Labor code protest yields much concern, few results
UA students yesterday picketed and protested a multi-university labor code, but their objections fell on deaf ears as administrators declined to meet activists' demands.
About 30 to 40 University of Arizona students and Tucson community members rallied against the Collegiate Licensing Company's labor code, calling for full public disclosure of corporate factory locations.
UA President Peter Likins, however, signed the code Monday night and did not appear willing to budge at the noon rally in front of the Administration building.
"His signing in (the code) was a huge setback," said Avery Kolers, philosophy graduate student.
Duke, Brown, Georgetown and the University of Wisconsin at Madison successfully protested the CLC labor code, resulting in compromises with their presidents.
Arne Ekstrom, head of the UA's Students Against Sweatshops Organization, called the labor code protests a "national trend," and said Likins is "behind the ball" for not attempting to alter the CLC's plan.
Activists carried signs with slogans like, "Peter Likins is a poser, stop delaying full disclosure!" and demanded a stricter code of conduct for corporations.
Likins attended the 40-minute rally, but said he did not address the group because he was not asked.
"I'm pleased that UA students are interested in serious issues like human rights," Likins said. "We don't disagree on the final ends."
The president walked into his office shortly after members of the group began to perform a "simulation" of a recent meeting with Likins.
"Didn't it piss you off that (Likins) just walked in the building?" asked Danika Brown, a representative from Scholars, Artists, and Writers for Social Justice. "That pissed me off."
Sharon Kha, UA associate vice president of communications, distributed copies of a letter from the president, which repeated his decision to join the CLC code and attempt full disclosure over time.
"I believe that these improvements can be incorporated over time as we undertake the far more challenging task of implementing a code of conduct effectively," the letter stated.
The letter also announced that the UA yesterday became one of the first universities to join in the formation of the Fair Labor Association - a U.S. Labor Department collection of corporations, universities and human rights groups. Ekstrom has not commented on the FLA proposal.
Campus reaction to the protest was mixed, with many students showing disinterest as they walked by, while others signed the SAS petition demanding full factory-address disclosure.
One observer yelled, "Free Tibet!" while another simply said, "I just don't understand this."
Andrew Silverman, a clinical law instructor, said he supported the protest's cause and signed his name to the SAS demands.
"I think it's great to see student activism," he said. "As a public institution, we should demand full disclosure."
Joel Valdez, senior vice president for UA business affairs, watched part of the protest from outside the Administration building.
"Peaceful demonstration is a way of life in America," he said. "It's not the Boston Tea Party."
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