Following similar calls at Penn State and Georgetown, students from Cornell are calling on university officials to cancel the school’s contract with Nike over alleged sweatshop violations at a Vietnam factory.
According to a report in The Cornell Daily Sun, the Cornell Organization for Labor Action on Friday delivered a letter to Interim President Hunter Rawlings demanding Cornell sever its contract with Nike after the Worker’s Rights Consortium released a report detailing violations at Nike’s factory against workers in Vietnam.
The report, released in December, listed wage theft, harassment, extreme temperatures leading to illness and manipulation by management, among other abuses.
In January, students at Penn State met with university President Eric Barron to discuss ending its Nike contract due to the report. According to a report in the Daily Collegian, United Students Against Sweatshops has been pushing for Penn State to end ties with Nike for about a year after Nike allegedly stopped allowing the Workers Rights Consortium to inspect their contractor factories.
In December, students at Georgetown University held a sit-in to protest at President John J. DeGioia’s suite of offices following the release of the report. At the time, the university’s administration agreed not to renew the contract unless Nike committed to allowing full, independent access to the Worker Rights Consortium. According to The Hoya, the university has recruited third-party mediator Justice and Sustainability Associates CEO Don Edwards to assist in the negotiations between Georgetown and Nike regarding the university’s licensing contract, which expired December 31.
Photo courtesy Nike
