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United Students Against Sweatshops Sit In
Crowd of 200 gather at UCB to support a" sweat-free UC". Condeming the University's use of sweat shop labor in the production of collegiate apparel, and promoting United Students Against Sweatshops' (USAS) designated supplier program (DSP), students staged a "Naked Truth" rally and sit in that resulted in 18 arrests and more verbal volley from University administration
In response to the University of California's continued refusal to sign the designated suppliers program proposed by national grassroots organization United Students Against Sweatshops, some 200 odd students gathered today in Berkeley, California to bare their bodies and raise their voices against the University's existing Code of Conduct. Dissatisfied with a monitoring system that includes corporate board members as its decision makers (see recent allegations brought against FLA http://www.flawatch.org/about.htm) students rallied to publicize their discontent with "business as usual" and push for the adoption of USAS driven Designated Supplier's Program.
According to UCSC organizer Sarah Bloomberg, "it was a powerful day" because students came out in numbers to support an 'innovative and efficient' solution to the complicated problem of worker exploitation.
Students were disturbed that their legal observer, a member of the National Lawyer's Guild, was removed by police at the beginning of the sit in while the University's legal advisor was allowed to stay on for the duration of the event. The sit in ended in 18 arrests for "trespassing and refusing to leave" after aproximately 2 and a half hours of proposals and demands.
While the afternoon ended in a draw, participants are confident that the demonstration raised UC administration's awareness of student concern and comprehension of the issues. Instead of simply bemoaning the status quo as many student organizations due, USAS organizers are proposing an alternative to the existing Code of Conduct.
USAS organizing efforts are aimed at getting University administration to sign on their support of the DSP, afterwhich negotiations on DSP specifics could occur. The University is citing procedural complications and concern over "fair purchasing" protocol as the main blockages to signing.
For more information on this innovative alternative to unchecked outsourcing check out, http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/campaigns/sweatfree_main.php
According to UCSC organizer Sarah Bloomberg, "it was a powerful day" because students came out in numbers to support an 'innovative and efficient' solution to the complicated problem of worker exploitation.
Students were disturbed that their legal observer, a member of the National Lawyer's Guild, was removed by police at the beginning of the sit in while the University's legal advisor was allowed to stay on for the duration of the event. The sit in ended in 18 arrests for "trespassing and refusing to leave" after aproximately 2 and a half hours of proposals and demands.
While the afternoon ended in a draw, participants are confident that the demonstration raised UC administration's awareness of student concern and comprehension of the issues. Instead of simply bemoaning the status quo as many student organizations due, USAS organizers are proposing an alternative to the existing Code of Conduct.
USAS organizing efforts are aimed at getting University administration to sign on their support of the DSP, afterwhich negotiations on DSP specifics could occur. The University is citing procedural complications and concern over "fair purchasing" protocol as the main blockages to signing.
For more information on this innovative alternative to unchecked outsourcing check out, http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/campaigns/sweatfree_main.php
For more information:
http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/c...
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Posted on indymedia.org:
Yesterday a dozen students staged a sit-in in the office of UCR chancellor France Cordova in order to put pressure on the chancellor to support -- and, ultimately, the entire UC system to adopt -- tougher regulations for apparel sold at UCs and worn by UC workers. In particular, they are urging UC president Robert Dynes to sign on to the Designated Suppliers Proposal as outlined at http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/docs/designatedsuppliers.doc. Ten students were arrested after nearly twelve hours of protesting in Cordova's office. In addition to those inside, many students helped coordinate an all-day rally outside of the administration building to encourage the University of California to take a stronger anti-sweatshop stance by adopting the DSP. At 1pm, the peak of the rally, more than 200 students were outside chanting "UC -- Sweat Free" and other pro-worker/anti-sweatshop chants. Dozens of supporters stayed until the students inside were arrested, cited and released just after midnight. Those arrested were charged with trespassing (a misdemeanor) and are scheduled to appear at the Riverside Municipal Court on May 22nd at 7:30 a.m. This action was part of a national student-labor week of action that chapters of United Students Against Sweatshops (http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org) across the country are taking part in. Students at UC Berkeley also participated in a similar action yesterday.
