This past spring, the UMD Chapter of MPIRG began a campaign
that would ensure that all uniform, apparel, and footwear purchases by the city
of Duluth would be sweatshop free. The campaign was instituted through our membership
in the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition with the collaboration of its director,
Josh Wise. We have made great headway on
the topic of procurement by the city of Duluth, basing our efforts on
successful ordinance adoption in cities and states across the country through
the assistance of the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium. The Consortium, which we are urging the city
of Duluth to join, is a national membership organization for public entities
seeking to purchase products made under fair labor conditions and provides
policy tools, vendor and manufacturer reviews, and other resources to aid
public entities in purchasing sweatshop free.
Efforts thus far have involved meeting with the city of
Duluth’s purchasing agent, city councilors, and the Mayor’s office, to bring
attention to this lack of oversight in purchasing and to provide effective ways
to ensure that future purchases adhere to sweatshop free standards. To build
community support we have started a citizen petition drive, developed an
organizational endorsement strategy, and have held one of two public forums on
the topic of creating a sweatshop free procurement policy for city purchases.
Local supporters include the Duluth Central Labor Body and the North East Area
Labor Council with additional endorsements expected through the month of
August.
Speaker Al LaFrenier takes a question during our public forum. |
This work on the municipal level is one small piece of an
international movement to better the working conditions of those in the apparel
industry and to dis-incentivize manufacturers from utilizing sweatshop
conditions. Through this action, the
city of Duluth will join Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Austin, Santa Fey, and many
more public entities on the moral high ground of taking an ethical stance
against supporting sweatshops. Purchasing sweatshop goods unknowingly through a
contracted vendor is not an excuse our governments can hide behind. The resources and expertise are available and
willing to aid them in making better decisions and we are leading the charge in
showing them how.
Steve Wick
Campus Organizer, UMD
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