Talks continue on sweatshops

Just days after being criticized by student anti-sweatshop activists, the Committee on Manufacturer Responsibility met yesterday and continued to debate issues surrounding monitoring organizations. The committee has a Thanksgiving deadline to submit a recommendation to University President Judith Rodin on whether the University should join the Worker Rights Consortium or the Fair Labor Association. Both the WRC and the FLA aim to monitor factories used to produce collegiate apparel and ensure that working conditions are safe and fair. While the FLA has government and industry backing, the WRC is favored by student groups, including Penn Students Against Sweatshops, and human rights activists. According to Committee Chairman Gregory Possehl, yesterday's meeting featured extensive discussion about the way in which universities are represented in the two organizations. "The committee had a very good and thorough discussion regarding this issue, and I think they're very happy with where we sit today," the Anthropology Department chairman said. But Possehl did not ask the committee to vote on which, if any, monitoring organizations the group would recommend Penn join. He maintained that the group would make its Thanksgiving deadline, which he set earlier this semester when the committee was accused of "foot-dragging" on making a recommendation to Rodin. Penn was a member of the FLA -- which PSAS claims would not effectively monitor labor conditions because of its corporate ties -- until February. The University withdrew from it following a nine-day PSAS sit-in, and has not been a member of any official monitoring group in the months since. The committee of students, faculty and staff was formed late last spring to replace the Ad Hoc Committee on Sweatshop Labor, which had recommended that Penn withhold membership from both the WRC and FLA. On Monday, PSAS sent a letter to Rodin expressing concern that the committee was not adequately addressing the issue of university representation, which it claims is supposed to be the committee's first priority when evaluating the WRC and FLA. The letter also demanded anew that Penn join the WRC. Possehl said the letter was not directly addressed in yesterday's meeting. However, a student member of the committee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that university representation was the first issue on yesterday's agenda because of the PSAS letter. "They wouldn't have given it sufficient attention" without the pressure of the letter, the student said. And the student member added that it was his impression that the committee wasn't emphasizing university representation like the Ad Hoc Committee recommended last spring. But the student also acknowledged that yesterday's discussion was a step forward. "A lot of good dialogue started," the student said. "It's definitely moving in the right direction." After the committee makes a recommendation, Rodin will make the final decision about membership in the FLA or WRC. She said she has not been speaking with the committee about the issue out of respect for the members' right to deliberate amongst themselves. Rodin also said she has been following the monitoring organizations' development and would integrate the committee's recommendation with external reports and independent analysis when making her decision.

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