Worker Rights Consortium

The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labor rights monitoring organization focused on protecting the rights of workers who sew apparel and make other products sold in the United States, particularly those bearing college or university logos. The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations, issues public reports on factories producing for major global brands, and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights. The WRC was founded in 2000 by university administrators, labor rights experts, and student activists including members of United Students Against Sweatshops. The WRC has over 180 college and university affiliates, and a number of high school affiliates.[1] A number of universities in the United Kingdom have also become affiliates.[2]

Programs and activities

When a school affiliates with the WRC, they pass a Code of Conduct for the manufacturers of their apparel. The code of conduct typically includes bans on forced overtime, child labor, bonded labor, and discrimination of any kind, including sex discrimination, and affirms workers' rights to a living wage, a safe work environment, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. The WRC sends representatives to facilities in Global South where the apparel is being produced to monitor whether the code of conduct is being upheld. The WRC then makes annual, public reports on the working conditions in the facilities. When a factory is found to not be upholding the Code of Conduct, the company or companies – often major international brands – who sub-contracted to that factory are usually threatened with the termination of their licensing contract(s) unless they exert pressure on the factory to improve work conditions.

The WRC, working with many U.S. universities, is currently working on designing and launching the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) to address some of the major obstacles to code of conduct enforcement that are embedded the apparel industry's distended global supply chains.[3]

Schools affiliated with the WRC

As of November 12, 2008 [4]

Colleges and universities in the US

  1. American University
  2. Antioch College
  3. Aquinas College
  4. Arizona State University
  5. Ball State University
  6. Bard College
  7. Bellarmine University
  8. Beloit College
  9. Berea College
  10. Boston College
  11. Bowdoin College
  12. Bowling Green State University
  13. Brandeis University
  14. Bridgewater State College
  15. Brown University
  16. Bryn Mawr College
  17. California State University, Fullerton
  18. California State University, Long Beach
  19. California State University, San Bernardino
  20. Carleton College
  21. Carlow University
  22. Carnegie Mellon University
  23. Clark University
  24. Central Connecticut State University
  25. Colby College
  26. The College of Charleston
  27. College of the Holy Cross
  28. The College of St. Catherine
  29. The College of William and Mary
  30. Columbia University
  31. Cornell University
  32. Creighton University
  33. DePaul University
  34. Dickinson College
  35. Duke University
  36. Duquesne University
  37. Earlham College
  38. The Evergreen State College
  39. Fairfield University
  40. Fordham University
  41. Franklin & Marshall College
  42. Georgetown University
  43. George Washington University
  44. Gonzaga University
  45. Grand Valley State University
  46. Grinnell College
  47. Hamilton College
  48. Hampshire College
  49. Harvard University
  50. Haverford College
  51. Humboldt State University
  52. Hunter College
  53. Illinois State University
  54. Indiana University
  55. Ithaca College
  56. James Madison University
  57. John Carroll University
  58. Johns Hopkins University
  59. Kenyon College
  60. Lake Forest College
  61. Lewis & Clark College
  62. Louisiana State University
  63. Loyola University Chicago
  64. Luther College
  65. Macalester College
  66. Marquette University
  67. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  68. Miami University
  69. Michigan State University
  70. Middle Tennessee State University
  71. Middlebury College
  72. Montana State University
  73. Moravian College
  74. New Mexico State University
  75. New York University
  76. Northern Illinois University
  77. Northeastern University
  78. Northwestern University
  79. Oberlin College
  80. Occidental College
  81. Ohio State University
  82. Ohio University
  83. Ohio Wesleyan University
  84. The Pennsylvania State University
  85. Pomona College
  86. Princeton University
  87. Providence College
  88. Purdue University
  89. Regis University
  90. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
  91. St. Cloud State University
  92. St. John's University
  93. Saint Joseph's University
  94. Saint Louis University
  95. Saint Mary's College
  96. St. Olaf College
  97. San Diego State University
  98. San Francisco State University
  99. San Jose State University
  100. Santa Clara University
  101. Sarah Lawrence College
  102. Seattle University
  103. Skidmore College
  104. Smith College
  105. Soka University of America
  106. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  107. Stanford University
  108. The State University of New York College at Cortland
  109. The State University of New York at New Paltz
  110. Stetson University
  111. Suffolk University
  112. Syracuse University
  113. Transylvania University
  114. Trent University
  115. Tulane University
  116. Union College
  117. University at Albany, The State University of New York
  118. University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
  119. University of Arizona
  120. University of California, Berkeley
  121. University of California, Davis
  122. University of California, Irvine
  123. University of California, Los Angeles
  124. University of California, Merced
  125. University of California, Riverside
  126. University of California, San Diego
  127. University of California, San Francisco
  128. University of California, Santa Barbara
  129. University of California, Santa Cruz
  130. University of Chicago
  131. University of Colorado at Boulder
  132. University of Connecticut
  133. University of Dayton
  134. University of Florida
  135. University of Houston
  136. University of Illinois at Chicago
  137. University of Illinois at Springfield
  138. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
  139. University of Iowa
  140. University of Louisville
  141. University of Maine at Farmington
  142. University of Maine
  143. University of Maryland
  144. University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  145. University of Massachusetts Amherst
  146. University of Massachusetts Boston
  147. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  148. University of Massachusetts Lowell
  149. University of Massachusetts Worcester
  150. University of Miami
  151. University of Michigan
  152. University of Minnesota
  153. University of Missouri
  154. University of Montana
  155. University of New Hampshire
  156. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  157. University of Notre Dame
  158. University of Pennsylvania
  159. University of Portland
  160. University of Rhode Island
  161. University of San Francisco
  162. University of South Carolina
  163. University of Tennessee
  164. University of Virginia
  165. University of Washington
  166. University of Wisconsin–La Crosse
  167. University of Wisconsin–Madison
  168. University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
  169. University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
  170. Ursinus College
  171. Vanderbilt University
  172. Vassar College
  173. Villanova University
  174. Wake Forest University
  175. Washington State University
  176. Washington University in St. Louis
  177. Wayne State University
  178. Wellesley College
  179. Wesleyan University
  180. Western Michigan University
  181. Western Washington University
  182. Williams College
  183. Xavier University

Universities in the UK

The student activism organisation People & Planet is pushing for universities in the UK to join the WRC as part of their 'Buy Right' campaign.[5]

  1. University of Sheffield
  2. Loughborough University
  3. National Union of Students
  4. University of Sussex
  5. University of Bristol
  6. University of Edinburgh
  7. University of Birmingham
  8. Cardiff University
  9. University of Reading

Universities in Canada

  1. McMaster University
  2. Queen's University
  3. Ryerson University
  4. University of Guelph
  5. University of Toronto
  6. York University

High school affiliates

  1. Brattleboro Union High School
  2. Creighton Preparatory School
  3. Jefferson County Open School
  4. Oak Park and River Forest High School
  5. Ontario Catholic School Board Affiliate

References

  1. ↑ Workers Rights Consortium website , accessed March 1, 2007
  2. ↑ "List of affiliates", People & Planet, accessed December 17, 2012
  3. ↑ Scott Jaschik, "Codes Don't Work", Inside Higher Education, September 28, 2006, accessed May 7, 2007
  4. ↑ Workers Rights Consortium, Affiliate Schools, accessed October 18, 2007
  5. ↑ "The Buy Right Goals", People & Planet, accessed December 17, 2012
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