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news
Sweatshop issues
raise a big stink
By Jamie Rogers
On-line Forty-Niner
The issue
From corporate
chief executive officers to college students, most people
agree that sweatshop labor is wrong. To combat abject labor
practices, corporations abide by codes of conduct that condemn
worker abuse.
Roman Gulon, CEO and general manager of the 49er Shops, produced
a 1 1/2-inch thick notebook containing codes of conduct 49er
Shops vendors support in addition to the 49er Shops' own labor-rights
code of conduct set by the California State University system
and Cal State Long Beach.
However, sweatshop labor still exists.
Several large companies have dealt with the issue throughout
the past few years, including Nike, Reebok, the Gap and Unocal.
Two companies that sell products at CSULB, Sara Lee Inc. and
Coca-Cola Co., have also been accused of purchasing goods
manufactured under poor labor conditions.
Sweatshop labor in the United States is often hidden from
the parent company by factories, according to Paul Bott, CSULB
professor of occupational studies.
"If you have kids and they tell you they are going to
go somewhere, you are going to trust them to do what they
say," Bott said. "It is the same with companies.
They trust their subcontractors. It is difficult to chase
down and inspect all of the factories."
American companies typically try to avoid working with factories
that operate under sweatshop conditions, Bott said, because
the money saved through low wages is not worth the public
relations nightmare an exposed sweatshop could create.
Coca-Cola
On July 20, the United Steelworker's Union and the International
Labor Rights Fund filed a suit against Coke and Panamerican
Beverages, Inc., after a Jesuit priest who is an advocator
of union rights in Colombia sought the Union's help.
"He asked if we could help organize an informal tribunal
to educate the public on the activities in Columbia,"
said Dan Kovalik, assistant general council to the Steelworker's
Union. "It turned out we filed a formal tribunal."
The plaintiffs brought the suit to the U.S. District Court,
Southern District of Florida, alleging the "systematic
intimidation, kidnapping, detention and murder of trade unionists
in Colombia, South America at the hands of paramilitaries
working as agents of corporations doing business in that country,"
according to the lawsuit. "This case, brought under the
Alien Tort Claims Act, Rico and state tort law, is brought
to remedy and prevent the violent persecution of trade unionist
at various
locations of one particular company doing business in Colombia
-- Coca-Cola."
The estate of Isidro Segundo Gil, who was murdered while working
at a bottling plant in Carepa, is included on the list of
plaintiffs.
According to Natalie Rule, public relations representative
for Coca-Cola, the suit was brought against the bottling company,
Panamerican Beverages, Inc., which is independent from the
Coca-Cola Co. Later, she said, the plaintiffs included Coca-Cola
in the suit.
"We do not believe there is any merit to [this accusation],"
Rule said.
Kovalik said the facts point to Coca-Cola's involvement in
the mistreatment of union members.
"It is very clear that the manager of the Carepa plant
was directly involved in [Isidro's] assassination," Kovalik
said. "We believe these accusations have merit. We would
not bring it to the court of law if we thought otherwise."
In September, the city of Long Beach signed a $3 million contract
with Coke, making them the primary supplier of drinks to city
buildings, parks, beaches and vending machines. In 1994, CSULB
signed a contract with Coke making them the sole supplier
of soda on campus.
Sara Lee Corp
The Sara Lee Corp. owns 149 brand names and 139 companies,
which manufactures product ranging from tampons to coffee,
including Champion Products, a sportswear manufacturer.
In November of 2000, the Dutch-based Clean Clothes Campaign
posted a report at cleanclothes.org, charging that Champion
Products was one of nine companies manufacturing shoes in
a Thai factory operating under sweatshop conditions.
Peggy Carter, vice president of corporate affairs for Champion,
said she only heard of the accusation when a reporter questioned
her about it.
"We looked into it," Carter said. "We found
that we did not have suppliers in that part of the country.
We were concerned that someone was manufacturing knock-off
products."
Carter said she
referred the complaint to the company's lawyer.
"Sara Lee has had a policy for more than a decade,"
Carter said. "A Global Operations Standard Policy and
a Buyer Guidelines Policy. We feel very good about our operations
and Champions work."
The Sara Lee Corp. has dealt with multiple lawsuits against
the food side of the business. Twenty-three black employees
filed separate suits against Sara Lee, accusing the Philadelphia
Ball Park brand hot dog factory of racially discriminating
against them. Sara Lee denied all charges.
