UW-Madison policies lead to improved factory conditions
Logo Power!
Logo Power!
established for manufacturers of apparel sporting the logos and insignia of its members.
Logo licensing is a big business. In 2009, UW received just over $2.4 million in royalties for people using UW logos and labels. 50
percent of the proceeds go to UW athletic programs and the other 50 percent is used to fund needs-based scholarships such as the
Chancellor’s Scholars and PEOPLE Scholars.
Since 2006, Dawn Crim, UW director for Community Relations, has been the point person for the Label Licensing Committee, acting
as its eyes and ears, representing it on the Workers Rights Consortium and occasionally visiting factories and meeting with workers
committees in places like El Salvador and Cambodia.
For the past 10 years, the university’s focus on this issue has been fairly consistent with it remaining a fairly high priority. The
students and UW administration have had different views on how to proceed with the students expecting immediate action and the
administration taking a more deliberate approach.
“The students and administration both agree that the clothing needs to be made in the best possible conditions,” Crim said. “Where
we differ is how we make people follow the rules. The students lean on us as we lean on them. What we have said to them is ‘We’re
going to do the right thing regardless of whether you are at the door or not.’ But they keep the issue in front of us. If we move on to other
issues of the day, that one does not get lost. I would certainly credit the students on that.”
While Crim notes that half of the apparel manufacturing operations have shifted to China, it doesn’t have a corner on the market.
“It is in 47 countries around the world including the United States,” Crim said. “They are in small places like El Salvador to large places
like Quebec, Canada. They are manufactured in many places large and small mostly because there are a lot of factories that sew
apparel. Our licensees, the businesses we contract with, for example Adidas or Nike, have factories or contract with factories
throughout the world that make different garments. A hat could be made in one place, a t-shirt in another and socks in a third. There are
different factories that specialize in different types of apparel.”
Since she has been the UW’s point person on this issue, Crim has seen improvements made in the apparel industry. “I’ve visited
factories in El Salvador, Vietnam, Cambodia and the United States,” Crim said. “But I have to say there is much more emphasis on
clean and safe workplaces. There is highly technologized equipment now beyond just simply the sewing machines. There has been an
investment in the industry so people aren’t closing up and moving to other places as quickly as they once did, called cutting and
running. People are now making the investment in the infrastructure for the factories. Therefore, the workplace can become more
stable. The issue of the sweatshops where you have people inside of an apartment with six sewing machines set up, that business
model no longer works. Because of how competitive the industry is, you need to be sewing hundreds and hundreds of pieces and not
simply a few per day to really be a player in the industry.”
About a year and a half ago, UW-Madison became the first university to stop doing business with a company — Nike — because of
a violation of the code of conduct.
“We found out that two factories closed in the Honduras and when they closed, the workforce did not receive their severance pay
much like we put money into an account for unemployment that you receive when you are unemployed or when you leave,” Crim said.
“Well the factory closed and the workers did not receive money. So this started to become a problem over the last three years and we
— universities and other concerned people — have been trying to figure out how to hold the business accountable in paying the
workers. As we talked about it — because they don’t own the factory — many times companies will say ‘It’s not my problem, I’ve paid
the money; it’s up to the factory to pay.’ The code of conduct that we have in place says ‘If there is a closure, these things need to be
paid.’ Nike did not want to pay and did not take responsibility for the two factories that they were subcontracting to. Over the last year
and a half, many universities got together and we talked about how to make the workers whole, how can they receive their funds and
how can we help them. We had several meetings with Nike on the phone and communicated with them via e-mail and face-to-face and
asked them what their plan would be to assist the workers. Their plan did not have enough progress in it to satisfy Chancellor Martin.
Therefore, we told them that if there was no appreciable progress, we would end our contract. And we did.”
