The challenge of sustained advocacy:
sweatfree college campuses
Christine Pleban, Contributing Reporter
Regis University has many volunteer opportunities, such as the Father Woody Program, that allow students to serve those in need. Romero House Coordinator Brendan McCrann said that "people are here because they want to have an impact and to make a difference".
Every student club is required to participate in a service project, and during the fall 2005 semester, Regis students could be found doing service projects through on-campus organizations such as the Center for Service Learning, Justice Education, and Romero House.
Still, one student group missing from the current list of organizations is the Sweatfree campaign, dedicated to promoting socially responsible and environmentally sustainable production, which had an on-campus presence from 2000-02. Although the Ethical Trade Action Group works on the issue in Denver, no current student groups are dedicated to the issue.
In October 2005, the Ethical Trade Action Group (E-TAG) presented its agenda to the Denver Public School Board, urging for systematic change.
The Sweatfree campaign has strong support locally from Metro State University and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Why then, is it so difficult to get and anti-sweatshop campaign at Regis and continue an active promotion of the Jesuit mission?
The Social Justice Committee, led by Kristi Schaefer, had a program in the fall focused on sweatshops. "We had a craft night in September where we encouraged people to think about who makes their clothes while they were making things." The Committee provided handouts about what sweatshops are and some alternatives to buying from companies who use sweatshops.
Recent graduate Keely O'Dell said that anti-sweatshop groups and other social groups in general have a hard time getting started primarily because of the time commitment. "The reason for me personally is that I would have had to spearhead it. If I could have just walked into an existing group, it would have been easier," O'Dell said.
O'Dell also commented that students have few requirements for social justice classes. There is little exposure to current social issues and organizations available to students.
Schaefer said the mission of the Social Justice Committee is "to raise awareness on campus about social justice issues so that living justly becomes more of an every day concept and more real than simply learning about it in classes."
The Sweatfree Movement
In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles created the International Labor Organization to establish international labor standards. This organization, which still exists today, seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights. Today, more individuals have come together to fight in solidarity for sweatshop-free labor conditions and workers' rights.
The United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), formally recognized in 1998, currently has over 180 university affiliates, including C.U. Boulder, Colorado College, and Metro State. One of their primary focuses is the Sweatfree Campus Campaign. The SCC focuses on collegiate apparel, urging universities to use their power to ensure the people making university merchandise earn living wages, have decent working conditions and the right to organize.
The ideology behind the affiliate system reasons that any university buying from large corporations can lever corporate actions by choosing to buy ethically produced products.
Another organization is the National Labor Committee. Their mission is to defend the human rights of workers in the global economy. They investigate and expose injustice and abuse to human and labor rights. The NLC has successfully pressured corporations such as the Gap, Wal-Mart and Walt Disney through campaigns and worker tours designed educate the public.
According to statistics compiled by Byron Plumley, justice education coordinator, a work place is defined a sweatshop if it violates two or more of the most basic labor laws.
The Sweatfree campaign is working to protect worker dignity and promote worker efficiency. Livable wages are therefore necessary to pull the labor population out of poverty. Living wage campaigns seek to pass to pass local ordinances requiring private businesses that benefit from public money to pay their workers a living wage.
Living Wage advocates are speaking out against tax dollars being used to support poor working conditions from international corporations. The current livable wage for a family of 4 is $9.06 an hour.
How Advocacy differs from Charity
In October 2000, a Sweatfree campaign was initiated on campus by student Timothy Harden. Through intense research, Harden along with a small group of students, initiated Regis as members into the Worker's Right Consortium (WRC). The WRC, which was formed with help from USAS, was formally recognized in 2000. The group prided itself on relying on surprise factory investigations.
Students stressed that Regis, a university which prides itself in preserving human rights and service to others, would be in conflict with its ideals if it did not join the WRC.
From 2000-02, Regis students worked to promote their agenda for Sweatfree social action. However, after Harden's graduation in 2002, no one continued the mission. The issue was eventually forgotten.
Sweatfree and workers' rights campaigns are seeking to get to the root problem of poverty rather than just simply providing charitable solutions. Labor workers benefit from donations, however it is only a short term solution that provides for the now. It brings appreciation, but no hope for the future or the potential to be pulled out of poverty.
Social action such as Sweatfree campaigns differs from charitable donations in that it fights to change structural systems. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education (2000), "If the university community is going to have any impact on this issue, it will have to speak with a unified voice." This voice can question morality, laws and conduct that low income workers are faced.
Plumley said that students promoting advocacy for an issue at Regis "can help a corporation say 'ok, we will look at things and make a difference'".
Sweatfree campaign groups are large organizations seeking more involvement and voices to further their cause and to make a difference.
According to Schaefer, there is talk about making a social justice club in the near future which would fall under the umbrella of the Social Justice Committee.
These efforts are to raise awareness among students, with the goal of getting students to act on their convictions about social justice, including Sweatfree campaigns. Schaefer said that if the committee can get students excited about social justice, it will be easier for them to understand and affect these important issues.
Christine Pleban spent the fall 2005 semester at Regis. She has now returned to Loyola New Orleans.