UNIVERSITY PARK (TNS) — The Penn State Chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops met outside of the Allen Street Gates on Friday afternoon to call on the university to suspend its contract with Nike over allegations of workers’ rights violations.

With a group of about 20 people holding signs and chanting “What’s outrageous? Sweatshop wages,” USAS Graduate Coordinator Keegan Conrad led the rally and introduced speakers from a few workers’ rights advocacy groups in the area.

It came after USAS hosted a protest in November to hold Nike accountable for violations a Workers Rights Consortium report detailed at the Hong Seng Knitting Factory, where Penn State apparel is made. According to the WRC’s investigation, an illegal wage theft scheme occured at the factory from May through October 2020, where workers were deprived of nearly $600,000 in legally mandated wages.

Some workers who resisted the scheme were met with threats of dismissal and other forms of retaliation and intimidation from management, the WRC found.

“This is just a continuation of manifesting the values that Penn State has of fairness (and) equity,” Conrad said. “…We just want to see that manifested in all shapes or forms, not just simply here at State College, but anywhere that has a connection to Penn State — in this case with Thai factories that make apparel for us.”

USAS said Hong Seng Knitting Factory violates Penn State’s licensee code of conduct; therefore, the university is obligated to cut ties with Nike as it did with Adidas in 2013 and Jansport in 2015.

Penn State has been carefully monitoring the situation and engaging in discussions with Nike representatives, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers wrote in an email Friday evening. She pointed to Nike’s March 2021 statement that indicated a third-party investigation into the WRC allegations found no evidence of coercion or retaliation against workers at the factory.

“Penn State is continuing its discussions and values its partnerships with the Worker Rights Consortium, as well as the Fair Labor Association, to promote accountability and transparency in the manufacture of apparel bearing our name,” Powers wrote.

After the rally Friday, the group of protesters marched from the Allen Street Gates to downtown’s The Family Clothesline for more speeches. They then walked to Old Main, where the group went in for a meeting with administration to discuss their concerns.

Ye Yint, a student member of USAS, said she was there to spread the word about unjust working conditions at Hong Seng Knitting and voice her concerns to Penn State officials.

“Penn State students should know where their (merchandise) is coming from, who is making them, and why there might be exploitations,” Yint said.

President of the American Association of University Professors at Penn State Michelle Rodino-Colocino spoke in front of Old Main to show her support for laborers.

“I feel that as a faculty member it’s also my job to make sure that other faculty and students understand that as workers, we are all connected, and we are connected globally,” Rodino-Colocino said.

USAS launched a petition this week to demand that Penn State suspend its licensing contract with Nike until the violations are remediated.

“In this whole supply chain, everyone should be (held) accountable,” Yint said. “And everyone should try to create better situations for us, for workers, for Penn State, so that we could take pride as Penn State students.”

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