Worker Rights Consortium

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The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labor rights monitoring organization focused on protecting the rights of workers who sew apparel and make other products sold in the United States, particularly those bearing college or university logos. The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations, issues public reports on factories producing for major global brands, and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights. The WRC was founded in 2001 university administrators, labor rights experts, and student activists including members of United Students Against Sweatshops. The WRC has over 150 college and university affiliates, and a number of high school affiliates.[1]

Contents

[edit] Programs and activities

When a school affiliates with the WRC, they pass a Code of Conduct for the manufacturers of their apparel. The code of conduct typically includes bans forced overtime, child labor, bonded labor, and discrimination of any kind, including sex-discrimination, and affirms workers' rights to a living wage, a safe work environment, and freedom of association & collective bargaining. The WRC sends representatives to facilities in Global South where the apparel is being produced to monitor whether the code of conduct is being upheld. The WRC then makes annual, public reports on the working conditions in the facilities. When a factory is found to not be upholding the code of conduct, the company or companies--often major International Brands--who sub-contracted to that factory are usually threatened with the termination of their licensing contract(s) unless they exert pressure on the factory to improve work conditions.

The WRC, working with many US universities, is currently working on designing and launching the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) to address some of the major obstacles to code of conduct enforcement that are embedded in the of the apparel industry's distended global supply chains.[2]

[edit] Schools Affiliated With The WRC

As of October 10, 2007 [3]

[edit] 177 Colleges and Universities

  1. American University
  2. Antioch College
  3. Aquinas College
  4. Arizona State University
  5. Ball State University
  6. Bard College
  7. Bellarmine University
  8. Beloit College
  9. Berea College
  10. Boston College
  11. Bowdoin College
  12. Bowling Green State University
  13. Brandeis University
  14. Brown University
  15. California Polytechnic State University
  16. California State University, Fullerton
  17. California State University, Long Beach
  18. California State University, San Bernardino
  19. Carleton College
  20. Carnegie Mellon University
  21. Clark University
  22. Colby College
  23. The College of the Holy Cross
  24. The College of St. Catherine
  25. The College of William and Mary
  26. Columbia University
  27. Cornell University
  28. DePaul University
  29. Dickinson College
  30. Duke University
  31. Duquesne University
  32. Earlham College
  33. Eckerd College
  34. The Evergreen State College
  35. Fairfield University
  36. Florida State University
  37. Fordham University
  38. Franklin & Marshall College
  39. Georgetown University
  40. George Washington University
  41. Gonzaga University
  42. Grand Valley State University
  43. Grinnell College
  44. Hamilton College
  45. Hampshire College
  46. Harvard University
  47. Haverford College
  48. Hunter College
  49. Illinois State University
  50. Indiana University
  51. Ithaca College
  52. James Madison University
  53. John Carroll University
  54. Johns Hopkins University
  55. Kent State University
  56. Kenyon College
  57. Kutztown University
  58. Lake Forest College
  59. Louisiana State University
  60. Loyola University Chicago
  61. Macalester College
  62. Marquette University
  63. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  64. McMaster University
  65. Miami University
  66. Michigan State University
  67. Middle Tennessee State University
  68. Middlebury College
  69. Moravian College
  70. New Mexico State University
  71. New York University
  72. Northern Arizona University
  73. Northern Illinois University
  74. Northwestern University
  75. Oberlin College
  76. Occidental College
  77. Ohio State University
  78. Ohio University
  79. Ohio Wesleyan University
  80. The Pennsylvania State University
  81. Pomona College
  82. Purdue University
  83. Queen's University
  84. Regis University
  85. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
  86. Ryerson University
  87. St. Cloud State University
  88. St. John's University
  89. Saint Joseph's University
  90. Saint Louis University
  91. Saint Mary's College
  92. St. Olaf College
  93. San Diego State University
  94. San Francisco State University
  95. San Jose State University
  96. Santa Clara University
  97. Sarah Lawrence College
  98. Seattle University
  99. Skidmore College
  100. Smith College
  101. Soka University of America
  102. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  103. Stanford University
  104. The State University of New York College at Cortland
  105. The State University of New York at New Paltz
  106. Stetson University
  107. Suffolk University
  108. Syracuse University
  109. Transylvania University
  110. Trent University
  111. Tulane University
  112. Union College
  113. University at Albany, The State University of New York
  114. University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
  115. University of Arizona
  116. University of California, Berkeley
  117. University of California, Davis
  118. University of California, Irvine
  119. University of California, Los Angeles
  120. University of California, Merced
  121. University of California, Riverside
  122. University of California, San Diego
  123. University of California, San Francisco
  124. University of California, Santa Barbara
  125. University of California, Santa Cruz
  126. University of Chicago
  127. University of Colorado at Boulder
  128. University of Connecticut
  129. University of Dayton
  130. University of Delaware
  131. University of Guelph
  132. University of Illinois at Chicago
  133. University of Illinois at Springfield
  134. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
  135. University of Iowa
  136. University of Louisville
  137. University of Maine at Farmington
  138. University of Maine, Orono
  139. University of Maryland, College Park
  140. University of Massachusetts Amherst
  141. University of Massachusetts Boston
  142. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  143. University of Massachusetts Lowell
  144. University of Massachusetts Worcester
  145. University of Miami
  146. University of Michigan
  147. University of Minnesota
  148. University of Missouri
  149. University of Montana
  150. University of New Hampshire
  151. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  152. University of Notre Dame
  153. University of Pennsylvania
  154. University of Portland
  155. University of Rhode Island
  156. University of San Francisco
  157. University of South Carolina
  158. University of Toronto
  159. University of Virginia
  160. University of Washington
  161. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
  162. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  163. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  164. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
  165. Ursinus College
  166. Vanderbilt University
  167. Vassar College
  168. Villanova University
  169. Wake Forest University
  170. Washington State University
  171. Washington University in St. Louis
  172. Wayne State University
  173. Wellesley College
  174. Wesleyan University
  175. Western Michigan University
  176. Western Washington University
  177. Williams College

[edit] High School affiliates

  1. Brattleboro Union High School
  2. Creighton Preparatory School
  3. Jefferson County Open School
  4. Oak Park and River Forest High School
  5. Ontario Catholic School Board Affiliate

[edit] References

  1. ^ Workers Rights Consortium website , accessed March 1, 2007
  2. ^ Scott Jaschik, "Codes Don't Work", Inside Higher Education, September 28, 2006, accessed May 7, 2007
  3. ^ Workers Rights Consortium, Affiliate Schools, accessed October 18, 2007

[edit] External links