Rules for apparel makers may shift

Companies that manufacture apparel bearing the UNC trademark would face additional scrutiny if a campus committee approves a new policy to enforce the University’s labor code.

After meeting last semester to discuss the status of Gildan Activewear as a supplier of blank T-shirts to UNC licensees, members of the Licensing Labor Code Advisory Committee said labor issues with the company have been resolved.

The group discussed Wednesday guidelines for the protection of workers’ rights at factories that produce items with UNC labels.

Melanie Stratton, Student Action with Workers member, proposed that the University take extra steps to forbid explicitly activities it has not previously addressed.

The policy, outlined in letters that would be sent to licensees, would prohibit licensees from terminating relationships with factories accused of worker rights abuses or those at which investigations into alleged abuses are under way.

But her hard-line approach to stop companies from “cutting and running” to avoid trouble with the University’s Code of Conduct drew criticism from other committee members.

Don Hornstein, professor in the UNC School of Law, said he is concerned that if a company legitimately planned to close a factory, workers could cry abuse and force the factory to remain open.

Stratton reminded committee members about their ethical responsibilities.

“Capital is mobile, but people aren’t,” she said. “We need to ensure that jobs stay in developing countries that need them and not let companies cut and run when the code of conduct gets in their way.”

Another provision of the policy would stop licensees from increasing production of UNC goods in countries like China, where the government prohibits labor organizations.

“In China, it’s illegal to have an independent labor union,” Stratton said. “These unions are the only way for workers in garment factories to have a voice in the workplace.”

Stratton’s proposal also suggests that licensees publicly disclose the volume of UNC goods produced in each factory.

She said this stipulation would allow the University to monitor whether companies are shifting the manufacture of UNC apparel to locations deemed off-limits.

The committee expressed satisfaction with the general spirit of Stratton’s ideas and decided to spend additional time exploring all of the angles of any new policy.

But the committee also said immediate action is needed.

Derek Lochbaum, committee co-chairman, decided that he and Stratton would represent the University in a conference call with other universities and Nike.

University officials will try to persuade Nike to pressure its Korean supplier of baseball caps, Yupoong, to comply with workers’ rights and labor code initiatives.

Officials said they will request that Yupoong follow through with a 10 percent wage increase it promised to workers at the BJ&B Factory in the Dominican Republic.

The committee also tackled the question of whether to reaffiliate with the Fair Labor Association and Worker Rights Consortium, two groups that monitor international labor issues.

In a 6-2 vote, the committee decided to maintain ties to both organizations, noting that they complement each other nicely.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.