By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Students are once again urging the University at Buffalo to become a member of the Workers Rights Consortium to fight sweatshop labor. The issue stems from collegiate apparel sold on campuses.
UB Students marked the National Anti-Sweatshop Day of Action with a peaceful demonstration on the North Campus Thursday. Students Against Sweatshops organized a "die-in." They wore white masks cut from paper plates and mostly black clothing. Student Colin O'Malley says they wanted to symbolize the number of workers who suffer under extreme sweatshop conditions at factories across the globe, including a plant in Mexico.
"I've met with workers on the border of Mexico that were being poisoned in their work place because they didn't know of the chemicals they were working with," O'Malley said. "I met with one worker who had cancer from working with toluene at a GM subsidiary. The death rates in work places are outrageously high."
One hundred twenty nine colleges and universities are already members of the Workers Rights Consortium which is fighting against sweatshop labor. Thursday, students delivered 1,500 signatures of support to the office of UB president John Simpson.
O'Malley says students are pleased with the university's recent response to their requests.
"This is in no way a confrontational move toward the administration," O'Malley said. "We have been very pleased with the administration's advancements that have been made in this entire campaign. We are just here to make sure the voices of the students are heard on campus."
UB says it is against sweatshop labor. The university issued a written statement. It says the administration has held very productive meetings and talks in recent months with students. An advisory group is currently considering whether UB should affiliate with the WRC.
Some UB facility members are also calling for the school to join. Education Professor Hank Bromley also delivered 78 faculty and staff signatures to the president's office. Bromley say some of the highest ranked schools in the nation are already members of the WRC.
"Among the Ivy League schools, Harvard is a member, as well as Columbia, Brown, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania," Bromley said. "Among other private schools, MIT is a member of the WRC, as well as John Hopkins. Among the top ranked public universities, all the top ones are members -- University of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State."
Bromely says joining the organization is not a radical step. He says it's being part of the "mainstream."