Code of Conduct for Logo Merchandise Licensees

FR: President Freeman Hrabowski

I am pleased to introduce the UMBC Code of Conduct for Logo Merchandise Licensees, developed through the campus shared governance process in collaboration with the UMBC Solidarity Coalition. Conducting our business affairs in a socially responsible and ethical manner is a vital part of our campus identity. Like much clothing manufactured today, university-logo merchandise is usually produced in overseas factories. This makes it challenging for campuses and apparel suppliers to ensure that fair labor practices are followed by suppliers.

To enhance our effectiveness in pursuing this commitment, I appointed a Fair Labor Standards Advisory Group (FLSAG) in 2008 to assess our current practices for managing supplier relationships and recommend ways to strengthen compliance with fair labor standards. The group, chaired by Assistant to the President Lisa Akchin, included representatives of the Professional Staff Senate, Graduate Student Association, Student Government Association, UMBC Solidarity Coalition, the Administration and Finance Division and the General Counsel’s Office. All Senates were invited to participate, and the University Steering Committee was engaged throughout the process.

As a result of the FLSAG discussions, UMBC has joined with more than 180 colleges and universities as a member of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC). The WRC is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that assists campuses with enforcement of manufacturing codes of conduct through education, compliance monitoring and remediation negotiations. To facilitate these efforts, UMBC has also adopted a code of conduct describing the fair labor standards we require vendors producing our university-logo merchandise to follow. These standards address wages and benefits, working hours, child labor, forced labor, health and safety, nondiscrimination, freedom of association and collective bargaining, and women’s rights. The full code of conduct can be viewed here. The UMBC Bookstore is now preparing to place a trial order with a WRC-approved vendor for a small amount of merchandise that will be available this fall. All merchandise for fall 2011 orders will be subject to the new Code of Conduct.

I thank the Fair Labor Standards Advisory Group for its thorough and thoughtful efforts. I particularly commend the student leaders in the UMBC Solidarity Coalition for bringing this important matter to our attention.

Finally, all of us will have the opportunity to learn more about labor conditions overseas when the UMBC Solidarity Coalition presents Sweatshop Workers Speak Out! on Thursday, April 29, 6 to 8 p.m., in the Library Gallery. This event, featuring a Bangladeshi garment worker and a representative of home-based workers in Pakistan, is co-sponsored by the International Labor Rights Forum, IWW, Red Emma’s Bookstore, The United Workers, Women Involved in Learning and Leadership, Gender and Women’s Studies, Media and Communications Studies and UMBC’s President’s Office.