UA Joins Fair Labor Association

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama has affiliated with the Fair Labor Association (FLA), an organization that monitors labor conditions in the apparel industry worldwide.

UA President Andrew Sorensen approved joining the organization on the recommendation of the University’s Task Force on Labor Code of Conduct. This representative group of faculty, staff and students studied a variety of options for monitoring activity at the overseas factories that produce licensed merchandise for the University before voting to recommend joining the FLA earlier this summer.

“The task force has completed a careful study of the complex issues involved in labor conditions overseas and the University’s options for monitoring implementation of our standards. I am pleased that we will now be associated with one of the leading monitoring organizations, ensuring that merchandise bearing The University of Alabama name will be manufactured under acceptable conditions,” Sorensen said.

Some 135 colleges and universities are affiliated with the FLA, including such southeastern institutions as the Universities of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, Florida State and Duke. UA’s annual membership fee will be paid through licensing revenues.

UA recently adopted a Labor Code Standard with a rider on women’s rights and factory disclosure requirements, also at the recommendation of the task force. The FLA will monitor factories to see that these standards and requirements are being properly implemented by all licensees.

Dr. Daniel Arce, associate professor of economics, chaired the task force. Members included three students, Darren Blackmon, Matt Taylor and James Traynor; Dr. Leatha Darden, associate professor of clothing, textiles and interior design; Sandy Gordon, University counsel; Janet Griffith, assistant vice president for university relations; and Lee Ann Hogan, assistant manager for athletic licensing and marketing. Bruce Siegel, general counsel of the Collegiate Licensing Co., served as an ex officio member.

Working throughout the spring semester, the task force made an in-depth study of materials related to the many issues associated with fair labor standards. The three student members also attended a Workers Rights Consortium conference in New York to report on developments within this relatively new organization.

In his report on the task force’s activities and recommendations, Arce commended University administrators for taking a proactive stance on addressing the labor code of conduct issue. “The University of Alabama has been somewhat unique in forming an inclusive task force to proactively address this issue,” he said. He noted that, while students have been active in bringing the issue to the forefront on campuses across the country, UA is unusual in including significant student representation in its task force to investigate the issue.

Note: Dr. Daniel Arce, who chaired the Task Force on Labor Code of Conduct last spring, has since left UA to take a position at Rhodes College in Memphis.