After a year and a half, Nike has started to make good with the workers. “Nike actually — after negotiating with the workers —
agreed to set up a worker relief fund that would pay severance as well as take a step further in identifying other factories that make
Nike apparel and provide priority hiring for the workforce,” Crim said. “There were really two problems. The closure of the factory
abruptly put people out of work. But also that closure, without being paid the money due, put the workers out of work and without money
to take care of their families and themselves. Nike, in remedying this problem a year and a half later, is showing that the severance is
being paid and that there is priority hiring without a wait. When there is an opening, these workers are able to go right in to the slots.”
The change doesn’t happen overnight. The UW cannot rush in because it needs to ensure it isn’t acting in a benevolently imperialistic
way that decimates local workers’ groups and non-profits and in a way that is respectful of the culture. But as the Nike case shows,
results do happen.
“I am proud that I work for the University of Wisconsin-Madison because we talk about the Wisconsin Idea,” Crim said. “Well our
interest in supporting our code of conduct and supporting the workforce around the world is another extension of the Wisconsin Idea. It
is making sure that the policies and the research and the work that we do not only benefits Wisconsinites or people in the United
States, but it also benefits people around the world.”
When you buy a t-shirt with Bucky on it, you can rest assured that it was made the workers’ rights in mind.
Logo licensing is a big business. In 2009, UW received just over $2.4 million in royalties for people using UW logos and labels. 50
percent of the proceeds go to UW athletic programs and the other 50 percent is used to fund needs-based scholarships such as the
Chancellor’s Scholars and PEOPLE Scholars.
Since 2006, Dawn Crim, UW director for Community Relations, has been the point person for the Label Licensing Committee, acting
as its eyes and ears, representing it on the Workers Rights Consortium and occasionally visiting factories and meeting with workers
committees in places like El Salvador and Cambodia.
For the past 10 years, the university’s focus on this issue has been fairly consistent with it remaining a fairly high priority. The
students and UW administration have had different views on how to proceed with the students expecting immediate action and the
administration taking a more deliberate approach.
“The students and administration both agree that the clothing needs to be made in the best possible conditions,” Crim said. “Where
we differ is how we make people follow the rules. The students lean on us as we lean on them. What we have said to them is ‘We’re
going to do the right thing regardless of whether you are at the door or not.’ But they keep the issue in front of us. If we move on to other
issues of the day, that one does not get lost. I would certainly credit the students on that.”
While Crim notes that half of the apparel manufacturing operations have shifted to China, it doesn’t have a corner on the market.
“It is in 47 countries around the world including the United States,” Crim said. “They are in small places like El Salvador to large places
like Quebec, Canada. They are manufactured in many places large and small mostly because there are a lot of factories that sew
apparel. Our licensees, the businesses we contract with, for example Adidas or Nike, have factories or contract with factories
throughout the world that make different garments. A hat could be made in one place, a t-shirt in another and socks in a third. There are
different factories that specialize in different types of apparel.”
Since she has been the UW’s point person on this issue, Crim has seen improvements made in the apparel industry. “I’ve visited
factories in El Salvador, Vietnam, Cambodia and the United States,” Crim said. “But I have to say there is much more emphasis on
clean and safe workplaces. There is highly technologized equipment now beyond just simply the sewing machines. There has been an
investment in the industry so people aren’t closing up and moving to other places as quickly as they once did, called cutting and
running. People are now making the investment in the infrastructure for the factories. Therefore, the workplace can become more
stable. The issue of the sweatshops where you have people inside of an apartment with six sewing machines set up, that business
model no longer works. Because of how competitive the industry is, you need to be sewing hundreds and hundreds of pieces and not
simply a few per day to really be a player in the industry.”
About a year and a half ago, UW-Madison became the first university to stop doing business with a company — Nike — because of
a violation of the code of conduct.
“We found out that two factories closed in the Honduras and when they closed, the workforce did not receive their severance pay
much like we put money into an account for unemployment that you receive when you are unemployed or when you leave,” Crim said.
