Chancellor: Wis. won't end Adidas deal

Chancellor: Wis. won't end Adidas deal

	Published : Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:30 By : Agencies Print this Story

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - University of Wisconsin's chancellor dismissed calls Wednesday to end the school's athletics contract with Adidas AG over the mistreatment of workers in El Salvador but called on the company to remedy the situation.

Chancellor John Wiley said Adidas should do more to help workers who were unfairly treated by a former subcontractor. He also said he would send an envoy to the country on a fact-finding mission next month.

But Wiley said he would not follow an advisory committee's recommendation that the university end its exclusive contract with Adidas over abuses at Hermosa Manufacturing, which produced Adidas apparel bearing the Badgers' logo from 2000 to 2002.

'Our emphasis is on working with the contractual partner to 'cure' the identified failures in performance,' Wiley said in a statement. 'I intend to do everything possible to encourage Adidas to take more corporate responsibility for the Hermosa situation.'

The factory closed in 2005 without giving $825,000 in severance pay to 260 laid-off workers, according to the Workers' Rights Consortium, which monitors working conditions for universities at factories.

The factory's owner was embezzling employees' social security and retirement contributions rather than giving them to the government. In addition, some union workers were allegedly blacklisted and prevented from working at another nearby Adidas subcontractor.

Critics have blamed Adidas for not doing enough to uncover the mistreatment or help the workers. The company has blamed the contractor but said it is working to help workers recover money they are owed.

Meanwhile, activists have pressured universities to cut ties with Adidas. Wiley is among the first university leaders to publicly chastise the company, said Scott Nova, executive director of the Workers' Rights Consortium.

Wisconsin has a contract with Adidas for uniforms and equipment for sports teams worth about $1.2 million per year through 2011. The university also allows Adidas to produce Badgers' apparel under a license that produced $66,000 in royalties last year.

The school's Labor Licensing Policy Committee advised Wiley to end the deals earlier this month, saying the company was violating the code of conduct for university licensees.

The code requires companies who use the university's name or logos for products to meet requirements for wages, hours and other conditions. The code aims to ensure apparel is manufactured free of sweatshop-like conditions.

The committee said Adidas violated the code by allowing retaliation against union workers and failing to monitor the factory's conditions.

Wiley said he needed more information about the conditions before he could determine whether a contract breach occurred. He said he was sending an aide to El Salvador to investigate.

Wiley's decision came as activists planned to protest at his office demanding he end the contract. The 45 protesters who gathered later denounced his decision.

Molly Glasgow, an organizer for United Students Against Sweatshops, criticized Wiley for not following the recommendation by the committee of students, faculty and staff.

'They all agree this is what needs to happen,' she said. 'It's good he's engaging with the brand but there is a breach in the contract.'

Committee member Dennis Dresang, a political science professor, called Wiley's response a cautious step in the right direction.

Wisconsin tapped Adidas for the contract in 2001, in part because of its strong commitment to corporate responsibility. The university renewed the deal last year.

Wiley will warn high-level Adidas executives to shape up or risk losing the contract, said LaMarr Billups, an aide.