AMERICAN LABOUR:

CAMPAIGN FOR THE DSP AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

The following appeal is yet another one from the United Students Against Sweatshops who have been campaigning across the USA for many years now to pressure university and college administrations to adopt the Designated Suppliers program (DSP). See the website of the USASS for more details about the DSP and their campaigns. Also many other items here on this blog.

This appeal asks for your online solidarity to petition the President of the University of Southern California (USC) to adopt the DSP. The following appeal doesn't exactly give the whole story. While looking up the background to this appeal Molly found that there has been pressure on the USC to adopt the DSP not "for months" but rather "for years", 9 to be exact, as an internet search turns up items on this campaign dating back to 1999. This should be entered in the Bureaucratic Stalling Olympics"(the BS Olympics ???). Any frosh who signed up for this campaign at its midway point are long since graduated by now. Administrators at this institution come and go, but the story goes on and on. Help to end this soap opera by signing on to the following campaign.

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President Sample, Fulfill Your Promise to the USC Community: Adopt the DSP!
For months, the USC administration has promised students, faculty, and members of the religious community that they would sign on to a statement adopting the Designated Suppliers Program. However, at the last minute, USC has gone back on its word and now refuses to adopt the DSP. Not only that, but President Sample has chosen to lock students out of the building rather than speak to them about his broken promises. Call, email, and fax President Sample today to let him know that misleading the community, silencing students, and ignoring worker rights violations is no way to run a university.

President Sample: 213-740-2111
Hello, my name is _________ and I am a _______ from _________. It is disheartening to hear that your administration has chosen to lie to students instead of dealing with the fact that your clothes are made in sweatshops. This kind of behavior is unacceptable for an institution of higher education. Do the right thing and adopt the DSP today. Thank you.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

President of USC Steven B. Sample President of USC Steven Sample
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Keep your word and adopt the DSP!
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

MOLLY NOTE: To join this campaign go to THIS LINK.
This year, students, faculty, and clergy representatives had been meeting with your administration for more than six months to discuss USC's commitment to workers' rights. It seemed that progress was being made toward the university's signing onto the Designated Suppliers Program, which would ensure that factories producing USC apparel respect workers' right to organize and pay their workers a wage sufficient to provide for their families.

Although they had been optimistic about your administration's willingness to meet with members of the USC community, recent events have led us to believe that your administration has not been acting in good faith. Without warning, Senior Vice President Dickey failed to attend the last meeting between the administration and USC community representatives on April 24. And in this meeting, student representatives were informed that the previous agreement to publicly release a letter in support of the Designated Suppliers Program would not be fulfilled. As if this weren't enough, students attempting to raise this issue with you today were refused entry into the building.

Considering these recent developments, your administration no longer can be trusted to fulfill any promise it makes to the USC community. It is imperative that your administration make a commitment to workers' rights by signing onto the Designated Suppliers Program, in order to remedy the current situation and to regain the trust of the USC community.

Restore your administration's relationship with the USC community and fulfill your promise to publicly release a letter in support of the Designated Suppliers Program!
Sincerely,