Guest Column by Penn SLAP | Penn admins talk worker safety

Wearing a Penn sweatshirt today? Ever thought about the worker who made it? What about the fact that Penn could make changes in the apparel industry that would drastically improve the working conditions that workers face?

Since September, the Student Labor Action Project has been working on the End Deathtraps campaign in collaboration with garment workers in Bangladesh and other student groups across the country.

This campaign materialized in the wake of the worst factory tragedy in the history of the garment industry: the Rana Plaza factory collapse last spring, which killed over 1,100 workers. Such factory fires and collapses — which are completely preventable — have killed over 1,500 garment workers in Bangladesh in the last year.

What students and workers alike are demanding is that brands sign on to the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord. This accord is the first of its kind in that it would hold brands legally accountable for essential factory repairs in Bangladesh, as identified by independent auditors. Thus, the current Bangladeshi paradigm of crumbling foundations and firetrap building designs would finally come to an end.

Although many brands like Zara, H&M and American Eagle have signed on, many brands still haven’t. That includes collegiate apparel brands, which make up a 4.5 billion dollar chunk of the apparel industry.

This is where Penn comes in: By modernizing the language in our already existing Licensee Code of Conduct to include the Accord, Penn could be the first university to mandate brands with whom it holds contracts to sign the Accord. Penn has already made an institutional commitment to fair labor practices by affiliating with the Worker Rights Consortium, which advises many colleges on apparel practices.

Tomorrow, the Committee on Manufacturing Responsibility, the body that advises Amy Gutmann on issues of apparel licensee ethics, will make a decision regarding whether to include the Accord in Penn’s licensee code of conduct. This is an exciting opportunity where Penn could make a huge difference — so far, no colleges have adopted the Accord’s language into its code of conduct.

Tomorrow, we’ll see if Penn will lead the pack or lag behind on a pivotal human rights issue that is entirely within its sphere of influence.

Stay tuned for an update in Wednesday’s DP, where the committee’s decision on this important human rights issue will be published.

To support our campaign, sign our petition.

The Student Labor Action Project at Penn seeks to promote economic justice through workers’ rights.

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