Yesterday a dozen students staged a sit-in in the office of UCR chancellor France Cordova in order to put pressure on the chancellor to support -- and, ultimately, the entire UC system to adopt -- tougher regulations for apparel sold at UCs and worn by UC workers. In particular, they are urging UC president Robert Dynes to sign on to the Designated Suppliers Proposal as outlined at http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/docs/designatedsuppliers.doc. Ten students were arrested after nearly twelve hours of protesting in Cordova's office. In addition to those inside, many students helped coordinate an all-day rally outside of the administration building to encourage the University of California to take a stronger anti-sweatshop stance by adopting the DSP. At 1pm, the peak of the rally, more than 200 students were outside chanting "UC -- Sweat Free" and other pro-worker/anti-sweatshop chants. Dozens of supporters stayed until the students inside were arrested, cited and released just after midnight. Those arrested were charged with trespassing (a misdemeanor) and are scheduled to appear at the Riverside Municipal Court on May 22nd at 7:30 a.m. This action was part of a national student-labor week of action that chapters of United Students Against Sweatshops (http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org) across the country are taking part in. Students at UC Berkeley also participated in a similar action yesterday.
we want visuals!!!
As one of the 18 students at Berkeley who got arrested on Tuesday, I feel empowered and energized to continue fighting against the hypocracy and unjust practices of the UC. We have been demanding that the UC, and in particular President Dynes, take serious and committed steps to back up our code of conduct with a system of enforcement- as of now, enforcement consists of relying on the word of corporations that are known to cover up abuses in their factories and suppress union organizing. So, it is after more than 6 months of being put off by President Dynes and the UC that we were driven to engage in an act of civil disobedience.
18 of us from San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley and Davis sat-in at Chancellor Birgeneau's office (UCB). 12 of us from San Diego and Riverside sat-in at Chancellor Cordova's office (UCR). We presented the following demands and assurances to the police and administrators that received us at both campuses.
It should be noted that the Berkeley police refused to let anyone use the restroom until after they had arrested us.
President Dynes has let us down, once again. Not only by hiding behind the excuses of 'being out of town' and 'in meetings' and therefore 'unavailable' in order to avoid communicating with us. And not only because he refuses to make a statement regarding this campaign and the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP). But also for choosing to not meet with us and not attend Thursday's Code of Conduct Committee meeting as well, which he had originally agreed to go to.
If the University had been acting in good faith, we would not have been forced to take this action. President Dynes and the Chancellors must drop all charges and not take any disciplinary action against us for enacting our rights to non-violently voice our opinions.
Assurance of Non-violent Action
"Students are currently engaged in a peaceful demonstration inside the office of the chancellor at the University of California, [Riverside/Berkeley]. This was not an action that was chosen but, rather, was forced upon us by the failure of the University of California to live up to its supposed commitment to workers’ rights. Workers producing university apparel and uniforms, in addition to facing intense repression upon attempting to better their working conditions, do not earn enough to support themselves, let alone their families. Students refuse to stand by and allow this abuse to continue, and are therefore committed to remaining in the office of the chancellor until our demands are met.
That being said, we would like to provide the University of California, [Riverside/Berkeley] with the following assurances:
1. This is a peaceful demonstration, and violent action will not be taken by any of the individuals participating in this civil disobedience.
2. We have no interest in threatening the safety of any individuals. We can therefore guarantee that no individuals will be put at any kind of risk, and all occupants of the chancellor’s office will be free to leave at any time.
3. No property will be damaged or stolen at any point in this civil disobedience.
4. We have no interest in viewing any information that may be in any files or computers that are located within the chancellor’s office. We can therefore guarantee that these files or computers will not, at any point, be tampered with by any of our participants.
5. A legal observer will be with us at all times.
6. We do not have any weapons, alcohol, or illegal substances in our possession.
We are committed to ensuring that this action remains peaceful and non-violent at all times and that no property is damaged, and we expect that the University of California will respect and share that commitment."
OUR DEMANDS
"The students of the University of California have grown tired of our university’s refusal to honor the commitments made with the initial adoption of the code of conduct for trademark licensees. We have been put in a position where, in order to ensure that the rights of the workers producing university apparel and uniforms are no longer violated as a matter of routine, the following demands must be met immediately:
A. The University of California must immediately issue the following public statement, signed by President Robert Dynes and interim Vice President of Business and Finance Rory Hume, stating that:
The University of California is committed to the timely implementation of the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) proposed by United Students Against Sweatshops, which will:
1) Require licensees to buy licensed apparel from factories that pay a living wage, that respect associational rights as demonstrated by the presence in the factory of a legitimate union or other representative employee body, and that sell the majority of their products to university licensees (or to other buyers willing to meet the same standards and pricing obligations as university licensees)
2) Require licensees to pay these factories prices sufficient to make it possible for these standards to be met
3) Be enforced by the Worker Rights Consortium in order to ensure verification by an organization that is independent of the apparel industry
In addition, the University of California is committed to applying the standards set forth in the code of conduct, as well as the DSP, to the production of all university uniforms.
B. The University of California must immediately send a statement to all licensees and uniform suppliers informing them of this commitment.
