Students from Conciencia Libre, a workers’ rights group, attended the Associated Students UCLA board of directors meeting Friday to discuss the board’s decision not to renew its contract with Russell Athletic.
The board made the decision last week not to contract with Russell, which currently licenses much of the apparel at the UCLA store.
Russell has been accused of unfair labor practices for allegedly denying unionization rights to its workers in Honduras.
Sarina Sanchez, a third-year sociology student and a member of Conciencia Libre, said she was pleased with the board’s decision and added that she believes ASUCLA has shown a commitment to social responsibility.
But Sanchez raised her concerns to the board about the transparency of its decision, citing the lack of information regarding its communications with Russell.
Jose Hernandez, a third-year Latin American studies student and member of Conciencia Libre, asked ASUCLA Executive Director Bob Williams to make public the board’s communications with Russell.
Hernandez said the board had initially set out terms for Russell to follow if it was to continue its contract. Russell responded to the board on March 18, but Hernandez said the details of the response are still unknown to the public.
Williams declined to release the board’s communication with Russell to the public but offered to summarize Russell’s response to any interested parties.
Sanchez also questioned the board on its position that it would consider working with Russell by its May 22 board meeting if Russell Athletic changed its practices.
Williams said the board would only consider working with Russell again if the company reopened the factory in Honduras that was allegedly closed down to punish workers for attempting to unionize.
Sanchez said she was satisfied with the board’s stance on Russell and said she believed the board has been taking positive steps in the right direction.
But she added that she remained concerned that ASUCLA was not willing to release its communications with Russell to the public.