Make UT Sweatshop Free

WHAT IS "MAKE UT SWEATSHOP-FREE"?

We are working to ensure that the workers who make Longhorn apparel are treated with respect. Currently, there is no legitimate avenue through which to ensure that Longhorn apparel is sweat-free. As such, we are asking the university to affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC).

The WRC is an independent organization that would monitor factories in which BURNT ORANGE apparel is made, responsibly alerting students and administrators to labor rights abuses in these factories. This transparency is imperative in ensuring that workers who produce Longhorn apparel are treated fairly; it allows the University to pressure companies like Nike and Russell to treat its workers with respect.

The WRC will not only better protect existing jobs, it would also ensure fair and healthy conditions in the countries in which our apparel is made.

The WRC is widely recognized as a legitimate monitor; it has over 180 collegiate affiliates, including:
*University of Colorado at Boulder
*Cornell University
*Harvard University
*Pennsylvania State University
*Ohio State University
*University of Michigan
*Michigan State University
*University of Wisconsin
*All of the schools in the University of California system
(http://www.workersrights.org/about/as.asp)

Help us change the status quo and ensure that UT stands behind its core purposes:
1. Learning - A caring community, all of us students, helping one another grow.
2. Discovery - Expanding knowledge and human understanding.
3. Freedom - To seek the truth and express it.
4. Leadership - The will to excel with integrity and the spirit that nothing is impossible.
5. Individual Opportunity - Many options, diverse people and ideas; one university.
6. Responsibility - To serve as a catalyst for positive change in Texas and beyond.
(http://www.utexas.edu/about-ut/mission-core-purpose-honor-code)

More info on the campaign:
http://oxfamut.com/category/make-ut-sweatshop-free/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112265378798525
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/business/18labor.html

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• oxfam
• ut
• university of texas
• sweatshops
• labor rights
• student activism
• WRC
• development
• environment
• nike
• factories
• bevo