In response to allegations that Adidas closed a factory in Indonesia without paying the 2,800 workers due severance, UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward said he will meet with UW System officials this week to discuss breaking ties with the company. But, some community members say this is not enough.
The UW-Madison Student Labor Action Coalition demanded the university act when PT Kizone, the Indonesian factory where Adidas produced some of its Wisconsin apparel, closed abruptly in January.
Adidas responded to the allegations Thursday, saying they had nothing to do with the independently-owned factory closing.
Ward said he is leaning towards ending the university’s contract with Adidas after he discussed the issue with university and athletic officials according to a memo he sent to the UW-Madison’s Labor Licensing Policy Committee Friday.
“Upon my initial reading, my feeling is that [Adidas’ response to the allegations] does not address the concerns that the committee has articulated,” Ward said. “After appropriate and speedy consultation, I am inclined to give notice to Adidas that we believe it is in material breach of the terms of the Code of Conduct.”
However, Ward said the university does “not ignore the positive and productive relationship we have had with Adidas to date” and legal expenses stemming from breaking the contract could be extensive.
But some UW-Madison community members are asking Ward to be more assertive.
SLAC member Lingin Kong said Ward’s response to the allegations were not sufficient and only further delayed university action.
“I think he’s stalling,” Kong said. “All of the facts have been out for months and basically, he’s just pushing off on this when really, for these workers, this is money that they need immediately.”
The UW-Madison labor policy committee passed a motion Friday asking Ward give adidas an ultimatum: either pay the workers severance within 90 days or UW will cut ties with the company.
“These people are very poor and are not able to eat, not able to send their kids to school, and nobody disputes the fact that they are owed money,” LLCP Chair Lydia Zepeda said.
Prior to the committee’s meeting, students read Ward a testimony from one of the PT Kizone workers who can no longer afford to pay the ten dollars for his two daughters to attend school.
“If we could eat properly, even once a day, we would be very grateful,” one of the testimonies said.
While UW-Madison has previously ended contracts with both Nike and Russell Athletics for violating labor policies, Vice Chancellor for University Relations Vince Sweeney said the university does its best to prevent the violations by creating codes of conduct.
“When they enter these agreements, people are aware of what our requirements are, so we think that we are being proactive at the start of the relationship,” Sweeney said. “If people find there’s been issues, we hold their feet to the fire, so to speak, on what they agreed to up front.”
