Approximately 800 workers making college apparel — including Penn State sweatshirts — in a Kukdong International-Mexico factory staged a strike last Tuesday after at least five of their fellow workers were fired in an action some said was retaliation for involvement in labor rights disputes.

The factory, located in Atlixco, Mexico, makes Nike sweatshirts for several universities, including Penn State, Michigan State and Indiana University.

Some students allege the recent job losses are proof that Nike's internal monitoring system and Penn State's efforts not to use sweatshop labor in its apparel manufacturing have been public relation ploys with little real effect.

"This is a blatant example of the way corporations' monitoring systems of sweatshops are failing miserably and how we need to keep corporations like Nike under pressure," said Martin Austermuhle, cofounder of Students for Accountability and Reform (STAR).

According to a press release from Campaign for Labor Rights, a non-profit organization that lobbies for fair working conditions, the employees were illegally fired for protesting sweatshop conditions and lobbying for an independent union. The workers complained of rotten food, low wages, forced overtime and an inability to exercise their right to freedom of association to create a new union, independent from the one selected by the company last year.

Workers are demanding the factory's recognition of their independent workers' organization, reinstatement of all illegally fired workers and no sanctions against anyone who participated in the strike.

Some members of STAR said the factory's management, Nike and Penn State are violating a number of Mexican and international labor laws, collegiate licensing codes of conduct and the Nike code of conduct.

"If the workers' allegations prove true, Nike and Penn State should be held accountable for their failure to act in a preventative manner," Austermuhle said.

In a statement released on Friday, Nike said it is a major customer of Kukdong-Mexico, but said it currently has no production at the factory because of the seasonal nature of sweatshirts. A member of the Nike compliance team in Mexico is currently assessing the situation, the statement said.

Representatives of Nike, which was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Some students do not agree with Nike's stance on the situation. "Nike has been deflecting this matter," STAR co-founder Justin Leto said. "They have the responsibility to follow their code of conduct during all seasons."

The United Students Against Sweatshops, the nation's largest anti-sweatshop organization, believes that school administrators need to play a larger role in pressuring corporations like Nike to follow fair labor practices.

"Once again, Nike is allowing one of its own contractors to employ workers under atrocious conditions. This is a clear violation of its Code of Conduct, and the codes that many of our universities have adopted," USAS member Hannah Halbert said.

However, Dan Sieminski, assistant vice president for finance and business and Apparel Advisory Committee chair, said the situation is more of a structural issue about the overall labor market in Mexico.

Sieminski said he was told that employees have returned to work at the factory. But a USAS news alert reported that only 60-100 employees returned after receiving a 72-hour warning to return to work.

According to the USAS, workers plan to continue the strike despite the company's threat to fire those who do not return to work. The release also said police in riot gear also assaulted the workers Thursday in front of the factory.

Members of STAR and other national organizations plan to continue putting pressure on Nike and show their solidarity with the workers in Mexico until the employees' demands are met.

USAS is planning an International Day of Action tomorrow. STAR members said they were unsure how their group would participate.