Students at the University of North Carolina are currently sitting in to demand that their university adopt the Designated Suppliers Program. Call, email, and fax Chancellor Moeser today to demand that all licensed apparel is produced in factories where workers have the right to form a union and earn a living wage. Chancellor Moeser (919) 962-1365: Hello, my name is ________ and I am a ________ from ______. I was shocked to discover that North Carolina clothes are produced in sweatshops. I urge you to listen to your students, adopt the DSP, and refrain from any kind of disciplinary action. Thank you.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

We write to you about a pressing human rights concern that UNC Chapel Hill has the power to change. We write to endorse the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP), which was presented to the UNC-CH administration in 2005 by Student Action with Workers, an affiliate of United Students Against Sweatshops. The DSP is a comprehensive program for enhancing the enforcement of university codes of conduct under which University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill apparel will be produced in designated sweatfree factories.

Students, faculty, and workers at Pennsylvania State University and Appalachian State University have been asking their administration to adopt the DSP since 2005 and 2006, respectively. Similar to UNC-CH, their administrations refused to listen to the voices of thousands in their university communities who care about the basic human rights of workers in their supply chains. On Tuesday, April 15, at the urging of Penn State administration, thirty-one students were arrested while peacefully sitting in the administration building asking Penn State to end its reliance on sweatshop labor. On Friday, April 11, six ASU students engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience urging adoption of the DSP were also arrested at the urging of the ASU administration. This is unacceptable to us. Our universities have a stated commitment to human rights and UNC in particular, living the motto of the "university of the people."

The students, faculty, staff, and members of the Carolina community would like to see their university system act as a leader in the struggle to ensure that the rights of workers producing apparel for their university are respected. Your position as a top seller of collegiate apparel means that you should be setting ethical standards. As of now, forty-two major colleges and universities have distinguished themselves as leaders by adopting the DSP, including Duke University, Georgetown, Columbia, and the entire University of California system. It is our expectation that, given your university's stated commitment to worker rights, you will publicly endorse the DSP and to commit your university system to adopting it as policy.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 17, 2008