Sweatshop group: today's the day

United Student Against Sweatshops is demanding Penn withdraw from the Fair Labor Association. They've been counting down for the last week and now have come to the final hour. After hanging signs on Locust Walk every day, the members of the United Students Against Sweatshops say today is the final day for Penn to pull out of its sweatshop monitoring organization before they start increasing their pressure on the administration. USAS is demanding that University President Judith Rodin leave the Fair Labor Association, which the group says is biased and ineffective, and join the Workers Rights Consortium by today. USAS has repeatedly asked Rodin to pull out of the FLA, saying that the group is ineffective at ensuring that school-logo products are not made by sweatshop laborers. The students sent a letter to Rodin stating their position. About 24 faculty members also signed and submitted a letter to Rodin, supporting the students' demands. Today the students, joined by supporter City Councilman David Cohen, will protest on College Green. Cohen will speak at 2:30 p.m. and USAS will also put a T-shirt bearing the signatures of 100 students on the Ben Franklin statue in front of College Hall. Thus far Rodin has not agreed to pull out of the FLA or to join the WRC. In a letter responding to USAS, she wrote yesterday, "I still believe that the FLA is currently the most effective means of addressing substandard working conditions... the Workers Rights Consortium currently does not have the support or expertise demonstrated by the FLA." Rodin added that she plans to appoint a task force to draft a code of conduct for Penn licensees. She said she would ask the input of students and faculty, including members of USAS. But USAS members say Rodin's promises are not enough. "It is an issue of social justice," College sophomore and USAS member Roopa Gona said. "If I'm going to wear Penn T-shirts with pride, I should know how and where they've been made." USAS met with Rodin twice during December to discuss Penn's sweatshop policies, the first time after 14 students staged a sit-in in her office. In December, City Council passed a resolution -- sponsored by Cohen-- supporting Penn's student activists. USAS will also present an official copy of the resolution to the administration tomorrow. USAS plans to continue its efforts over the coming weeks by increasing pressure on the University and increasing awareness among students if the University does not meet the deadline. They will be holding a "teach-in" at Civic House on February 7 to promote their cause. USAS member and College senior Miriam Joffe-Block said, "We're going to show [the University] that this is an issue we're not going to let slide." Eric Schneider, assistant dean of the College, is among the faculty and staff members who have supported USAS. "I think universities have a special obligation to act in an ethical fashion," he said. Although they are not involved directly in USAS projects, he said, faculty members can have an influence over the University's policies. History Professor David Ludden also supports USAS. "I think it's important for these issues to be discussed and in the public eye," he said. The University joined the FLA in March of last year. But according to Joffe-Block, the FLA does not enforce fair labor laws or monitor its corporations effectively. The reason for these lax standards, said USAS member and College sophomore Matt Grove, is because the FLA is run by the corporations which manufacture the clothing, whereas the WRC, which USAS hopes the University will join, is an independent organization consisting of a coalition of non-governmental entities in the countries where the clothes are made. A handful of universities have joined the WRC, including Brown University, Haverford College and Loyola University of New Orleans, whereas over 130 colleges and universities have joined the FLA. College freshman Anna Roberts, also a USAS member, said the University promised the group last year that it would reveal the locations of all of the factories with which it does business. However, she said, USAS has not yet received that list.