![]() ![]() Muir College senior and co-chair of the Student Worker Collective - the group that proposed the resolution - Arianna Peregretti said the resolution is asking council to show it support. “Our hope for Alta Gracia is that the factory will continue to grow and will serve as a model for the rest of the apparel industry,” Haas said. “The WRC’s mission is to ensure that university logo apparel is produced in factories where workers are paid a genuine living wage that is sufficient to support themselves and their families and enjoy respect for all other basic rights, as embodied in university codes of conduct,” WRC communications director Theresa Haas said.Īccording to Haas, there are approximately 350 campus stores that carry Alta Gracia’s product nationwide. Alta Gracia pays its workers $9.62 hourly. To meet basic needs of their families - including food, clean water, housing and healthcare - WRC determined that the living wage should be $2.83 in U.S. The Worker Rights Consortium - a nonprofit organization that serves as independent labor watchdog organization - established the living wage of the Dominican Republic with the assistance of 180 affiliated universities.Īccording to the WRC, in the Dominican Republic, the legal minimum wage is $0.84 hourly in U.S. “We are making every effort to bring in more product for the fall, so it surprises me.”Īccording to Moon, bookstore officials are mostly waiting for Alta Gracia’s selection and graphics to improve in order to gain more customer interest in the line. “I’m caught off-guard because I don’t think it’s necessary to propose one,” Moon said. Right now, the bookstore has a hang-tag in place to advertise the Alta Gracia story, but next year, they plan on having a branded area within the bookstore to promote the company. “We are supportive of Alta Gracia, we think it’s a good cause and we have some plans for the fall, so we will see what happens,” he said. These items have been here since last fall and some of the women’s items have sold out this year. Four types are women’s items and three types are men’s items. UCSD has carried apparel from Alta Gracia - a company based in the Dominican Republic that pays higher wages (or “living” wages) to its workers instead of minimum wage - since last fall.Īccording to UCSD Bookstore Director Don Moon, the bookstore currently carries T-shirts and sweatshirts from Alta Gracia. According to the Daily Bruin, other schools, like Duke University, have purchased over $200,000 worth of apparel. UCLA passed its corresponding resolution after a demonstration by students in February the school hopes to increase revenue to over $16,000. Council unanmiously passed a resolution on May 4 requesting the UCSD bookstore promote sweatshop-free apparel.
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