sweatshop fashion show

the show was a huge success and was written up in the daily trojan.

Students Strut for Labor Rights
Michael S. Stapleton
Issue date: 3/31/06

In front of Tommy Trojan Thursday, a group of 16 student models strutted, swaggered and sometimes even sashayed their ways down the catwalk.

This was no ordinary fashion show, though. The Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation sponsored the event to demonstrate its concern about the USC apparel being sold in the campus bookstore. As students made their way down the catwalk clad in USC apparel, David Romero, the emcee of the event, could be heard over a microphone educating the audience about sweatshop labor.

"Workers that make these clothes don't even earn a living wage," Romero said. "In Mexico, laborers often work for $4.50 a day, and even though the law prohibits their employers from forcing them to work more than eight hours per day, they are often forced to work 10 or 12 hours per day.

"The USC Pertusati Bookstore currently sells clothing manufactured by Nike, Russell Athletic, DW Authentic and Wide World Sportswear, among others. SCALE says that these corporations are utilizing sweatshop labor to produce the clothing found on campus.

"We chose to put on a fashion show to educate students about sweatshop labor and garner a bigger student base. This show is accessible to everybody, and we want a reaction from the spectators. Hopefully we'll pique people's interest," said Teresa Cheng, a freshman majoring in political science, who organized the event.The fashion show incited supportive reactions from the audience.

"People need to hear about what's really going on, and so many people aren't aware of the exploitation that's occurring. The show brought a crowd, even if people heard only a little, they still heard it," said Jasmine Mencias, a junior majoring in theater, who attended the event.

SCALE sent a letter recently to President Steven B. Sample asking him to make USC a member of the Workers' Rights Consortium, a national organization advocating better factory labor conditions. "The University of Southern California may be selling products made under sweatshop labor conditions; which could include the use of child labor, forced labor, inhumane working conditions, physical and verbal abuse, or possibly worse," the letter reads.

At one point during the show, a group of students gathered in front of the runway chanted slogans promoting SCALE's efforts. "Set an example, President Sample!" shouted some in the crowd. "USC plus WRC equals sweat free!" said others. The students who organized the show also garnered recognition from Paul Adler, a professor at the Marshall School of Business, and Curtis Marez, a professor from the USC School of Cinema-Television. Adler and Marez met with students on Thursday night in the United University Church to view short films documenting sweatshop abuse, followed by a discussion with the professors.

USC is a member of the Fair Labor Association, which SCALE says has serious shortcomings that joining the Workers' Rights Consortium would remedy. There are 81 universities in the United States that are members of both the Workers' Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association.In their letter to Sample, members of SCALE urge the president to take notice of USC's alleged support of companies that use sweatshop labor and point out USC's powerful position to support human rights.

"Sweatshop labor is needless suffering," SCALE members wrote in the letter, "and USC is in a unique position to bring about a position change."

way to go everybody!