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February 07, 2001
Fair Labor Association Approves Seven Companies for Monitoring
Apparel manufacturers' commitment to higher labor standards to be verified by independent
monitoring organizations.
SocialFunds.com --
The Fair Labor Association (FLA), a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the rights
of workers around the world, recently approved seven companies for participation in its monitoring
program. The seven firms are well-known apparel manufacturers: adidas-Salomon, Gear for Sports,
Levi Strauss and Company, Liz Claiborne, Patagonia, Nike and Reebok. Reebok will be monitored for
footwear only. Together these companies contract with more than 2000 factories in 75 countries.
 "This is where the rubber meets the road,"
said Sam Brown, Executive Director of FLA. "This process will lead to reports giving the consumer
real information about progress toward implementing high labor standards."
FLA has
established a Code of Conduct that sets minimum standards for workplace labor practices. The Code
addresses critical issues such as child labor, health, safety, and collective bargaining.
Companies that participate in the program must adopt FLA's Code of Conduct for all their
worldwide operations, as well as require compliance from licensees, contractors and suppliers.
Companies and their manufacturing partners are also obligated to abide by applicable local laws.
When there are differences between the Code and local regulations, the higher standard must be
applied.
The FLA also accredits independent monitors who will verify that the standards
are indeed being followed. In its announcement, FLA also stated that the first independent
external monitor had been acccredited. Verite, a non-profit organization based in Amherst,
Massachusetts, has been certified to monitor workplaces in 14 countries. FLA also said more than
twenty other organizations have applied for accreditation.
The Fair Labor Association was
formed out of an agreement reached by some members of the Apparel Industry Partnership. The
Parternship was brought together by a White House task force in 1996 and included manufacturers,
labor and human rights organizations, U.S. universities and consumer groups. Groups that supported
the Partnership's final agreement include the International Labor Rights Fund, the Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights, the Consumers League, the National Council of Churches, and the Robert
F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.
Support of the agreement was not unaminous,
however. Major sticking points in the Apparel Industry Partnership negotiations were ensuring the
payment of a living wage and independent monitoring by local non-government organizations. Two
unions, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and the Retail, Wholesale and
Department Store Union, as well as the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility declined to
endorse the agreement made by other members.
Alternatives to the FLA have already been
formed. One example is the Workers Rights Consortium(WRC), a non-profit that also aims to support
and verify the labor practices of licensees. WRC uses codes of conduct that have been developed by
colleges and universities in the U.S. It is working to develop a network of local organizations
that can directly inform workers of their rights under applicable codes of conduct. Local
organizations also provide a conduit for workers to report conditions confidentially.
The
Fair Labor Association's step toward realizing monitoring and verification may seem modest in some
eyes, but it is a step in the right direction. Alternative monitoring organizations pushing for
even higher standards will remind consumers and investors of the issues that remain to be
addressed. For sweatshop workers around the world struggling to eke out a living, outside pressure
to improve workplace conditions cannot come quickly enough.
http://www.fairlabor.org/
http://www.workersrights.org/
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