The University of Washington and Rutgers University announced plans Tuesday to cut ties with adidas following allegations of labor violations from a factory contracted by the apparel company, a move some members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison have encouraged Interim Chancellor David Ward to pursue.
The issue began January 2011 when a factory contracted by adidas suddenly shut down without compensating over 2,700 workers. Since then, other colleges and universities, including Cornell and Oberlin, have cut ties with the company for violating contracts with the schools to ensure all workers are paid.
The UW-Madison Labor Licensing Policy Committee and the Student Labor Action Coalition have lobbied to make a similar decision regarding adidas at UW-Madison since December 2011.
SLAC and LLPC member Lingran Kong said there should be no reason for UW-Madison to hold off cutting ties with the apparel company, especially because other universities have done so already.
“SLAC has been pushing for this for 15 months now so it’s disappointing the university has not taken any action, especially when all these other universities have stepped up,” Kong said.
Additionally, LLPC Chair and Consumer Science Professor Lydia Zepeda said she hopes Ward will take action against adidas now that other schools have decided to do so.
“I know one of the things [Ward] was complaining about was going it alone,” Zepeda said. “He clearly can’t say that anymore.”
Still, Zepeda said she is doubtful Ward will cut ties with adidas because the two parties are currently engaged in a lawsuit to determine if the apparel company violated its contract with the university.
