have paid up long ago.""
The issue is being raised on numerous campuses throughout the country, including fellow Big 10 school Purdue University.
LLPC will advise Martin to give Nike notice that it is in breach of contract, and in doing so take the first step toward termination.
""Ultimately we want to ensure that all workers associated with the university are treated with respect and have the right to organize collectively to solve their own problems,"" Van Tol said.
