Univ. of Cal school system joins WRC

The California Aggie DAVIS, Calif. -- (U-WIRE) With the University of California's ann- ouncement Friday that it will join the Worker Rights Consortium on a one-year trial basis, the Students Against Sweatshops have won a major victory in their fight to end worker exploitation. According to Student Assistant to the Chancellor Edgar Chen, the UC system is one of the first school systems to adopt the WRC as the official monitoring group for licensed apparel. Chen also said UC-Davis has been integral to creating the recently adopted UC Code of Conduct for Trademark Licensees. "It's a really huge win for students," Chen said. "We accomplished everything we sought to do by first getting the code approved and then getting the UCs to sign onto the WRC." The code mandates that any manufacturers contracted by the university must provide sweatshop-free labor conditions for their employees. These provisions stipulate that companies be free of child labor and provide wage benefits and overtime compensation. Most significantly, the provision requires that subcontractors offer living wages to its employees. Currently, 45 schools have signed on to the WRC. "For the UCs to sign on lends validity to a fledgling monitoring group that no one thought would get off the ground," Maura Reynolds, a member of the Progressive Student Coalition, said. The WRC will enforce its policies through different mechanisms, including a direct complaint system wherein the workers themselves report matters that fall in violation of the code of conduct. The WRC does not have any connection to corporate or governmental groups, according to Reynolds. "Basically, there'll be no conflict of interest in those categories," Reynolds said. UCD Trademark License Coordinator Lynn Gore said university officials are uncertain as to what specific changes will occur by signing onto the WRC. "The decision to join the WRC was made rather suddenly and most of the licensing directors have not even had an opportunity to have meetings," she said. "We haven't received any guidelines from the Office of the President." The UC Code of Conduct also requires the licensees to submit the names and addresses and a contact person for their subcontractors to verify fair labor conditions. The WRC will then be the official organization that will verify that the information provided to the university is accurate, according to Gore. "As we move into placing the WRC as our compliance organization we also have to incorporate something into our Code of Conduct," Gore said. "All of these concepts and codes and ways to monitor and enforce them are a new area for the garment industry? and for the UCs. "We're all just learning as we go, but there's a lot of commitment on the part of the university to make this work," she continued. While the guidelines are set to be enforced, certain companies have already expressed their position on the matter. "Some companies have indicated that they won't be able to sign off on our Code of Conduct and so we can't do business with them," Gore said. Chuck Kratochvil, general manager of the UCD Bookstore does not predict any direct effects to the bookstore or to the revenues it generates. "Belonging to this organization shouldn't have any great impacts," he said. "The products may change as far as what is made available to the customers of the bookstore."