UPDATE:
York Students Win No-Sweatshop Commitment with 45-Hour Sit-In

Students' Victory Marks International Women's Day

TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ - This morning, York University President Mamdouh
Shoukri met with students who had been holding a sit-in outside of his office
since 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Shoukri committed to introduce a no-sweatshop
policy for York University by April 2008.
"The policy will be at least as progressive as U of T's and other
universities', if not more," said Mamdouh Shoukri, President of York
University. "If other universities have had this policy and withstood the test
of time, I don't see why we can't do it too."
The York University president's commitment is the result of a 45 hour
sit-in by members of the York Sustainable Purchasing Coalition and their
supporters. The Coalition is a student group that has been lobbying York
University for a no-sweatshop policy for the past three years.
"We are exhausted but pleased with this commitment," said Terrance
Luscombe, a York University student and member of the Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition. "York students don't want our university to condone the use of
sweatshop labour and we don't understand why it took so long for university
administrators to join the 21st Century and make this simple commitment."
The Sustainable Purchasing Coalition held a rally Thursday asking the
university to adopt students' proposed 'no-sweat' policy. Immediately
following the rally, the students attempted to deliver a petition containing
more than 1,000 signatures in support of a no-sweatshop policy to President
Shoukri. When they were told the president was unavailable to see them, the
students decided to stay. The sit-in continued with students camping out for
two nights.
"This is an excellent way to mark the 100th anniversary of International
Women's Day," said Kelly Holloway, President of the York University Graduate
Students' Association. "Unfortunately millions of workers around the world,
and even in North America, are still paid appallingly low wages and denied
basic workplace rights. We look forward to seeing York's no-sweatshop policy
in place by next month."
International Women's Day commemorates the efforts of 15,000 immigrant
women garment workers who demonstrated on the streets of New York City in 1908
to demand fair pay, shorter work hours, an end to child labour and the right
to vote.
A second meeting between representatives of the Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition and the president of York University will take place on Monday.

For further information: Terrance Luscombe, York Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition, (647) 834-3899; or Kelly Holloway, President, York University
Graduate Students' Association, (647) 886-0729

______________________________

RALLY TO TAKE PLACE AT 1pm in VARI HALL.

The Sustainable Purchasing Coalition will be holding a No-Sweat (No Sweatshops) Rally on Thursday, March 6th.

Did you know York STILL does not have a No Sweat policy? Almost 8 years after the University of Toronto adopted a policy and began taking leadership on this issue, York persists on not having adequate standards for the conditions York apparel is produced under. York University has done this despite student and faculty pressure to live up to its reputation, and abide by its mission statement’s commitment to ‘global concerns’ and ‘social justice’.

The No Sweat Working Group of the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition (http://www.yorku.ca/spc_ft/) has attempted to get change through dialogue for the past three years with no luck, and now they’re organizing a demonstration to prove to the administration that the York students, faculty and staff DO CARE. We care whether forced labour, child labour, unfair wages, discrimination, or physical, emotional and sexual abuse took place to produce YorkU clothes. If you care, please attend the demonstration and sign the petition to let the administration hear your voice!

No Sweat Rally
March 6th, 2008
Vari Hall @ 1:00

Don’t let York ‘Redefine the Impossible’, let them know a No Sweat policy at York University IS possible, and needs to be adopted NOW!
______________________________________

The rally will take place at 1pm, but we will be on location with petitions (seen below) all day.

WHEREAS the mission statement of York University states that the University is a "community of faculty, students and staff committed to…social justice".

WHEREAS as members of this community we have a responsibility to uphold the mission of the University by ensuring that the products we purchase are made under conditions of fair and just labour practices.

WHEREAS the University administration has continuously undermined efforts by students and other community members to put in place a Code of Conduct that clearly and adequately outlines the acceptable social standards of production required to purchase apparel for the University and ensure the effectiveness of the Code by joining the Worker Rights Consortium and the Fair Labour Association as two important monitoring organizations towards that end.

WHEREAS the most recent draft, as of February 19th, 2008, of a Code of Conduct presented by York University (Appendix A) falls far from enforcing adequate standards for the University's purchasing practices.

We the undersigned members of the York University community call upon the York University Administration to adopt the Code of Conduct recommended by the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition (Appendix B) at York and join the Worker Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association.

RALLY TO TAKE PLACE AT 1pm in VARI HALL.

*****************************
Petitions are available in the OPIRG Office- Room 449 Student Centre.

****It is time for York to stand up- 13 universities in Ontario have a No Sweat Policy- both U of T and Ryerson have one, but York does not.

*More information will be available on the SPC website at: http://www.yorku.ca/spc_ft/.