Georgetown recently reinstated its contract with a company it had previously severed ties with because of alleged unfair labor practices. Lands’ End Inc. agreed to end its discriminatory practices based on trade union participation in its Salvadoran factories.
Georgetown’s Licensing Oversight Committee, which monitors the practices of companies which use the Georgetown logo, determined that Lands’ End had come into compliance with expectations for labor relations.
In an April 25, 2004 letter, Daniel Porterfield, Vice-President for Public Affairs and Strategic Development and Chair of LOC, informed Lands’ End of Georgetown’s decision to reinstate the contract.
“Georgetown’s Licensing Oversight Committee is satisfied that Lands’ End has made substantial progress supporting verification of compliance with Code of Conduct with Licensees,” Porterfield’s letter stated.
Georgetown University was the first of many universities to take action against Lands’ End.
Following the suspension of its licensing agreement by Georgetown and other major universities, such as Northwestern University, Lands’ End took action. In April 2004, the WRC reached an agreement with Lands’ End addressing the original allegations. Scott Nova, Executive Director of the Workers Rights Consortium emphasized that this positive outcome is crucial to the success of his organization’s efforts. The WRC, a non-profit organization composed of students, administrators and labor-rights experts, representing 168 colleges and universities, was established to help enforce universities’ regulations concerning workers’ rights.
Although Georgetown renewed its contract with Lands’ End in April, the company no longer manufactures garments for any university, according to University Director of Media Relations Laura Cavender.
The negotiations regarding the Lands’ End contract marked the first labor relations reform taken in four years.
In February 1999, the Georgetown Solidarity Committee staged a successful 85-hour sit-in against the non-disclosure of garment factory locations. Similarly, in March of 2000 the University withdrew from the Fair Labor Association, a factory-monitoring group run by the apparel industry. Soon after, Georgetown joined the WRC.
Lands’ End had been the provider for much of Georgetown logo clothing sold at the University Bookstore.
According to Nova, a six-member assessment team, tipped off by complaints by workers, evaluated the Primo factory in El Salvador in fall 2003.
The evaluation uncovered evidence that Primo management had been refusing to hire qualified workers known to have been involved with labor unions, a practice known as blacklisting. Nova was among those who visited the factory.
The WRC and Georgetown’s LOC spearheaded efforts to remedy the situation.
“Georgetown works to support the mission of the WRC and relies on the WRC to verify licensees’ assertions of compliance with our Code of Conduct,” Cavender said.
The report listed remedial steps for Primo and Lands’ End to move toward ensuring fairer hiring practices at the Primo factory.
According to LOC members Emil Totonchi (SFS ‘06) and Megan Murphy (CAS ‘06), the recommended reforms were not implemented in a manner that satisfied Georgetown’s timeframe of compliance by Jan. 22, 2004.
“Lands’ End was saying, ‘There is no problem,’ and denying the existence of a problem,” Totonchi said.
Cavender emphasized the role of Georgetown’s Jesuit tradition: “Consistent with this longstanding tradition, Georgetown has acted to safeguard the rights of workers in factories that produce apparel and other products bearing the name and logos of the University.”
