Sweatshop graffiti makes its mark

By Jamie Rogers

Daily Forty-Niner

California State University, Long Beach

Cal State Long Beach students were greeted on the first day of classes by a graffiti message displayed on the brick wall outside the International Food Court Building, in front of the escalators.

"Boycott CSULB sweatshop t-shirt," was written in barely legible black paint over the red brick. Roman Gulon, general manager and CEO of Forty-Niner Shops, Inc., the auxiliary organization that runs the University Bookstore, said he was surprised by the message.

"This was the first indication of any kind of sweatshop issue brought up on this campus," Gulon said. "I was surprised. I was also disappointed they put it on the brick because it is hard to take off."

University Police was informed of the vandalism, according to Dispatcher Patrick Banks. He said the Forty-Niner Shops did not file a report and said they would clean the graffiti themselves.

The Forty-Niner Shops purchase t-shirts and other products from numerous vendors, according to Gulon. All of these vendors issue different policies regarding the use of sweatshops. In addition, Forty-Niner Shops have issued their own policy statement.

"The sweatshop policy statement that we are complying with is the same one that CSULB endorsed," Gulon said.

According to Armando Contreras, executive assistant to CSULB President Robert Maxson, the university doesn't have a specific policy regarding purchasing products produced in sweatshops.

"There is no set campus policy that I know of that says you can or can't by from sweatshops," Contreras said. "It is more of a philosophical or moral statement. The philosophical belief is that it is wrong to take advantage of people."

While CSULB doesn't have a specific policy regarding sweatshops, the California State University system does.

"The CSU is opposed to any acts or omissions by a licensee that would constitute labor abuse," stated an executive order signed by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed. "Officers and employees of the CSU and its auxiliary organizations will use their best efforts to ensure that licensees adhere to non-abusive labor practices, including the provision of safe and healthful working conditions."

As a member of the CSU system, CSULB is required to adhere to this policy. It becomes difficult, however, for CSULB to know under what conditions goods are manufactured when auxiliary organizations, such as the Forty-Niner Shops, purchase goods from several different vendors, many of which have multiple levels of corporate ownership.

"It is very difficult to know exactly where products are made," Contreras said. "So, we must try to be especially sensitive to that possibility."