The Student Labor Action Coalition marched from Library Mall to Chancellor Biddy Martin's office Thursday to encourage her to cut UW-Madison's apparel contract with Nike.
In December 2009, Martin gave Nike 120 days to act on several alleged labor violations, including the failure to pay 1,600 workers of a Honduran factory $2.1 million in severance pay after they lost their jobs when the factory closed in January 2009.
Martin's deadline expired Wednesday, and several SLAC members said they do not believe Nike has made enough improvements for UW-Madison to continue contracting with them as an apparel licensee.
""Nike has made it very clear that they are not going to pay their workers, and we think it's time to hold them responsible,"" said Jonah Zinn, a UW-Madison sophomore and SLAC member.
Caleb Cardona, a UW-Madison junior, said he was participating in the march because he is Honduran and had several family members who worked at the plants that closed.
""They deserve pay. It's completely unfair,"" he said.
According to Dan Cox, a UW-Madison senior and SLAC organizer, Nike has previously stated they are not responsible for the actions of their sub-contractors and that they do not provide severance pay regardless of the situation.
""But the law is very clear,"" he said. ""Nike is just trying to get out of this.""
Cox said he believes UW-Madison's affiliation with Nike reflects poorly on the students and employees of the university.
Zinn said he believes if Martin chooses not to cut the contract, it would contradict the ideals UW-Madison stands for.
""I'm a firm believer that we don't have that statue of Abe on the center of our campus because it looks good, I think that this university stands for social justice, we stand for equality,"" he said.
UW-Madison officials said they were unable to comment Thursday but will discuss the issue at the Labor Licensing Policy Committee meeting Friday.
Vince Sweeney, vice chancellor for university relations, said in a statement that officials have been in contact with Nike over the past 120 days and are in the process of reviewing those conversations before making a final decision.
