behalf. monitoring organizations. be applied to licensees that are in violation of Codes of Conduct. Join the WRC mailing list to stay updated on our work. What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, Kohls, one of the United States largest department store chains, retroactively canceled more than a billion dollars in orders at the outset of the pandemic. This enables the WRC to uncover labor rights abuses the brands and their auditing organizations routinely ignore.The WRC maintains a global team of field investigators who have built an extensive network of relationships with unions, human rights groups, womens organizations, and other civil society groups around the world. Toggle Search; Search Search. Council is currently being assembled, consisting of representatives The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations; issues public reports on factories producing for major brands; and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights. Applicants must be able to demonstrate authorization to work in the United States. investigations provides a powerful incentive to licensees to make systemic Articles for the consumer. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labor rights monitor that investigates working c Given that Our purpose is to document and combat sweatshop conditions; identify and expose the practices of global brands and retailers that perpetuate labor rights abuses; and protect the rights of . For information on how to become an official licensee of Georgetown University, please visit the IMG College Licensing website (new window). companies, the Worker Rights Consortium will use limited but carefully verify workers complaints so that they can take action to enforce Washington The Coordinator will report to the Field Director for Southeast Asia. This placed suppliers cash flow, and their ability to pay wages, at risk. As a result, supplier factories, and ultimately workers, will have to bear the brunt of Urban Outfitters' refusal to honor its obligations, carrying the costs of garment inputs necessary for production and missing out on pay for labor that was already completed. The responsibilities of the Field Representative for Pakistan include: The Field Representative for Pakistan will report to the Field Director for South Asia. The WRC found that the dismissal of 64 Haitian workers at Gildans supplier, Centri Group, was. in apparel factories. People of color, people with disabilities, women, veterans, people from working-class communities, and people who identify as LGTBQ+, are strongly encouraged to apply. 1990 K Street, NW, Suite 410 Washington, DC 20006. Both verification and pro-active inspections must include both on-site The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick. The study. payment capped at $50,000 for any individual college or university). where violations have been found. In-depth investigations of labor practices in factories around the world; Public reporting of labor rights abuses where they are identified; Engagement with factories and buyers to develop and implement corrective action plans to improve working conditions, including efforts to convince international customers to require the factories to cease abusive practices; Building and maintaining relationships with unions and worker rights advocates and working to inform workers and worker organizations about how the labor rights codes of conduct governing the behavior of apparel brands can be used as a tool to defend workplace rights; and. The Worker Rights Consortium will work to develop and revise its programs in consultation with workers, human rights groups, and other interests, including apparel-producing companies. Alternative to Company-Controlled Monitoring. With its reconfirmation, Cotton On also affirms that it is not requesting retroactive discounts or deferments from its suppliers. Late, however, is better than never, and C&As decision to set things right, even at this late juncture, will benefit many suppliers and workers. and their licensing business, while catalyzing change in this industry Worker Rights Consortium. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association reports that thousands of workers will lose their jobs, in Bangladesh alone, because Kohls refuses to honor its obligations. attempting to create a comprehensive monitoring regime in order to certify Home Suppliers are agreeing to sacrifice their own bottom line to bolster Bestsellers because they believe they have no choicethat if they do not accept Bestsellers terms, Bestseller will not give them business in the future. While the terms of those The retailer told creditors that any products sitting with freight forwarders will be discounted by 30%. More so, supplier factories have reported that URBN is finding loopholes not to pay and claiming that the color was wrong, now [suppliers] have to change the color. Council will also be charged with providing overall guidance to the Notwithstanding Primarks April 20 announcement that it will pay for some apparel orders it previously canceled, the company remains on the list of brands and retailers that have not committed to honor their obligations in full. on the model outlined in this document. 3 Mark Anner, Penn State Center for Global Workers' Rights, Abandoned? Exclusive: US 'Worker Rights Consortium' extorts $300,000 from Chinese, US firms by fabricating Xinjiang 'forced labor' issue. / Links. EIN: 06-1596009; Classification () Civil Liberties Advocacy (Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy) ; Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501(c)(3) Defined as: Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic . By Liu Xin and Fan Lingzhi Published: 2021/08/06 14:30:00. The combination Under the contract, Nike also agreed that its manufacturers will abide by IMGCLs Labor Code Standards, which are aligned with the Universitys Code of Conduct and include the labor standards under which the WRC investigates factories. a need for "responsive" investigations of alleged workplace An independent investigation last year by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), which has not yet been made public, heard testimony from other female workers of widespread gender-based violence at . Their purpose is to combat sweatshops and protect the rights of workers who make apparel and other products. The WRC promotes and enforces binding labor standards, the only kind that ever work in the real world. The WRCs collectively bargained flexible work policy requires that DC-based staff work from the office for three days per week. The exact percentage is unclear, because the companys statements to the WRC and other researchers, asserting that it is now paying for well over 90% of the original orders, are partially contradicted by reports from some suppliers, which indicate that reinstated orders, while sizable, represent a smaller percentage of the total. These If the advance payments really do serve to make suppliers financially whole, this would merit a re-evaluation of Bestsellers overall performance with respect to order payments. Please check the captcha to verify you are not a robot. fully responsible for all factories producing their products. components of Worker Rights Consortium verification are: public