University at Buffalo Policy and Information on Sweatshop Legislation
Campus Policy
The University at Buffalo is in compliance with New York State's sweatshop legislation (Chapter 350 of the Laws of 2002), amendments of 2003, and related State University (SUNY) policy. Responding to the law and policy, UB requires each competitive bidder for State procurement of apparel and sports equipment to:
- certify compliance with labor and occupational safety laws, and
- provide available information on subcontractors and manufacturing plants.
The major clothing and sports equipment suppliers to UB advised the University that they and their suppliers comply with safety and occupational safety standards, have or will sign compliance statements (4KB), and will provide, as available, support documentation requested by the University.
As a result of the legislation and policy, bidders on State purchase contracts for UB apparel and sports equipment may be deemed by the University Purchasing Department as "not responsible" if a prospective vendor fails to certify compliance or fails to provide information sufficient to determine compliance on University request. Documentation will be requested by the University when:
- there is information available to suggest vendors/suppliers or prospective vendors/suppliers are not in compliance, or
- there is a specific, credible, and verifiable complaint made about a vendor/supplier or a prospective vendor/supplier to the University, or
- on a random basis, to assess compliance and accessibility and availability of appropriate documentation. (view UB's Vendor Certification of compliance with Fair Labor Conditions as a PDF (135KB) or Word (43KB) file.)
The University reviewed the standards for apparel manufacturers and vendors, as developed by several organizations, including the Fair Labor Association, the Worker's Rights Consortium, and the Collegiate Licensing Company. Their national standards have common elements for all suppliers and vendors, including:
- compliance with all applicable local and national legal requirements of the area where they are conducting business,
- compensation for employees at least at local minimum wage or local prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and providing legally-mandated benefits,
- adherence to local standard work week, time off, and overtime requirements, but except in extraordinary circumstances, not more than 48 hours of work, per week and 12 hours overtime, with at least one day off every seven-day period,
- no employment for children under age 15 (14 in International Labor Organization developing nations) or under the age for compulsory education, whichever is higher,
- no use of forced labor,
- no abuse or harassment of employees,
- respect for employee rights of association and bargaining,
- provision of a safe and healthy working environment, and
- no discrimination in employment on basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, political opinions, or social or ethnic origins.
In support of the State law and campus policy, documentation addressing these standards may be requested by the University from apparel and sports equipment vendors and suppliers, as appropriate. As appropriate, vendors and suppliers may also be required to annually agree to the UB trademark licensing agreement and to comply with its terms. (View Factory Disclosure Form from SUNY's Trademark Licensing Renewals as a PDF (36KB).
The University established an advisory group in Fall 2003 to meet once a semester on UB policy on sweatshop legislation. Invitations to the meeting have been extended to campus governance groups, including student governments, Faculty Senate and Professional Staff Senate, Purchasing Department, Trademarks and Licensing, UB Bookstore, Athletics, and FSA. The advisory group will review campus policy and implementation, consider vendor/supplier response to documentation requests, review related developments from related national organizations, and contribute to the University annual report.
An annual report on campus compliance with sweatshop legislation will be provided for representative faculty, staff, and student governance organizations. The annual report will be posted on a University website, with links to the UB Trademark Licensing Agreement, appropriate State legislation and websites on related organizations and issues. Information about advisory group meetings will also be posted on the website.
While the legislation itself is limited to State purchase of apparel and sports equipment, the University has also asked for consideration of voluntary compliance with the new State standards from the privately operated University Bookstore, the campus auxiliary service corporation (Faculty Student Association, Inc.), other non-State purchasers of apparel and sports equipment on campus, and vendors who are licensed to produce products bearing the University at Buffalo's name and marks. The University will annually advise the Bookstore, FSA, and other non-State purchasers of apparel and licensed vendors of the State requirements and request a report on their policies and voluntary compliance. This information will be included in the annual report on this website.
New York State Legislation
View as a PDF (131KB) or Word File (56KB)
- View NYS Assembly Sports Equipment Bill as PDF - bill summary (23KB) or bill text (28KB)
Campus Advisory Meetings and Minutes
TBA
Advisory Group Annual Report
2006-2007: PDF (335KB) | Word (941KB)
Campus Audit Responses
- Compliance statement and vendor information from existing UB contract for apparel - view as a PDF (479KB).
Campus Affiliate Policies
View policies of campus entities:
- UB Bookstore
- Faculty Student Association - View as a PDF (74KB) or Word (37KB) file.
National Organizations and Resources
- The Collegiate Licensing Company http://www.clc.com
- The Fair Labor Association http://www.fairlabor.org
- Worker Rights Consortium http://www.workersrights.org