The Milwaukee Common Council presented a resolution it approved Oct. 23 to University of Wisconsin-Madison activist groups Wednesday to support them in urging Chancellor David Ward to terminate the university’s contract with adidas.
The issue began January 2011 when a factory contracted by adidas suddenly shut down without compensating over 2,700 Indonesian workers. The UW-Madison Labor Licensing Policy Committee and the Student Labor Action Coalition have lobbied university administration to cut ties with the company since December 2011.
Milwaukee Ald. Tony Zielinski, District 14, said he is passionate about preventing the abuse of workers for economic gain, and that adidas’ actions need to be more vigorously addressed.
“These corporations have to get the message this type of behavior won’t be tolerated,” he said. “If the chancellor at UW-Madison continues to support [adidas] in spite of their abuse of workers, it’s less likely they will change their policies.
Zielinski said he met with members from UW-Madison SLAC Wednesday night to assure them he would continue to work with them in protesting UW-Madison’s contract with adidas.
In July 2012, UW-Madison asked a Dane County Circuit Court to decide if adidas had violated its contract with the university. The case is still currently in the Dane County Court System.
Editor's Note: The original article said the resolution was passed Wednesday. It was passed Oct. 23 and presented to the UW groups Wednesday. We regret the error.