disclosure, The exact amount of outstanding cancellations could not be determined precisely because of conflicts between reports from suppliers and from C&A. We do not believe that the loss of any one vendor would have a material adverse effect on our business. Although URBN would not suffer if their supplier factories were forced to close, workers surely would. The acquisition of the brand rescued Colloseum from closure and allowed the chain to keep open the majority of its retail locations. Instead, Termination is not Bestseller will soon impose new payment terms on suppliers that are considerably worse (90 days versus 40 days from the date goods are shipped) than those Bestseller maintained prior to the pandemic. . changes in how they source their products. responsive. The growth of asset values has outstripped returns on labor for four decades, and a McKinsey report found that a majority of those assets . Sign in. RT @UrgentAct: Will you be attending the @WomenDeliver conference in July? This Program was created by a set of landmark agreements between apparel companies, a major manufacturer, unions, and womens groups to address gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in Lesotho garment factories. Please check your entries and try again. the Worker Rights Consortium. The Worker Rights specified in the Code, encompass all of Licensees' contractors, subcontractors entities which have entered into a written "License Agreement" This leaves supplier factories vulnerable to shutdowns and workers at risk of destitution. are responsible for enforcing contract provisions that require decent The following are 20 of the most important achievements accomplished since 1993: Economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and the right to development are recognized as universal, indivisible, and mutually reinforcing rights of all human beings, without distinction. The WRC is committed to equity in hiring and contracting, to building a diverse staff and leadership team, and to treating our staff and partners according to principles of equity and non-discrimination. has been developed by United Students Against Sweatshops in consultation and universities will fund the Consortium with a percentage of licensing targeted investigatory resources to hold companies accountable. In the debate on campuses, this has been referred to as the "fire The committee makes recommendations regarding the University's relationships with the collegiate products and apparel industry stakeholders. Most importantly, we believe that coupled with strong Codes of Conduct, Two US-based groups, the Center for Global Workers' Rights (CGWR) and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), used previously unpublished import databases to calculate that garment factories and . This will leave suppliers, in turn, unable to pay workers, potentially resulting in mass layoffs and undue hardships on workers in a time of crisis. For a college or university that collects royalties from a Rosss refusal to meet its obligations was first revealed in a letter to suppliers reported on in late March. One way that the LOC carries out its charge is through its relationship with the Worker Rights Consortium, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that monitors manufacturers compliance with the codes of conduct of colleges and universities. It is also clear, however, that a significant percentage of C&As orders remain canceledor postponed for so long that they might as well be canceledwhich is why the company remains on the negative side of our Tracker. It is notable that the actions of Kohlswhich a reasonable observer might consider to be little more than outright robberyare probably legal. Although Colloseums parent company Fashion FC Club filed for insolvency in May of this year, the brand was acquired by Schulz Fashion on July 1. Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2021, 2020 and 2019. The company chose to prioritize a discretionary gift to shareholderswho it had already rewarded over the last three years with $2.4 billion worth of dividends and stock buybacksover its obligation to pay for the goods it asked suppliers and workers to make. The university's role should be limited to requiring outcomes: the decent The broad public disclosure of information allows stakeholders One-time investigations often just cover up poor working conditions. Despite numerous brands and retailers agreeing to pay for orders completed and in production at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Urban Outfitters and its subsidiary brand Anthropologie have been unwilling to make this commitment and have invokedforce majeureto avoid paying for orders. Please check the captcha to verify you are not a robot. Comprehensive leverage. Several months have passed since temporary store closures have ended, and Camaeu has had ample opportunity to rectify this dereliction of responsibility. The LOC advises on policy toward, and relations with, IMGCL, the WRC and all licensees. Consistent with this longstanding tradition, Georgetown has acted to safeguard the rights of workers in factories that produce apparel and other products bearing the name and logos of the University. be profiting off of abusive working conditions. Combating Gender-Based Violence in Lesotho, https://www.ituc-csi.org/Honduras-Four-trade-unionists-murdered. Join the WRC mailing list to stay updated on our work. of recourse. (Please indicate if you wish to be notified prior to any references being contacted.). the licensee. Primark did not, however, disclose what percentage of its total unpaid commitments this figure represents. Something went wrong. resources will go into unannounced spot investigations at the places The $4.5 million payment is the largest severance back pay settlement in the history of the global garment industry. We investigate working conditions in factories around the globe. The WRC is an equal opportunity employer. A 12-person The protocolis part of a new retail license agreement between Georgetown and Nike. This is a two-year grant-funded position, with the possibility of extension contingent on available funding. regions across the world, verification methods must be flexible and When Bestseller retroactively cancels an order, in part or in whole, this means large financial losses for the affected supplier. The WRC documented that a year after PT Kahoindah Citragarment closed, its 2,001 former workers were still owed $4.5 million in back pay. In 2017, Georgetown facilitated the establishment of a new protocol between Nike, Inc.,and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) that provides the WRC with access to Nike supplier factories that manufacture collegiate products to investigate working conditions. that term is defined in the License Agreement) bearing the names, The Consortium will engage in efforts to educate workers Greater transparency is a core requirement of these investigations is that the licensees are expected to comprehensively Protecting worker rights. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labor rights monitoring organization focused on protecting the rights of workers who sew apparel and make other products sold in the United States, particularly those bearing college or university logos.