April 7, 2000
UC joins Worker Rights Consortium on trial basis
The following statement was released today (Friday, April 7) by V. Wayne Kennedy,
UC senior vice president--business and finance:
After careful consideration and consultation with numerous members of the university's
faculty, staff, students, and student organizations, the University of California
has decided to become a member of the Worker Rights Consortium on a year-long trial
basis, effective immediately. The decision affects all 10 UC campuses.
The Worker Rights Consortium is an organization devoted to monitoring worker conditions
in factories around the world that manufacture products intended for university licensure,
such as apparel. The university is joining the consortium on a trial basis to further
evaluate the organization's progress toward effective monitoring of factory conditions.
The work of the UC Advisory Group on Monitoring and Enforcement Issues will continue
its work under UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Horace Mitchell.
The university has taken this step in order to make clear its commitment to ensuring
that the workers who produce the goods sold with University of California identification
are treated fairly and humanely and work under safe and decent working conditions.
Along with Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Michigan,
and Ohio State University, the University of California will continue to participate
in the Independent University Initiative. This Harvard-initiated study brings together
a diverse group of experts to visit factories in seven countries to gather accurate,
firsthand information on working conditions. Results of the Independent University
Initiative study are expected this summer.
