S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7376--A
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 1, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. P. RIVERA, CHRISTENSEN, BARRON, LANCMAN, McENENY,
WALKER, MAYERSOHN, ROSENTHAL, JAFFEE, SPANO, EDDINGTON, ESPAILLAT --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, BRENNAN, CASTRO, COLTON, COOK,
ENGLEBRIGHT, GOTTFRIED, JOHN, KOON, P. LOPEZ, V. LOPEZ, MENG, MILLMAN,
ORTIZ, PERALTA, POWELL, RAMOS, J. RIVERA, N. RIVERA, ROBINSON, SCHI-
MEL, TITONE, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a sweat-
free code of conduct for apparel licensed by the colleges and univer-
sities of the state university; and to amend the labor law, in
relation to the special task force for the apparel industry
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "ethical business conduct in higher education act".
S 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that the state
university of New York has not responded to decades old requests that
its campuses disaffiliate their business relationships with sweatshops
in the production and licensing of campus apparel. It is now clear that
voluntary action by each campus is no longer an option and that the time
has come to require a system-wide set of rules and regulations be put in
place by the chancellor and board of trustees of the state university of
New York.
For years, lawmakers, religious and labor groups have criticized state
university campus' affiliations with apparel manufacturers who are
indifferent to the fact that workers making university apparel face
abusive treatment, excessive working hours, dangerous conditions and
wages that are inadequate to meet basic needs.
There continues to be a strong demand that all state university
campuses diligently adopt sweat-free standards in the purchase of
athletic apparel and in the licensing of campus merchandise. Advocates
on behalf of working people deplore the repression and exploitation of
apparel workers in Latin America and elsewhere in the world. The univer-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10064-06-9
A. 7376--A 2
sities and colleges of the state university of New York should be a
model for ethical business conduct, both for their students and the
broader public. It is past time for the state university system adminis-
tration and all its campuses to affiliate with the sweat-free and worker
rights work of the Worker Rights Consortium and the Designated Supplier
Program and end their business relationships that are de facto support
for sweatshop conditions.
Presently 60 of the 64 state university campuses have failed to take
the example or lead of the universities at Albany and Buffalo, which
have adopted the Designated Supplier Program, and the colleges at New
Paltz and Cortland, all four of which have affiliated with the Worker
Rights Consortium to ensure sweat-free manufacturing.
It is obvious that where there has been strong leadership and commit-
ment to protecting worker rights this issue has been resolved. However,
we cannot wait indefinitely for the other 60 campuses to engage in
ethical business behavior that demonstrates our national respect for
human rights, worker rights and anti-child labor rights.
It is well understood by organized labor, religious organizations and
social justice groups that the apparel industry continues to operate
under a paradigm of cost-cutting without respect to human consequence,
the tragic results of which are the sweatshop conditions that plague the
supply chains of university licensed apparel. All state university
campuses that have not already done so must adopt sweat-free codes of
conduct to which apparel manufacturers producing university apparel must
adhere.
It is the findings of the legislature that in order to comprehensively
remedy this situation it must be required that the state university
administration put in place strict policies for all its campuses with
regard to how their apparel is manufactured. It is unacceptable that
after all the years of calls to end such practices, campus administra-
tors continue to ignore the violations of human rights that take place
in order for their campus apparel to be manufactured and sold.
S 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 361 to read
as follows:
S 361. SWEAT-FREE CODE OF CONDUCT. 1. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE
UNIVERSITY SHALL, ON OR BEFORE JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN,
DEVELOP AND DRAFT A SWEAT-FREE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PURCHASE AND
LICENSING OF APPAREL BY STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTIONS. SUCH CODE, TO THE
EXTENT PRACTICABLE, SHALL MEET OR EXCEED THE LABOR STANDARDS, AND BUSI-
NESS AND FACTORY DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS ENUMERATED IN WORKER RIGHTS
CONSORTIUM'S MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT. THE CODE SHALL REQUIRE EACH
STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTION TO AFFILIATE WITH THE WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTI-
UM AND PARTICIPATE IN THE DESIGNATED SUPPLIER PROGRAM FOR THE PURPOSE OF
EFFECTIVELY ENFORCING THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH CODE. FURTHERMORE, THE
SWEAT-FREE CODE OF CONDUCT SHALL PROVIDE THAT EVERY CONTRACT BETWEEN A
STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTION AND ANY APPAREL MANUFACTURER SHALL INCLUDE A
PROVISION PROVIDING FOR THE TERMINATION AND NULLIFICATION OF SUCH
CONTRACT UPON ANY FINDING OF A VIOLATION OF THE SWEAT-FREE CODE OF
CONDUCT IN FACILITIES THAT SUCH MANUFACTURER OPERATES OR FROM WHOM SUCH
MANUFACTURER PURCHASES PRODUCTS. SUCH CODE OF CONDUCT SHALL PROVIDE
THAT NOTICE OF ANY SUCH VIOLATION MAY BE PROVIDED BY THE WORKER RIGHTS
CONSORTIUM. THE SWEAT-FREE CODE OF CONDUCT SHALL PROVIDE FOR A REMEDI-
ATION PROCESS WHEREBY ANY SUCH MANUFACTURER MAY BE GRANTED THE OPPORTU-
NITY TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION PRIOR TO CONTRACT TERMINATION. SUCH REME-
DIATION PROCESS, TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE, SHALL REFLECT THE PROCESS
DESCRIBED IN THE MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT OF THE WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTIUM.
