The faculty on Monday tabled a proposal that would have
the College join the Workers Rights Consortium, an organization that
monitors international production of college apparel in an attempt to
limit human rights abuses.
The proposal will be revisited at the faculty meeting on
April 27. Until then, those responsible for purchasing apparel – mainly
the bookstore and athletic department — will consider the budgetary
impact of joining the WRC, said President Roger Hull.
Since its founding in 1998, United Students Against
Sweatshops (USAS) has sought to limit sweatshop-produced apparel purchased
and sold by colleges and universities, explained Amanda Carr and Ariadne
Papagapitos, student members of the College chapter of Campus Action.
USAS last spring withdrew student representation from
the Fair Labor Association because FLA monitors were not doing unannounced
inspections and the FLA did not require disclosure of subcontractor work
sites, the students said. USAS supports the WRC as a better alternative to
the FLA because monitors would be chosen by independent human rights
organizations, inspections would be unannounced, and violators would be
rechecked, the students told the faculty.
On Tuesday, students at a number of campuses held
protests to raise the issue of college-logo clothing made by sweatshops.
In other action, faculty discussed a proposal to
establish a one-year experimental benefits committee, finally agreeing to
revisit the issue at the April 27 meeting. Those in support suggested that
the Planning and Priorities Committee does not have adequate
representation of staff members to be adequately informed about the impact
of benefits changes to all employees. Others cited the difficulty of
assessing benefits outside of P&P and separate from other budget
issues. President Hull suggested that concerns of the those favoring a
benefits committee may be eased by increasing staff representation on
P&P.
Faculty also nominated and voted on candidates for the
Bailey and Daggett Prizes, to be presented during Prize Day on May 13.