Brown students stage protest of clothing made at sweatshops




10.3.99 00:05:42 Providence Journal Brown students stage protest of clothing made at sweatshops The protesters take their quest for full disclosure of supplier locations to Wal-Mart in Seekonk. By MARIE SANCHEZ Journal Staff Writer SEEKONK -- Two dozen Brown University students took their protest against sweatshop labor inside Wal-Mart yesterday, distributing fliers and talking to customers. Then they assembled outside to chant. When they started to march back inside -- still chanting -- store managers blocked their way and called police. ``Hey! Hey! Wal-Mart, don't you know?'' the student voices lifted in unison. ``Sweatshop labor's gotta go!'' The students dispersed quietly before police arrived. But their message lingered in the air, on car windshields, and in the store. ``This isn't a boycott,'' student organizer Nicholas Reville said. ``We're trying to raise awareness of sweatshop abuses to improve conditions.'' The students were protesting the working conditions of one Wal-Mart supplier that manufactures the Kathy Lee Gifford line of clothing. They were moved by the accounts of three garment workers who spoke at Brown recently about how they lost their jobs and received death threats for attempting to organize, were forced to work overtime, and earned less than $5 for a day's work lasting from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ``We're also trying to safeguard these workers' lives, and to get their jobs back,'' Reville stressed. The protest is part of a movement making headlines from Duke University to the University of Vermont, calling for full disclosure of supplier locations worldwide and for independent inspections. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa R. Brown, said yesterday that the company does not tolerate sweatshops. ``We have strict standards . . . for our suppliers . . . all over the world,'' she said. ``And if those standards aren't met for any reason, these contracts are immediately terminated.'' One by one, students yesterday entered Wal-Mart to hand shoppers postcards addressed to Wal-Mart CEO David Glass. One student nervously explained that the group wanted the wages to be raised from 60 cents an hour to $1.20. Nodding their heads, two young men took two cards apiece. Other students said they left some 4,000 fliers asking Kathy Lee Gifford and Wal-Mart to call for an end to abusive labor practices in El Salvador, including mandatory pregnancy tests for workers and forced overtime. The fliers were placed inside merchandise boxes, as well as sleeves and pockets of Kathy Lee clothing for customers to find later. Students stayed inside until store employees asked them to leave -- about half an hour. ``I felt like I was in a political James Bond movie,'' said Elana Berkowitz, a junior whose video camera drew attention. ``I was literally outrunning them down the aisles,'' she said. ``I got kicked out of Wal-Mart, then out of the parking lot because I wouldn't turn it off.'' Some shoppers clearly avoided the students. Others accepted the fliers. After receiving hers, shopper Amy Labush said she was aware of the reason the students were protesting. ``They certainly have that right,'' she said. But employee Jasmin Gillete, 20, was astounded. ``That's absurd,'' she said. ``We treat people with respect and honesty.'' Copyright © 1999 The Providence Journal Company Produced by http://www.projo.com/