Date of publication: June 15, 2006
Source: Brattleboro Reformer
Author: DARRY MADDEN, Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- Brattleboro Union High School is the first high school in the nation to affiliate with a sweatshop reform group that has until now only been working with colleges and universities, marking a possible watershed moment in sweatshop reform.
The school waded into the history books rather than jumped. The BUHS board's vote in favor of affiliating with the Workers' Rights Consortium (WRC) on June 15 came just hours after Oak Park & River Forest High School in Oak Park, Ill., voted to do the same. However, the official measure of affiliation -- a letter of intent and a $500 check -- came from Brattleboro first.
"I think the board's excited to support the students in the process," said School Board Chairman David Dunn. "And the board's very excited about that much student involvement."
"It's definitely encouraging for us," said Nancy Steffan, an outreach coordinator with the WRC.
The decision came only after some contentious debate and the attention of the community.
The Child Labor Education and Action Project members (CLEA) went before the board for the second time in as many years in April. They were met with a lot of questions, and the board ultimately decided to bring the material before its lawyers.
CLEA president Sarah Maciel-Maceda was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
The WRC enforces codes of conduct adopted by colleges and universities -- and now high schools -- in the factories that manufacture their apparel. In the case of BUHS, this will mean athletic and band uniforms primarily.
The idea behind the WRC is that, instead of seeking out alternative, non-sweatshop apparel, the schools put pressure on pre-existing factories to rectify any human rights violations therein.
The WRC works with the colleges and universities, U.S.-based retail corporations and local workers and organizations to remedy rights violations in the factories.
In addition to the $500 annual fee, which was raised by CLEA and paid for through the Student Activities Fund, CLEA must provide the WRC with the names and locations of the factories which supply the apparel the school intends to buy.
Darry Madden can be reached at dmadden@reformer.com [1], or (802) 254-2311, ext. 273.