Likins praises new labor watchdog organization

The FLA, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, combines representatives from human rights organizations, corporations and now universities.

"Universities cannot, by themselves, finance monitoring activities," Likins said. "That has always been the tough issue."

Likins said the University of Arizona is at the forefront of an effort to gradually phase out sweatshop conditions in factories that produce apparel carrying the university's logo.

The UA was among the first universities to join the association, which also garnered the support of Notre Dame University, he said.

The FLA will enforce internal monitoring of factories and independently audit employee records. The group's code of conduct demands that corporations disclose all factory locations, but does not ask that the addresses be made public.

The local Students Against Sweatshops chapter, however, came out against the new agreement, pushing for changes in another multi-university code.

M.J. Braun, an SAS member and English graduate student, said she was skeptical about the FLA's purpose because it is not fully developed and difficult to evaluate.

Braun said U.S. government institutions have failed in the past to combine trade agreements with human rights issues, and doubts that the FLA will be any more effective.

"It seems to be a delaying tactic," she said.

Likins announced the university's pledge to join the FLA in a letter distributed during a student rally to protest the Collegiate Licensing Company's code for not including factory addresses.

Braun said a stricter version of the CLC code would be a "medium with which direct action can be taken."

Student activists at Georgetown, Duke and University of Wisconsin-Madison pushed administrators not to sign the CLC code unless the addresses would be disclosed within one year.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives sided with student activists to oppose a multi-university labor code, pushing for stricter anti-sweatshops standards.

U.S. Representative George Miller, D-Calif., wrote a letter Feb. 25, supporting opposition to "weak licensing agreements" like the CLC code.

"As students, you have a powerful influence on your schools and on our country and we support your efforts for a more just society," stated the letter, which 24 U.S. representatives signed.

Miller sent the letter to a SAS connection, who forwarded it to universities across the country.

Daniel Weiss, Miller's chief of staff, said although the representative hasn't looked closely at the CLC code, he disapproves of universities entering into codes that "take shortcuts" in order to gain acceptance.

"Universities have a lot of options," he said. "They don't just have to buy into the broadest code."

Weiss added that a code of conduct's goal should not be to enlist a large number of participants, but to enforce strict standards for apparel corporations.

Likins endorsed the CLC's plan because it "unites the strength of the universities," but said the current code is not adequate for enforcing sound labor practices, according to the letter passed out during the rally.