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Deadline for Likins' reply to SAS today

Today is the deadline for UA President Peter Likins to respond to Students Against Sweatshops' letter requesting the university's immediate withdrawal from the Fair Labor Association.

Yesterday, the University of Pennsylvania - under immense pressure from a Penn SAS sit-in lasting nine days - became the first university to withdraw from the FLA.

Along with the students participating in the sit-in, some United Students Against Sweatshops members from 60 other universities joined a 48-hour fast.

Lydia Lester, SAS spokeswoman and University of Arizona linguistics sophomore, also fasted.

An SAS rally is planned for tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Administration building. While the action - meant to advertise their endorsement of the Worker Rights Consortium - is to take place the day after Likins decision, the SAS is not preparing for a negative response.

"We're not expecting him to say no," said Rachel Wilson, SAS spokeswoman and psychology graduate student. "The rally is either to celebrate or it's an action to show him we're serious."

Besides requesting the UA's withdrawal from the FLA, the letter asks Likins to consider the WRC as the alternative monitoring system for factories that produce UA apparel.

"If (Likins) really cares about sweatshops and the Arizona logo, then he has to go with the WRC," Wilson said.

Under the resolution signed by Likins last April - following SAS's 10-day sit-in in the president's office - the UA would be able to remain a member of the FLA until August 2000.

The matter would then be up for review by the Human and Labor Rights Task Force, established as a result of the sit-in, to determine if the FLA met the four mandates set out in the resolution.

The first mandate - full disclosure of all factory locations that produce UA apparel - was met in by Nike in October. The other mandates are the creation of a living wage, the protection of human rights and the implementation of unannounced monitoring of factories.

SAS takes issue with corporate involvement in the FLA, a creation of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The FLA named Sam Brown Jr. as the organization's first executive director on Jan. 27 and its plan to begin factory monitoring in the next six months have not changed the SAS's stance.

"The point is that the WRC doesn't have corporations and that's the difference between the FLA and the WRC," Wilson said.

Likins has consistently supported the FLA and the UA's involvement in it.

Members of SAS, while remaining hopeful, are not guessing what Likins response to the letter will be.

But Lester said USAS's success at Penn will have an effect on the nation and possibly Likins.

"Penn is a big school and has set a precedence," Lester said.