Cornell became the first university to sever its licensing contract with Adidas over recent allegations of labor abuses. Cornell said that due to the company’s refusal to pay severance to 2,800 workers displaced in the 2010 closing of an Indonesian factory where Adidas product was made, the contract would be terminated, effective Oct. 1.
Adidas did not respond to Cornell’s decision but in the past said the severance was the factory owner's responsibility. In July, it noted that it had provided humanitarian aid and job placement help to hundreds of the former workers.
In a letter last week to Adidas, President David Skorton said the university had reviewed severance issues surrounding the closure of the PT Kizone factory in Indonesia in September 2010, as well as findings from the labor rights monitoring organization, Worker Rights Consortium, and Adidas’ position in making its decision.
“We believe that severance is a basic worker’s right, as is a living wage, freedom of association and safe working conditions,” wrote Skorton. “We are calling on the collegiate apparel industry to develop mechanisms whereby brands can be assured that the factories with which they do business have on hand sufficient and secured funds to pay workers what they are owed should a factory close. This gap in the apparel industry’s approach to worker rights is a critical issue that demands immediate attention.”
Cornell indicated it is willing to work with Adidas again if the severance issues are addressed. Cornell also reportedly became the second company after Rutgers to join the Designated Suppliers Program, a factory-monitoring program run by the Workers Rights Consortium.
