Two years ago, the PT Kizone factory in Indonesia that made collegiate apparel shut down after brands including Adidas refused to use a factory where workers had organized. Since the factory closure, the 2,800 former PT Kizone workers have fought to make Adidas pay $1.8 million in severance pay – a benefit that all companies are required to pay under Indonesian law since workers often don’t have access to social assistance like unemployment benefits. We, the Progressive Student Alliance, first expressed concern over Northeastern’s relationship with Adidas to the administration last spring.
Since then, worker rights have been at the forefront Northeastern community’s mind. Our dining hall workers struggled for dignity and respect on the job, and won their union campaign with an overwhelming majority voting to unionize with Unite Here Local 26. They won freedom from intimidation and harassment from their managers, fair compensation, and the right to speak out against injustices without fear. The international workers that manufacture our collegiate apparel experience the same struggles that our campus workers faced, but do not have the same rights that should be afforded to all those that contribute to our Northeastern community.
When we first raised the issue of Adidas’ sweatshop-manufactured apparel with Northeastern’s administration we were told they would take action with Adidas. We believed them because Northeastern is a member of the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent labor watchdog group, and per the WRC Code of Conduct, our university can terminate business relationships for code violations. In an email, Northeastern administrator Tom Nedell said that the university planned to “evaluate [its] options.”
However, their evaluation of this increasingly dire situation has taken over a year, while Adidas has allowed its impoverished former-employees to suffer the consequences. Since the factory closed, the workers have struggled with providing basic welfare for their families. Blacklisted from getting other factory jobs because of their union activism, the latest report directly from the PT Kizone workers stated that they have been forced to pull their children from school because they can no longer afford the tuition. Heni, one of the former Adidas factory workers, had to sell her family’s home and most of their possessions. For a time, she could not even afford rice – her family survived on boiled cassava leaves.
In taking action to sever our Adidas contract, Northeastern would not be alone. So far, six schools – Cornell University, Oberlin College, University of Washington, Rutgers University, Georgetown University and the College of William & Mary – have cut their contracts with Adidas over these labor violations.
In alignment with Northeastern’s core values of promoting global equality, further steps must be taken against Adidas. As stated by President Aoun, Northeastern must be a “model for society.” Accordingly, the Progressive Student Alliance is calling on the Northeastern administration to cut its contract with Adidas because the company has repeatedly and unapologetically exploited and abused the workers in its supply chain. Northeastern, following its WRC Code of Conduct, should join the universities that have cut their contracts with Adidas. We have faith in our administration’s commitment to worker rights, and we look forward to meeting soon to discuss the urgency and absolute necessity of cutting Northeastern’s contract with Adidas.
-Progressive Student Alliance, an affiliate of United Students Against Sweatshops, Northeastern University.