“Well the factory closed and the workers did not receive money. So this started to become a problem over the last three years and we
— universities and other concerned people — have been trying to figure out how to hold the business accountable in paying the
workers. As we talked about it — because they don’t own the factory — many times companies will say ‘It’s not my problem, I’ve paid
the money; it’s up to the factory to pay.’ The code of conduct that we have in place says ‘If there is a closure, these things need to be
paid.’ Nike did not want to pay and did not take responsibility for the two factories that they were subcontracting to. Over the last year
and a half, many universities got together and we talked about how to make the workers whole, how can they receive their funds and
how can we help them. We had several meetings with Nike on the phone and communicated with them via e-mail and face-to-face and
asked them what their plan would be to assist the workers. Their plan did not have enough progress in it to satisfy Chancellor Martin.
Therefore, we told them that if there was no appreciable progress, we would end our contract. And we did.”
After a year and a half, Nike has started to make good with the workers. “Nike actually — after negotiating with the workers —
agreed to set up a worker relief fund that would pay severance as well as take a step further in identifying other factories that make
Nike apparel and provide priority hiring for the workforce,” Crim said. “There were really two problems. The closure of the factory
abruptly put people out of work. But also that closure, without being paid the money due, put the workers out of work and without money
to take care of their families and themselves. Nike, in remedying this problem a year and a half later, is showing that the severance is
being paid and that there is priority hiring without a wait. When there is an opening, these workers are able to go right in to the slots.”
The change doesn’t happen overnight. The UW cannot rush in because it needs to ensure it isn’t acting in a benevolently imperialistic
way that decimates local workers’ groups and non-profits and in a way that is respectful of the culture. But as the Nike case shows,
results do happen.
“I am proud that I work for the University of Wisconsin-Madison because we talk about the Wisconsin Idea,” Crim said. “Well our
interest in supporting our code of conduct and supporting the workforce around the world is another extension of the Wisconsin Idea. It
is making sure that the policies and the research and the work that we do not only benefits Wisconsinites or people in the United
States, but it also benefits people around the world.”
When you buy a t-shirt with Bucky on it, you can rest assured that it was made the workers’ rights in mind.
By Jonathan Gramling
As the global market began to assert itself, especially during the 1990s
when free trade agreements like NAFTA were instituted, whole industries in the
United States were impacted as businesses sought the cheapest labor possible
to make their goods and in some instances, provide their services. The U.S.
apparel industry was hit hard with garment makers exporting their factories to
Latin America and later China and other Asian countries.
Students at UW-Madison and across the country became concerned with
the working conditions in the developing world’s “sweatshop” factories and
began to demand that the apparel associated with their universities — using
sporting team and university logos — be made in humane conditions and that
the workers be paid a fair wage.
UW-Madison was one of the first to respond to the issue, establishing a
Label Licensing Committee — a shared governance committee composed of
faculty, staff and students — and co-founding the Workers Rights Consortium,
which now has 180 university and college members. The Workers Rights
Consortium is the watchdog for its members, ensuring that apparel
manufacturers like Adidas and Nike adhere to the code of conduct that has been
As the global market began to assert itself, especially during the 1990s
when free trade agreements like NAFTA were instituted, whole industries in the
United States were impacted as businesses sought the cheapest labor possible
to make their goods and in some instances, provide their services. The U.S.
apparel industry was hit hard with garment makers exporting their factories to
Latin America and later China and other Asian countries.
Students at UW-Madison and across the country became concerned with
the working conditions in the developing world’s “sweatshop” factories and
began to demand that the apparel associated with their universities — using
sporting team and university logos — be made in humane conditions and that
the workers be paid a fair wage.
UW-Madison was one of the first to respond to the issue, establishing a
Label Licensing Committee — a shared governance committee composed of
faculty, staff and students — and co-founding the Workers Rights Consortium,
which now has 180 university and college members. The Workers Rights
Consortium is the watchdog for its members, ensuring that apparel
manufacturers like Adidas and Nike adhere to the code of conduct that has been
Dawn Crim, director of community relations, works
with student, faculty and staff representatives to
define and implement the UW-Madison’s policies
regarding the use of UW logos.
with student, faculty and staff representatives to
define and implement the UW-Madison’s policies
regarding the use of UW logos.
