Ward calls for talks on sweatshop task force
Chancellor David Ward on Monday asked the top faculty and academic staff leaders to meet with the head of student government to discuss the structure of the campus sweatshop advisory committee.
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Related resources: Report calls for partnership on living wages, sweatshops Highlights of the Living Wage Symposium Report UW-Madison and Sweatshops (Background stories and information) |
Bernice Durand, chair of the University Committee, and Barry Robinson, chair of the Academic Staff Executive Committee, have agreed to meet with the chair of Associated Students of Madison in an attempt to modify the structure of the CLC Task Force Advisory Committee, Ward said.
“The efforts of the sweatshop advisory committee have been extremely helpful as we continue to address this difficult issue,” Ward said. “I understand, however, that student members have expressed dissatisfaction with the function or role of the committee. I believe that a shared governance perspective on these complex issues is both desirable and necessary, but am sensitive to the apparent concern of the students.”
The task force advisory committee was created in February 1999 as part of an agreement between the chancellor and students regarding sweatshops following a protest in Bascom Hall. Students agreed to participate in the advisory committee, with equal representation from faculty and academic staff.
The three student members appointed by ASM resigned from the committee last month, saying the chancellor had not followed the recommendations of the group.
In December, the group informally voted 5-4 for the university to immediately pull out of the Fair Labor Association and join the Worker Rights Consortium, a student-sponsored group that has not yet been organized. In January, the task force informally agreed 6-3 that the university should continue its provisional membership of the FLA and examine the WRC as a possible alternative.
Ward announced he would follow that course of action Jan. 24 after meeting with the task force, saying he felt it was best to keep working with the FLA on a provisional basis for the time being as the WRC moves toward formation. The student members resigned from the task force Jan. 31.
“Ultimately, I am not concerned about structure, so long as it is representative of campus governance,” Ward said. “I want participation. It is only through hearing all voices, whether they agree or disagree, that the broadest knowledge can be obtained and the wisest decisions made.”
Ward said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul Barrows will represent him in the dialogue between the faculty, academic staff and student governance groups regarding the structure of the task force.
Barrows asked ASM to reappoint three students to the task force last week. But on Thursday, Feb. 10, ASM passed a resolution not to appoint new task force members.
In related news, the chancellor on Monday praised the Living Wage Symposium report prepared by Professor John Witte at the La Follette Institute for Public Affairs. As part of the agreement the chancellor and students reached last February, the university agreed to host the symposium.
The report can be read at: http://www.lafollette.wisc.edu/livingwage/Final_Report/report.htm.
“The report provides a very thorough compilation of information, reflects an informative diversity of views, and recommends tangible options for proceeding further,” Ward said.