Michigan is the Latest University to End a Licensing Deal with an Apparel Maker

This article was published on the New York Times website on February 23, 2008.  The article discusses the University of Michigan's announcement that they will be ending their licensing agreement with the Russell Corporation.  This is the 12th university to end their agreement in response to the company's decision to close a unionized factory in Honduras.  The University of Michigan has announced that their agreement with the Russell Corporation will end March 31 because Russell violated the university's code of conduct calling on licenses to guarantee the basic rights of workers.  Russell reportedly closed the factory due to economic considerations and not because of the presence of the union of the factory.  The executive director of the Worker's Rights Consortium said, "Over a period of 2 years, Russell engaged in the systematic abuse of the associational rights of its workers in Honduras, thereby gravely and repeatedly violating the universities' codes of conduct."  

I think this article is very interesting to me.  I really admire the fact that the University of Michigan, among others, has decided to take a stand against a big corporation.  They are trying to set an example for their students and really for the rest of the country.  I think it is extremely important to stand up for what you believe in, regardless of an agreement.  Hopefully the stand that these universities have taken will be a wake up call to the Russell Corporation as well as so many other greedy companies.