The Student Labor Action Coalition condemned Chancellor David Ward’s announcement that the university would attempt to repair, rather than sever, relations with Adidas over for labor issues Wednesday.
The group’s statement further solidified their position against UW-Madison’s ties with Adidas.
“Chancellor David Ward’s decision was soundly anti-labor, prioritizes corporate profits over the needs of workers, and tarnishes the image of University of Wisconsin-Madison,” the SLAC said in a statement.
Voices on campus have called for the university to end its contract with Adidas after it was revealed that workers at a contracted Indonesian factory were owed $1.8 million in severance pay after the facility closed in January.
Adidas maintains that it should not be held responsible for compensating workers, as the factory was independently owned and managed.
Ward affirmed his desire to find a solution in his statement announcing mediations with Adidas Tuesday.
“I’m committed to seeing redress for the impacted workers, and I believe mediation is the most efficient and practical method to reach this goal,” Ward said.
The university retains the right to put adidas on notice if mediation fails, according to Amy Toburen of University Communications.
His announcement was considered a surprise after recent reports anticipated he was preparing to terminate the contract after discussions with athletics officials and the UW-Madison Labor Licensing Policy Committee.
“Ward’s actions are not only anti-labor, they are against the very principles this university stands upon and as such warrants his immediate removal,” SLAC member Lingran Kong said in the press release.
Madison will host United Students Against Sweatshops’ national conference this weekend. Entitled “Take Back Our Economy,” the organization’s event will celebrate the past and present of student organizing, evoking memories of not only last year’s Capitol protests, but earlier struggles between the university and athletic apparel manufacturers.
Under Ward’s first term as chancellor in February of 1999, students locked themselves into Bascom Hall in protest of sweatshop labor, advocating for greater student involvement in the university’s apparel licensing process.
After nearly 100 hours, Ward ordered police to break up the sit-in.
Roughly 50 protestors were arrested, but all charges were later dropped by authorities under public pressure.
Now in his second term, the chancellor is likely to face the familiar sight of determined student protestors once again, according to John Perkins, a member of SLAC and UW-Madison junior.
“We are disappointed, so we will escalate our campaign and continue to apply pressure to the chancellor,” he said. “We have to take violations of our labor code of conduct seriously.”
