This election season, students have been sweating about executives, Senate seats and the Reitz Union fee, but there’s another important question on the ballot: Should UF support sweatshop labor?
The UF Apparel Referendum asks students if they support joining the Workers Rights Consortium to ensure licensed UF clothing is not made in sweatshops.
The Workers Rights Consortium is composed of United Students Against Sweatshops, a national network of student groups, as well as university representatives and labor unions.
The consortium, which includes 185 other universities such as Harvard, Louisiana State University, and the University of Miami, works to detect and correct labor violations in factories where merchandise is manufactured.
Emily Flynn, president of UF Amnesty International, said UF is already a member of the Fair Labor Association, which also serves to detect violations of labor rules.
Flynn said the Fair Labor Association has representatives from corporations on its executive board, meaning the corporations are responsible for monitoring themselves.
If the referendum passes, UF could join the Workers Rights Consortium rather than acting as a member of the Fair Labor Association, according to Flynn.
Both the Workers Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association charge universities up to one percent of all apparel profits, up to $50,000, according to a UF Amnesty International press release.
Amnesty International collected 500 signatures to place the referendum on the ballot, and Flynn said the anti-sweatshop campaign has earned attention on campus.
“I’ve had students pull out their sweatshirt tags and ask, ‘Where did this come from? Who made this?’” Flynn said.
Flynn met with Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs.
Flynn said Telles-Irvin is receptive to joining the Workers Rights Consortium and is preparing a report on the proposal.
Ben Cavataro, the Student Alliance party candidate for Student Body president, said if elected, his party would work to persuade the university administration to join the Workers Rights Consortium.
Cavataro said joining the consortium is common sense because it will cost the same as being a member of the Fair Labor Association and won’t change the price of apparel.
"It will give UF students the peace of mind that Gator apparel is made sweatshop free," Cavataro said.
The Unite Party is staying neutral on the referendum to allow students to make up their own minds, said Ben Meyers, the Unite Party spokesman.
If the referendum passes, the Unite Party would also support bringing the issue to the attention of UF administration, Meyers said.
“We revolve around student opinion,” Meyers said. “Our job is to represent the students.”
