UCSC Students Expose the Naked Truth of UC’s Use of Sweatshops

On Wednesday March 2, activists working to end UC support and exploitation of sweatshop labor organized at the base of the UCSC campus to present “The Naked Truth: UC uses sweatshops”. Stripping down to just their cardboard skivvies, activists protested at the East entrance intersection to chants and signs calling for the UC adoption of a policy that will ensure the manufacturing of its apparel in researched, unionized factories. Drawing media and administration attention, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS, the organizing committee behind the demonstration) has begun building momentum for demonstrations in the spring, if UC policy makers do not comply. They are part of a national campaign to pressure Universities to stop using sweatshop labor.

On Friday March 10, riding this momentum, USAS once again confronted members of the UC community to adopt their proposal. This time (pause for dramatic effect) their target was the head honcho himself: UC President Robert Dynes. A group of twenty students, using confidential reconnaissance information and an inside mole, slipped its way past security measures at the private office building and stormed Dynes’ 12th floor office. Once inside, the group began disseminating information on UC participation in Sweatshop factories, as they searched the office for the absent Dynes. Apparently he was in a meeting.
The students (from UCSC, Cal Berkley, UC Riverside, UC Davis and UC San Diego) took a seat in the company of the UC Associate President, Dynes’ Secretary, and five members of office Security. USAS asserted their desire to speak with Dynes, while office representatives maintained their obstruction in the process. The stand-off between USAS and office security continued for about an hour, through repeated threats to involve UC police. Shortly after twelve p.m. the students left the building escorted by security guards, chanting and clapping. One activist concluded, “We did exactly what we wanted to do here; we got the attention of the office, and assuredly President Dynes, we got a meeting with him to begin a dialogue that, until this point, the man has completely ignored, and we gave the administration a preview of what is to come in the spring.”M

Get Involved! UCSC USAS meets 7pm Wednesdays at Stevenson Cafe.

For more information, contact:
paintingtiger03 [at] lycos.com or
lebanditucsc [at] yahoo.com