More than 100 student protesters of the UW’s Sweat Free Coalition (SFC) marched past thousands of UW students, staff and visiting high schoolers in Red Square Friday, as they demanded an end to the use of sweatshop labor for the production of UW apparel.
With the deadline for President Mark Emmert’s decision regarding UW apparel production scheduled for tomorrow, SFC leaders were anxious to spread their message to the masses.
“We must ask, ‘What does our school stand for?’” said senior April Nishimura, a member of the Student Labor Action Project.
The SFC is part of a larger nationwide movement dubbed the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP). This group aims to “consolidate the factories in which college clothes are made and monitor these factories to secure garment workers a living wage and the right to unionize,” Nishimura said.
About 10 protesters turned to humor, wearing cheerleader outfits in what might have been a therapeutic attempt at lightening the mood of protesting in the name of millions of sweatshop workers who manufacture clothing lines for the UW and other colleges.
To the tune of the late ‘80s TV series “Captain Planet,” the cheerleaders raised their hands together in the middle of the HUB lawn and shouted “Rights! Fair wages! Dignity! Solidarity! Heart! By these powers combined, we are the Sweat Free Coalition!”
Bongos beat, bluegrass guitars twanged and a bagpipe blared a spine-tingling funeral oration as the marchers left the HUB lawn and made their way past Mary Gates Hall and into Red Square, where hundreds of UW faculty and staff had gathered for an appreciation event.
The protesters assembled in front of Kane Hall, where they unfurled a banner that read “Explore an alternative to sweatshops; Enjoy fairly made clothes; Educate our community into action.”
“Words of truth: Just don’t buy UW apparel,” said junior Nathan Gottlieb, a bystander near Kane Hall.
Following the banner’s unfurling, the march continued back to the Quad, where participants parted ways and Nishimura and others spoke with local TV and radio reporters.
“We’re almost at the tipping point; it’s going to happen soon,” Nishimura said. “If [Emmert] doesn’t issue a statement of adoption, we’ll be taking action.”
The manufacture of UW apparel takes place at more than 8,000 factories worldwide, many in Latin America. Tomorrow, as Chicano student group, MEChA, marches to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the nationwide immigration strike and protests, SFC members will join in solidarity to support their cause.
Reach reporter Jake Sommer at news@thedaily.washington.edu.
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