I was working on a list of US states and cities that’ve gone sweatshop-free — to find out that Sweat Free Communities have already compiled a list! Both the state of Cali and the city of LA have passed sweatfree ordinances — so no state and city taxes will go towards supporting sweatshops.

Things aren’t so sweatfree at USC though — which is why a student org called USC’s Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation (SCALE) is trying to get a Sweat Free USC Initiative passed.

The lastest action: A sweatshop fashion show. Students strutted down a catwalk, proudly wearing USC apparel, while an emcee talked on the mike about the effects of sweatshop labor.

What SCALE’s asking for is simple: That USC become a member of the Workers’ Rights Consortium, a national organization advocating better factory labor conditions. USC’s currently a member of the Fair Labor Association, which many organizations say has serious shortcomings.

What’s the diff between the 2 orgs? Both are factory monitors, but the FLA gives a lot of power to the corporations that actually have a hand in creating these sweatshop problems to begin with. The WRC, on the other hand, does not. A handy doc comparing the two (MSWord) is avaliable on the United Students Against Sweatshops site.

To complicate the problem, Liz, the Director of Trademarks and Licensing at USC, is a rep for the FLA, and thus a staunch opponent to WRC. Her main argument, according to SCALE, is that the WRC doesn’t pool “everybody at the table” - meaning, it doesn’t give corporations, including ones that employ sweatshop labor, a voice on the monitoring board. Says Teresa of SCALE, in an email to me: “So, in all…the reason why we are for the WRC is the same reason why she is against it.”

SCALE’s even tried to get a meeting with Prez Sample of USC. Teresa says “I ran after him once when he was coming back from lunch and tried to speak with him, but I, and three other SCALE members, were deferred to the Senior Vice President, Todd Dickey” — who didn’t know much about the issue and asked to meet again later with Liz.

SCALE’s running an email campaign. And if you’re a student, meetings are on campus on Mondays at 7 pm. Email me or SCALE for the location — I’ll be there next Monday.

Update, 4/13/06: SCALE has a blog, here.

Update, 4/11/07: SCALE members hold a sit-in at USC President Sample’s office, get threatened with suspension.

Update, 4/25/07: President Sample finally agrees to meet with USC SCALE members.

Tags: sweatshop, sweatfree, usc, labor

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