By
Katie Clark
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Group requests UA take more aggressive role in factory conditions
UA Faculty Senators spent the majority of their meeting yesterday discussing issues brought up by Students Against Sweatshops.
In a letter read before the senate, SAS urged UA President Peter Likins to take action against Nike regarding factory conditions in Mexico.
SAS is tired of Nike just doing research about working conditions in Mexico and the company - and the University of Arizona - should instead take more aggressive and immediate action, SAS member and philosophy senior Mark Rivera said.
"Nike has been taking a very passive role," he said. "If the university doesn't take a stance, then it becomes an accomplice as well."
This comes on the heels of a Jan. 9 walk-out in the Kukdong factory in Mexico, a Korean-owned factory that manufactures Nike apparel. More than 800 workers went on strike to oppose unfavorable working conditions.
The UA signed a five-year contract in 1998 with Nike, which provides about $1 million per year to the athletic department through clothing and funding.
In response to Rivera's letter, Likins said he has spoken with Nike CEO Phil Knight and other corporation representatives to show his concern about factory conditions. A delegation from the UA also recently went to Mexico to observe factory conditions and conduct interviews, but Likins said he does not know if Nike is responsible for any wrongdoing, since the company does not own the factory.
"I don't know what the facts will determine," Likins said. "It's clear that there are things going on there that need our attention."
Likins said he sees the situation as an opportunity to make a difference in the working environment. However, he said he did not agree with the pace of the action SAS members want to take.
"It will not happen in the blink of an eye," he said. "It will be a long-term struggle."
In other Faculty Senate business, UA Provost George Davis called his meeting with Arizona Board of Regents on Proposition 301 an "all-consuming adventure."
Davis said he is confident the regents will approve a budget plan that includes funding from Prop. 301, the voter-approved initiative that will increase state sales tax by 0.6 percent to fund Arizona's public education system.
If approved, the extra funding would be divided proportionally between the three universities, with UA concentrating on biotechnology, information technology, water research, optics and better access to campus for students with "time and place" restrictions.
Davis and Likins will meet the board in early March with more specific plans that they hope will finally be approved.
UA's share of the funding could range anywhere from $16 to $20 million dollars.
"What's exciting is the degree to which good ideas are coming forward," Davis said. "These ideas and concepts are from the faculty, not a bunch of administrators saying, 'This is what we need.'"
Also awaiting approval by the regents are plans for the expansion of the UA Science and Technology Park.
UA Associate Vice President for Economic Development Bruce Wright said expansion is important because the facility, which houses 21 companies and 6,000 employees, is running out of space. The park also wants to establish a better connection with the UA's main campus.
"We want it to be a mini-branch of campus focused on research and development," said Wright.
Plans for the expansion include a branch of the UA library, laboratories and classrooms.
The expansion would triple the size of the two-million square foot building, adding on another four-million square feet.
Wright said he hopes to begin receiving propositions from investors in April.
