USAS gave the issue of workers' rights a face Monday night when the group brought two former Russell Athletic workers to the Chambers Building to speak about their unionization efforts in Honduras.
Moises Elias Alvarado and Norma Estela Mejia Castellanos attracted a diverse crowd of more than 100 people to listen to the story of their experiences at the Jerzees de Honduras factory. Alvarado and Castellanos are the president and vice president, respectively, of the union that formed at the 1,800-worker factory. Russell Athletic began closing the Jerzees de Honduras factory last year and the plant closed for good on Jan. 30, leaving 1,800 workers unemployed and potentially blacklisted from potential employment at other factories because of their unionization efforts.
United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) has been vocal since last November in its support of the Honduran workers, and is pushing for the administration to end or change its contract with Russell Athletic in light of the factory's closing.
"Jerzees of Honduras has a history of abusing workers," Alvarado said through an interpreter. "The company has never respected the rights of the union."
Both Castellanos and Alvarado spoke through an interpreter at Monday's event.
Alvarado added the union started as a way to improve working conditions at the factory because the workers didn't even have clean water to drink at one time.
But unionizing wasn't an easy process, both Alvarado and Castellanos said.
The two, along with other leaders of the union, have been the recipients of death threats. Some of those threats have even come from other workers who blame the union for the closing of the factory, Alvarado said.
Castellanos said she appealed for help from Americans, because the Honduran government hasn't helped the workers and Americans believe in fair labor rights.
"They're making a mockery of labor laws and rights in our country," Castellanos said. "All because we had the temerity to ask for our rights at work."
Alvarado said the factory paid two different wage scales before it closed. The first, for workers on a quota, paid a maximum of about $60 per week. The other, a fixed-wage scale, paid about $40 per week.
John Stevenson (junior-community environment and development) said he thought the workers' presentation was excellent.
"You get very few opportunities to hear people from the Third World speak about working conditions," he said.
Stevenson added Penn State needed to make it clear to Russell Athletic that the right to unionize should be protected.
"To tell you the truth, I don't care how they [Penn State] get it done," he said.
USAS member Chris Stevens (sophomore-anthropology) said Penn State should "cut the Russell contract because of the way they treat workers."
Fellow USAS member Julia Watkins (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said that if the university does not end its contract with Russell Athletic, "it says they support mistreating workers."
Prior to the union organizers' presentation, USAS President Landon Evak and Student Labor Action Project President Meg Quinn met with Dan Sieminski, associate vice president for finance and business, Philip Burlingame, associate vice president for student affairs, and Tom Poole, associate to the president for administration.
The students and administrators discussed how to deal with Russell Athletic in the future, and ways the university could have all of its licensees treat their workers fairly.
"I think it's important that whatever message we send Russell, that other licensees get the same message," Sieminski said.