The 49er Shops
carry a multitude Champion Products, including sweatshirts
and T-shirts that carry the CSULB logo. At the end of June,
Sara Lee Corp. sold the college bookstore portion of Champion
Products to Gear For Sports.
The CSULB Response
Jim Araby, senior history major and member of the Student
Progressives, said he became concerned with the issue early
this semester and began investigating various labor rights
groups.
He said he prefers
the Worker's Rights Consorium (WRC) because, in his opinion,
it is more proactive than the Fair Labor Association (FLA).
On June 19, 2000, Gear For Sports joined the FLA, a labor
rights watchdog group. The FLA grew out of the Apparel Industry
Partnership that was formed in 1996 by the White House. It
is made up of manufacturers, consumer groups, labor and human
rights groups and universities. Currently, 160 colleges and
universities are affiliated with the FLA.
The WRC was formed a little more than a year ago and currently
has more than 80 college and university affiliates. It was
created by college administrators, students and labor rights
experts.
"The FLA is like the WRC, except unlike the WRC it has
corporations that sit on their board," Araby said. "Why
would a company like Russell Athletic want better conditions
and higher pay when it would just raise their costs?"
Araby met with Gulon, 49er Shops CEO to discuss the issue.
"He said [the issue of sweatshop labor] came out two
years ago and [they] are really contemplating on what to do,
join the WRC or the FLA," Araby said. "I thought,
'you haven't done anything in two years?' That was my first
inclination that they are kind of sitting back on this
and hoping it will pass over CSULB."
Gulon said the code of conduct the 49er Shops uses has satisfied
his customers' concerns about labor practices up to this point.
"Our primary motive is to serve our customers,"
Gulon said. "Our customers have not made [sweatshops]
an issue for us."
Gulon said the earliest a decision can be made about joining
one of the two groups would be June 2002, when the new CSULB
fiscal year begins.
CSULB President Robert Maxson said he would support any recommendation
the board makes about whether to join a labor rights group,
according to Doug Robinson, vice president for student services
and chairman of the 49er Shops board.
San Diego State joined the WRC more than a month ago, when
students brought their concerns about sweatshop labor to Bill
Johnson, director of licensing and merchandise for the Aztec
shops.
"We joined so [students] know that we are aware and willing
to do what is necessary to make sure we don't have vendors
that deal with sweatshops," Johnson said. "We don't
usually have much craziness on this campus; we don't deal
with Nike or Adidas. [Joining the WRC] is more of a symbol
of support. They are not out there chasing down our vendors."
According to Araby, if CSULB were to become affiliated with
the WRC they would start by asking all of the 49er Shops vendors
to disclose the location of their factories. From there they
would research the working conditions of those factories.
Many labor activists are concerned that if sweatshop labor
conditions are exposed, companies may pull out of the factories,
leaving workers unemployed, Araby said.
"The WRC has expressed that this is not what they want
to happen," he said. "They want the company to work
with the factory and with the people. They want to raise the
bar of standards so these people can have actual lives."
Araby said he is frustrated that Gulon was unable to give
a definitive yes or no whether the 49er Shops will join a
labor rights group.
"I came out of this meeting and [Gulon] said we have
to wait until 2002 because that is the end of their fiscal
year and I wasn't satisfied with that," Araby said. "The
question came up about cost. [Gulon] told me the University
Bookstore is a nonprofit organization and that any money that
is made goes back in to the school. I think that is great
but I also think a lot of student are concerned that clothing
we sell here on campus could be made in sweatshops. We really
think something needs to be done about that."
Affiliates of the WRC pay a minimum of $1,000 and the FLA
requires a minimum of $300 to join.
"We are looking into what the cost is for sure,"
Gulon said. "[The WRC] takes 1 percent of revenue derived
from licensed products. I need a definition of exactly what
is meant by that."
Last year, the 49er Shops sold $1,880,000 in clothing and
gifts. Gulon said the University Bookstore and the 49er Shops
donate goods and services to student activities and groups
on campus. One percent of total sales would deny the university
nearly $19,000 in money and gifts the bookstore could contribute
to the campus, Gulon said.
"If you are
talking about $1,000, or I think the FLA minimum is $300,
for us to contribute on an annual bases, we will probably
do that," Gulon said. "If you are talking about
1 percent of the total sales, that is unreasonable. It would
be a disservice to this university."
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