The Student Labor Action Coalition held a rally Friday pressuring Chancellor Rebecca Blank to cut licensing ties with VF Corporation, the parent company of JanSport.
Last year, Blank enacted a policy giving UW-Madison apparel licensees until July 30, 2014 to sign the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. The Accord was created following the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured more than 2,500. VF Corporation has not signed the Accord, but has signed the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.
A 2014 report by the UW-Madison Labor Codes and Licensing Advisory Committee said the membership fees are the only enforceable provision of the Alliance. However, the Accord is a legally binding contract between brands and Bangladeshi unions.
The Friday rally featured multiple speakers outside Bascom Hall, including Rana Plaza survivor Mahinur Begum. The breadwinner of her family, Begum was unable to return to work following the accident due to losing a toe, head trauma and “flashbacks to Rana Plaza.”
“The factories are unsafe. If she [Blank] believes that human lives matter, then she can cut ties with the VF Corporation,” Begum said.
ASM Representative Jessica Franco-Morales said the LCLAC, which works on labor contracts, had its student governing power reduced last June, when Blank made changes to its structure. The committee is now chaired by a faculty or administration member instead of a student.
LCLAC requested Blank force parent companies to sign the Accord as well. She denied its request last June. JanSport does not have the power to sign the Accord, because it is a subsidiary of VF Corporation, which refuses to sign the Accord.
The Alliance, which VF Corporation has signed, has been called “a public relations sham” by Scott Nova of the Worker Rights Consortium. VF Corporation spokesperson Craig Hodges refuted this claim, saying the Alliance is legally binding.
“We are proud of the progress we’ve made as a member of the alliance, but like all manufacturers that are sourcing product from Bangladesh, we recognize that there is much more work to be done,” Hodges said.
In a Feb. 12 letter to SLAC, Blank explained she has not ended the contract with JanSport because the company does not source, produce or purchase anything in Bangladesh, but that she would revisit her decision if any new evidence were to be presented. She added the situation in Bangladesh is very complex.
“Both the garment industry and the workers encounter tremendous governmental hurdles when trying to implement broad safety plans as discussed in both the Accord and the Alliance for Worker Safety in Bangladesh,” Blank said in the letter. “I remain committed to hearing updates and information about the progress or lack thereof in these agreements.”
SLAC invited Blank to attend the rally, but she did not.
This story was updated Monday, March 2 to include Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s point-of-view.
