The Naked Truth: UC Sweatshops

The University of California ("UC") is committed to the timely implementation of the Designated Suppliers Program ("DSP") proposed by United Students Against Sweatshops, under the following conditions:

1. After an appropriate phase in period (as contemplated by the DSP), UC will require licensees, in the first year of implementation, to buy not less than 25 percent of logo apparel from factories that pay a living wage, respect associational rights as demonstrated by the presence in the factory of a legitimate union or other representative employee body, and sell the majority of their products to university licensees (or to other buyers willing to meet the same standards and pricing obligations as university licensees). If UC determines, following the first year of implementation, that the DSP is improving conditions for workers and helping to achieve compliance with the requirements of the UC Code of Conduct for Trademark Licensees, and that the DSP is also meeting UC requirements with respect to the manufacture and delivery of UC logo apparel, then the percentage requirement will be increased to in excess of 25 percent. If UC determines, following the first year of implementation, that there is a need to reassess ongoing implementation of the DSP, UC reserves the right to do so.

2. UC will require licensees to pay DSP factories prices sufficient to make it possible for the standards listed in paragraph 1 to be met.

3. Licensee compliance with the foregoing requirements of the DSP will be enforced by the Workers Rights Consortium in order to ensure verification by an organization that is independent of the apparel industry.

Timeline of the New Sweat Free Campus Campaign

1999- UC adopts a Code of Conduct for Trademark Licensees after dealing with intense pressure from students and becomes a founding member of the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), a non-profit factory monitor that is independent of apparel industry.

2000- Code of Conduct revised; states that all licensees (brands) must ensure university apparel is sourced from factories that 1) respect workers' right to associate, 2) pay a living wage, 3) pay over time, 4) don't use child or otherwise forced labor, 5) comply with health and safety laws, 6) don't discriminate against, harass, or abuse workers.

1999-2005- conditions improve in several factories around the world because of pressure from university codes of conduct.

However, those very improvements have been undermined as brands began cutting orders to these factories, claiming that they were becoming 'too expensive' to order from. Brands have been able to cut-and-run from good factories to sweatshops because university codes of conduct haven't been able to effectively enforce compliance. This is due to the fact that there are thousands, upon thousands, of factories being used to produce university apparel around the world. It is impossible to externally monitor these
numbers with any accuracy.

September 2005- students around the nation, headed by the international student organizing body United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), unveils a program to concentrate the university apparel market into a smaller number of factories, making
enforcement easier and compliance obligatory.

Called the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP), factories will be 'designated' good by the WRC (along the lines of university codes of conduct). Brands will have to either shift production or bring their own factories up to code in order to continue using them to
produce university apparel. Sweatshops will be phased out over a period of 3 to 4 years.

October 2005- UCSC SweatFree Coalition holds a rally to demand the UC adopt the DSP, including a provision to purchase non-sweatshop uniforms for workers on campus

February 8, 2006- we meet with Chancellor Denton for the first (and as of May 1st only) time. She tells us to stay in touch with her assistant and to bring her more 'proof' of campus support for this issue.

February 10- 400 students rally outside of the UC Office of the President (UCOP) to demand a "SweatFree" university

March 1- Naked Protest held at the base of the UCSC campus. Other naked protests and other actions happen at other UC campuses as well.

March 10- 17 of us from various UC campuses (San Diego, Riverside, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Davis) infiltrate UCOP and stage of "preview" sit-in for one hour to demand that President Dynes adopt the DSP.

We are given an appointment to meet with President Dynes on April 6- he subsequently cancels this meeting and declares that he would attend the Code of Conduct Committee meeting, instead, on April 13th, (which he later reneged on as well).

March 16- we put on a "Sweatshop Fashion Show" in the quarry plaza to highlight the fact that our Slug wear is still made in sweatshops

April 11- we commence 2 sit-ins to demand that the UC finally adopt the DSP. The sit-ins happen at the chancellors' offices at Berkeley and Riverside. 18 students are arrested at Berkeley after 2 hours.10 students are arrested at Riverside after nearly 12 hours.

April 13- Code of Conduct Committee meets. Within 2 weeks, it makes a recommendation in favor of the adoption of the DSP (but leaves of the provision for workers' uniforms)

May 3- President Dynes meets with the Chancellors to discuss the Committee's recommendation.

May 5- the UC officially adopts the DSP! Students and workers win!! The uniform issue is postponed for further review. The UC joins over 20 other universities and colleges around the nation that have already adopted the program.

Implementing the Program will be a joint effort of universities, the WRC, workers, NGO's and brands.