TO THE EDITOR:
As one of the students who has been peacefully occupying the lobby of South Building since Thursday morning, I want to address a number of inaccurate statements included in Monday's opinion piece, "Timing is Everything" (April 21).
The editorial board worries that a commitment to sourcing from factories where workers have the right to collectively bargain would hurt workers in Bangladesh. However, they fail to mention that the UNC labor codes of conduct adopted in 1999 already mandate this right. It also fails to mention that these workers are the ones demanding that their right to organize be respected.
Also University production tends to make up less than 5 percent of the total volume of production in any given factory. This means that, even if UNC uses its power to demand better working conditions, factory managers will ignore these concerns, choosing instead to please the larger buyers making up the other 95 percent of their production.
The DSP would reward factories that support the human rights of the workers who suffer to make our UNC-licensed apparel.
Our current approach is not working. The time has come for UNC to join the 42 universities around the country that have already adopted the DSP. We have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of thousands of workers, and we should not allow this opportunity to pass us by.
Dida El-Sourady
Sophomore
International Studies
Member, Student Action with Workers
