Students’ Anti-Sweatshop Campaign Takes Aim at Dallas Cowboys Unit

Students fighting against the use of sweatshop labor to manufacture apparel and other college-licensed products have a new target. According to The New York Times, a division of the Dallas Cowboys football team is making a play for business at several big-time sports colleges, including the University of Southern California and Ohio State University. The Cowboys unit, Silver Star Merchandising, is accused of using factories in El Salvador that cracked down on union supporters, provided workers with contaminated water, and forced them to work excessive overtime. An Indonesian factory closed suddenly, leaving workers without $3-million it owed them. The students, part of a nationwide anti-sweatshop group, also complained that their universities had negotiated for deals with Silver Star in secret. Silver Star said it was working to improve conditions at the factories. University officials said they would not sign deals with companies that violated worker rights and did not observe codes of conduct.