The UW-Madison Student Labor Action Coalition plans to gather for labor justice caroling"" outside Chancellor John Wiley's office Monday to protest against the university's Adidas contract and the alleged union busting by New Era Cap Company, a UW licensee.
SLAC and other community members will sing a number of modified holiday carols, including ""Wiley the Chancellor"" to the tune of ""Frosty the Snowman,"" ""Racism"" to the tune of ""Jingle Bells"" and ""Make Them Sew"" to the tune of ""Let It Snow.""
""Wiley the Chancellor / Was a poor misguided soul / Signed a contract with Adidas / Then ignored it when they stole,"" reads the first stanza of ""Wiley the Chancellor.""
Adidas, which has a license with the university, signed a code of conduct regarding the treatment of workers as part of its current $1.2 million per year UW athletic apparel contract. SLAC has alleged the company violated this code of conduct at one of Adidas' former subcontractors.
Hermosa Manufacturing, a former Adidas factory in Apopa, El Salvador, closed in 2005, leaving 260 workers unemployed and without about $825,000 in back pay, according to University Communications. Additionally, workers who tried to unionize could have been blacklisted, preventing them from being hired for other jobs in the region.
UW-Madison junior and SLAC member Jan Van Tol said he does not think anything positive has come from university action in the Hermosa case or the newest allegation of illegal union busting, where 24 New Era employees were fired while in the process of forming a union.
""We've been working on this for over a year, and the chancellor has been aware of it for at least two years,"" Van Tol said. ""We've heard a lot about steps and processes that the university is taking but in reality none of those things have resulted in any real action on the ground for those workers.""
""Everything that the university and everything that Adidas has done up until now has been completely ineffective in actually improving these workers' situation. And as far as New Era goes, the university has refused to take any action on it.""
However, Dawn Crim, acting special assistant to Wiley for community relations, said the university has and will continue to take positive steps to solve these issues.
""[SLAC] sent a letter to Chancellor Wiley regarding their concerns and in the letter response to SLAC they were told that the university is in fact engaging New Era, as well as awaiting a report from the Workers Rights Contortion which is our monitoring organization who we contact for information about allegations, so the university is following up,"" Crim said.
According to Crim, the university plans to give an update of the Hermosa situation at the Labor Licensing Policy Committee meeting Friday.
""I'm not sure where [SLAC's] information is coming from, but it is inaccurate,"" she said.
Crim said the Hermosa issue is an ongoing process, but there is hope for resolve.
""Each time I brief the committee, progress has been made. And progress is continuing to be made,"" Crim said. ""So I think SLAC is choosing to act prematurely without full information.""
UW-Madison sophomore and SLAC member Anna Slate said the university has not made enough progress and promised the group will take further action.
""Tentatively we still feel that there's major work to be done and that the university can take further steps in regards to putting pressure on the various contacts that we have and licensees,"" Slate said.
Van Tol agreed, adding now would be a good time for the university to act.
""We're hoping to remind the chancellor that these workers are hoping to have a good Christmas, and that it is within his power to really make a difference in their lives and to really stand up for what's right,"" Van Tol said.