C. The University of California must immediately send a request to all licensees requesting that, prior to the implementation of the DSP, they increase orders to a list of ten factories that, because of the unwillingness of licensees to pay the slightly increased cost required for code compliance, have had to lay off large amounts of workers and are on the verge of having to shut down.
D. The University of California must participate in an implementation meeting, sponsored by the Worker Rights Consortium, that will be held in Washington D.C. on April 21.
E. President Dynes must immediately hold a press conference on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, announcing the university’s commitment to the aforementioned demands.
F. The University of California must not take any kind of disciplinary action, be it academic or the pressing of legal charges, against any of the students participating in this act of civil disobedience."
18 of us from San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley and Davis sat-in at Chancellor Birgeneau's office (UCB). 12 of us from San Diego and Riverside sat-in at Chancellor Cordova's office (UCR). We presented the following demands and assurances to the police and administrators that received us at both campuses.
It should be noted that the Berkeley police refused to let anyone use the restroom until after they had arrested us.
President Dynes has let us down, once again. Not only by hiding behind the excuses of 'being out of town' and 'in meetings' and therefore 'unavailable' in order to avoid communicating with us. And not only because he refuses to make a statement regarding this campaign and the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP). But also for choosing to not meet with us and not attend Thursday's Code of Conduct Committee meeting as well, which he had originally agreed to go to.
If the University had been acting in good faith, we would not have been forced to take this action. President Dynes and the Chancellors must drop all charges and not take any disciplinary action against us for enacting our rights to non-violently voice our opinions.
Assurance of Non-violent Action
"Students are currently engaged in a peaceful demonstration inside the office of the chancellor at the University of California, [Riverside/Berkeley]. This was not an action that was chosen but, rather, was forced upon us by the failure of the University of California to live up to its supposed commitment to workers’ rights. Workers producing university apparel and uniforms, in addition to facing intense repression upon attempting to better their working conditions, do not earn enough to support themselves, let alone their families. Students refuse to stand by and allow this abuse to continue, and are therefore committed to remaining in the office of the chancellor until our demands are met.
That being said, we would like to provide the University of California, [Riverside/Berkeley] with the following assurances:
1. This is a peaceful demonstration, and violent action will not be taken by any of the individuals participating in this civil disobedience.
2. We have no interest in threatening the safety of any individuals. We can therefore guarantee that no individuals will be put at any kind of risk, and all occupants of the chancellor’s office will be free to leave at any time.
3. No property will be damaged or stolen at any point in this civil disobedience.
4. We have no interest in viewing any information that may be in any files or computers that are located within the chancellor’s office. We can therefore guarantee that these files or computers will not, at any point, be tampered with by any of our participants.
5. A legal observer will be with us at all times.
6. We do not have any weapons, alcohol, or illegal substances in our possession.
We are committed to ensuring that this action remains peaceful and non-violent at all times and that no property is damaged, and we expect that the University of California will respect and share that commitment."
OUR DEMANDS
"The students of the University of California have grown tired of our university’s refusal to honor the commitments made with the initial adoption of the code of conduct for trademark licensees. We have been put in a position where, in order to ensure that the rights of the workers producing university apparel and uniforms are no longer violated as a matter of routine, the following demands must be met immediately:
A. The University of California must immediately issue the following public statement, signed by President Robert Dynes and interim Vice President of Business and Finance Rory Hume, stating that:
The University of California is committed to the timely implementation of the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) proposed by United Students Against Sweatshops, which will:
1) Require licensees to buy licensed apparel from factories that pay a living wage, that respect associational rights as demonstrated by the presence in the factory of a legitimate union or other representative employee body, and that sell the majority of their products to university licensees (or to other buyers willing to meet the same standards and pricing obligations as university licensees)
2) Require licensees to pay these factories prices sufficient to make it possible for these standards to be met
3) Be enforced by the Worker Rights Consortium in order to ensure verification by an organization that is independent of the apparel industry
In addition, the University of California is committed to applying the standards set forth in the code of conduct, as well as the DSP, to the production of all university uniforms.
B. The University of California must immediately send a statement to all licensees and uniform suppliers informing them of this commitment.
C. The University of California must immediately send a request to all licensees requesting that, prior to the implementation of the DSP, they increase orders to a list of ten factories that, because of the unwillingness of licensees to pay the slightly increased cost required for code compliance, have had to lay off large amounts of workers and are on the verge of having to shut down.
D. The University of California must participate in an implementation meeting, sponsored by the Worker Rights Consortium, that will be held in Washington D.C. on April 21.
E. President Dynes must immediately hold a press conference on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, announcing the university’s commitment to the aforementioned demands.
F. The University of California must not take any kind of disciplinary action, be it academic or the pressing of legal charges, against any of the students participating in this act of civil disobedience."
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