U. rallies against sweatshops

In an effort to bring awareness to Penn students regarding the use of sweatshop labor in El Salvador, about 40 students gathered on College Green last night for a candlelight vigil. The vigil -- organized at Penn and about 20 other schools around the country this week -- was led by members of Students Against Sweatshops. The event was planned after five students from the national group United Students Against Sweatshops reported that they identified major brand names such as Kathie Lee Gifford's clothing line, Nike and Adidas being manufactured in the sweatshops during a visit to El Salvador. "It was supposed to be an initial event to raise awareness and educate people," College senior Laurie Eichenbaum said. But "the real point," according to College freshman Anna Roberts, "was to attract as much attention to the issue so the workers won't get killed by their government." The vigil including readings of excerpts of letters from the workers as they prepared to return to El Salvador after a visit to the U.S. Included in the testimony were descriptions of the base conditions in the Caribbean Apparel sweatshops reportedly used in producing Gifford's clothing line. Workers attested to suffering both physical and mental abuse. Upon demanding better working conditions, six workers were fired and blacklisted, according to the reports. In an open letter to students in the U.S., the workers entreated support for their call for full public disclosure of factory locations. Workers argued that they did not want the clothing labels to discontinue production in El Salvador since that would mean many employees would lose their jobs. Instead they called for improved working conditions, a living wage, a safe environment and an end to the threats they are now receiving. The vigil ended by calling attention back to Penn students. Since the University supports the same monitoring company used by Gifford, Students Against Sweatshops will meet with members of the administration next Thursday in an attempt to convince Penn to adopt a new code of conduct that would surpass the Fair Labor Association's existing guidelines for workers in shops manufacturing Penn apparel. The code would call for basic human rights and full public disclosure of factory locations. The Students Against Sweatshop members said they were pleased with the amount of students and the interest in the cause. "I think it went well," Roberts said. "We got a good turnout and it's just going to get better from here." Ultimately the vigil "exhibited a level of social consciousness that often students are not given credit for," College senior and PAN member Miriam Joffe-Block said, "and reflects that students do feel responsible for the stance their university has taken, which at this point is unacceptable." The vigil is only one of the first activities planned by the group. The group also plans on holding a rally October 14 with guest speaker Dita Sari, an Indonesian worker imprisoned for trying to organize Nike factory employees.