United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), heads a wave of anti-sweatshop organizing that has reached over one hundred American college campuses in the past two years. From the Northeast to the Southwest, public and private, large and small, students at these universities have one simple demand: clothing bearing university logos must be produced under healthy, safe, and fair working conditions.

This short, punchy book is both a record of a new mass campaign, and a tool for the realization of its goals. Written by USAS activists and an expert journalist, it uses interviews, analysis and graphics to consider issues such as:
  • What is a sweatshop?
  • Why sweatshops are a focus for students.
  • How students are winning campaigns for “clean” clothing on their campuses.
  • Students' role in broader movements against unfair trade and sweated labor.

Contributors: Ashley Simpson, Chris McCallum, Ben McKean, Tico Almeida, Ben Stokes, Jess Champagne, Rachel Edelman, Molly McGrath, Marion Straub-Werner, Brendan O'Sullivan, Rana Kasich.

Praise for Students Against Sweatshops by Liza Featherstone and United Students Against Sweatshops.

“This book tells an inspiring story of how students are making history today. Their battle against sweatshops reveals how the globalization of capital is creating a globalization of conscience.” – Tom Hayden, Students for a Democratic Society cofounder/former California state senator

“As vividly as any documentary film, Students Against Sweatshops captures the gusto and political savvy of a student movement that has made its impact in every corner of the global economy. Nor does this indispensable book pull any punches; its bold commentary will hit home where it needs to be heard.“
– Andrew Ross, editor, No Sweat: Fashion, Free Trade and the Rights of Garment Workers

“Campus activism lives! This inspiring and lucid account of the work of United Students against Sweatshops proves it. Blending commitment and analysis, Featherstone tells us why USAS is about much more than caps and t-shirts -- it's about worker's rights, women's rights, challenging the corporatization of the university, and establishing a fair world order.” – Katha Pollitt, Nation magazine columnist

“Here are the inspiring voices of our democracy – young people daring to question authority and confront power. These are the Thomas Paines, Sojourner Truths, Fredrick Douglasses and Mother Joneses of our times. America needs them more than ever.” – Jim Hightower

Liza Featherstone is a New York City journalist who has written extensively about student and youth organizing. She is a frequent contributor to the Nation, Newsday and the Washington Post.

 

 

 Publication
May 2002

128 pages

Paper
1 85984 302 6
US$15 / £10 / CAN$22