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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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