A. 7376--A 3
2. SUCH CHANCELLOR SHALL, ON OR BEFORE JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOU-
SAND TEN, SUBMIT TO THE STATE UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES THE CODE OF CONDUCT
DEVELOPED AND DRAFTED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION. SUCH
CODE OF CONDUCT SHALL BE ADOPTED BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES ON OR
BEFORE MARCH THIRTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TEN, AS RULES AND REGULATIONS
APPLICABLE TO ALL STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTIONS. SUCH RULES AND REGU-
LATIONS SHALL INCLUDE PROVISIONS FOR THE ENFORCEMENT THEREOF TO ENSURE
FULL COMPLIANCE THEREWITH BY STATE OPERATED INSTITUTIONS.
3. ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, THE CHANCELLOR OF
THE STATE UNIVERSITY SHALL SUBMIT A PRELIMINARY REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR
AND THE LEGISLATURE WHICH SHALL INCLUDE A LIST OF THE STATE-OPERATED
INSTITUTIONS WHICH HAVE COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE SWEAT-FREE CODE OF
CONDUCT, AND WHEN ANY PURCHASING AND LICENSING AGREEMENTS WITH APPAREL
MANUFACTURERS WHICH HAVE FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH
CODE OF CONDUCT, WILL EXPIRE. SUCH PRELIMINARY REPORT SHALL INCLUDE A
LIST OF EACH STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTION THAT HAS AFFILIATED WITH THE
WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTIUM AND PARTICIPATES IN THE DESIGNATED SUPPLIER
PROGRAM.
4. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY SHALL, ON OR BEFORE JANUARY
THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN, SUBMIT A FINAL REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR
AND THE LEGISLATURE WHICH SHALL INCLUDE A LIST OF THE STATE-OPERATED
INSTITUTIONS WHICH HAVE COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE SWEAT-FREE CODE OF
CONDUCT, A LIST OF EACH STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTION THAT HAS AFFILIATED
WITH THE WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTIUM AND PARTICIPATES IN THE DESIGNATED
SUPPLIER PROGRAM, AND WHEN ANY PURCHASING AND LICENSING AGREEMENTS WITH
APPAREL MANUFACTURERS WHICH HAVE FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF
SUCH CODE OF CONDUCT, WILL EXPIRE.
5. THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF EACH STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTION
WHICH HAS FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE CODE OF CONDUCT OR AFFILIATE WITH
THE WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTIUM AND PARTICIPATE IN THE DESIGNATED SUPPLIER
PROGRAM ON OR BEFORE MARCH FIRST, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN, SHALL SUBMIT, BY
FIRST CLASS MAIL, TO THE GOVERNOR, EACH MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE AND
EACH MEMBER OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF
THE DELAY IN COMPLIANCE AND/OR AFFILIATION, AND WHEN FULL COMPLIANCE,
AFFILIATION AND/OR PARTICIPATION WILL BE COMPLETED.
6. ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN, THE STATE
UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES SHALL REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE LEGISLATURE ON
THE ACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THE
PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
7. NO PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, OR ANY RULE, REGULATION OR CODE OF
CONDUCT ADOPTED PURSUANT THERETO, SHALL BE DEEMED TO ESTABLISH ANY POWER
OR DUTY IN VIOLATION OF ANY FEDERAL LAW, RULE OR REGULATION.
S 4. The opening paragraph of section 342 of the labor law, as amended
by chapter 41 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
The commissioner is authorized to establish a special task force for
the purpose of concentrating enforcement of the labor law affecting
production employees in the apparel industry in New York state and
otherwise exercising the duties and powers set forth in sections three
hundred forty-three and three hundred forty-four of this article. NOT
LESS THAN ONE MEMBER OF SUCH TASK FORCE SHALL BE A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. Such special task force shall be empowered
to investigate and conduct inspections at locations where an apparel
industry contractor is operating.
S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.