The University of Wisconsin-Madison has canceled a licensing contract with New Era Cap Co., citing allegations of discrimination and anti-union activity at one of its factories in Alabama. The company had made Wisconsin knit caps under the license.

The action comes amid allegations the company discriminated against black workers at its factory in Mobile, Ala., and fired workers who engaged in union activity.


 


UW-Madison decided to end the contract in part because the company refused to allow its monitoring group, the Worker Rights Consortium, into the factory to investigate the allegations.

The university's code of conduct requires companies who use the university's name or logos for products to cooperate with such investigations and meet requirements for wages, hours and other working conditions. The code aims to ensure apparel is manufactured free of sweatshop-like conditions.

“We decided that New Era is just not a company that we want to continue to do business with,” Dawn Crim, an aide to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, told the Associated Press. “We are a university that says we want to make sure the best possible conditions are set up. This company just doesn't appear to be able to really be the type of partner that we are looking for.”

She said the university received similar allegations of abusive practices in 2002 but allowed the company to stay on board after problems were resolved. That history also played a role in the decision, she said


 


As reported, the heads of the Teamsters union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are holding a press conference in Washington D.C. today where they are expected to release a report detailing the problems.


 


In a statement last week, New Era accused the Teamsters of turning to “PR tactics and stagecraft” rather than bargaining for a new labor contract. The company denied discriminating against workers and defended its labor practices.