By
Shana Heiser
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Brown ignores WRC, FLA argument, focuses on big picture
FLA Executive Director Sam Brown rebuked claims that his organization's monitoring system certifies companies as "sweat-free" after members of SAS accused the Fair Labor Association of imperialism and doing as little as they can to fight sweatshops.
Brown explained the need for incremental movements in sweatshop condition improvement, because the small changes are significant to the workers. His talk provoked an agitated discussion between Students Against Sweatshops and himself last night in his speech to about 30 people.
"We're not attempting to achieve purity," he said. "We're not perfect, and I'm not sure factories are perfectible, like humans."
Brown skimmed over issues surrounding SAS's hope that the UA will withdraw from the FLA. He didn't want to dwell on the topic because he said it wasn't important.
"Frankly, the arguments between the FLA and WRC don't mean anything to a young woman on a sewing machine," he said.
M.J. Braun, SAS member and English graduate student, was not impressed with Brown's presentation. Braun raised her hand immediately when Brown called for questions, and she called the FLA an imperialist, paternalist model.
"You told us nothing we didn't already know, you almost came right out and said how naive we who have been in the anti-sweatshop movement are," Braun said. "You indicated workers have no knowledge base, and you completely deny the very people who are suffering."
Change must come from the consumer's end, though, Brown said, and he questioned how people would understand the sweatshop issue, distinguish between merchandise and pay the extra money for sweatshop-free products.
"At some levels, people don't care," he said.
Tim Bartley, SAS member and sociology graduate student, questioned the heavy corporate influence on the FLA.
"We think corporations are powerful enough in the FLA that they are able to block any serious changes that would lead to the end of sweatshops," he said. "It worries me that the FLA seems to encourage its own race to the bottom, with a competition for the most lax monitoring system possible."
The claim that the FLA will certify companies as sweat-free is untrue, Brown said.
"I never said that," he said. "Nobody is going to get a sweat-free label, but it will say something about meeting FLA standards."
The Worker Rights Consortium is university based.
Brown also pointed out how the university clothing industry makes up only a fraction of a percent of the apparel industry as a whole.
Brown said he didn't see anyone wearing UA apparel at the speech, which helped him emphasize the importance of the bigger picture.
The FLA plans to begin monitoring next spring with self reporting, internal monitoring, external monitoring and confidential interviews with workers and company officials, he said.
"The FLA has a very clear, transparent set of standards which I encourage any of you to challenge, or point to anyone who is stronger than that," Brown said.
UA President Peter Likins said a higher level of credibility is ideal because the criticism he heard was valid.
"I'd like to believe there is a continuing effort to improve rules that are described for monitoring," Likins said. "I cannot yet imagine how to cope with the race to the bottom with Wal-Mart. It's very easy to find solutions to the race to the bottom Tim (Bartley) described."
