February 18, 1998 Contact: Francine Tyler (408) 459-2495; ftyler@cats.ucsc.edu

UC SANTA CRUZ TO HOST DAYLONG FORUM ON GLOBAL SWEATSHOPS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--In non-Western countries, the rise of the global economy has led to an explosion in manufacturing facilities with substandard working conditions, according to organizers planning a one-day conference at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The emergence of these so- called "sweatshops," which often rely on child labor, is altering family and community life in those countries.

Scholars and activists will examine the social problems resulting from the expansion of the global economy at a forum on campus on Wednesday, February 25. The forum, "What Price Fashion? The Campaign Against Global Sweatshops," takes place from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. at the Oakes College Learning Center on the UCSC campus. It is free and open to the public.

Mary Beth Pudup, an associate professor of community studies, said the forum's panel discussions and presentations will help bring "a scholarly approach to a topic that carries an enormous emotional freight."

UC Santa Cruz faculty, scholars from other universities, and prominent national activists on the issue of sweatshops will speak at the event.

The forum was organized by the Faculty Labor Action Committee with support from the Departments of Community Studies, Sociology, Environmental Studies, and History of Consciousness; the Center for Global, International, and Regional Studies; and Oakes College, College Eight, and Merrill College. For more information, call Mary Beth Pudup at (408) 459- 3516 or send e-mail to pudup@cats.ucsc.edu.

WHAT PRICE FASHION? THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST GLOBAL SWEATSHOPS Wednesday, February 25 Oakes College Learning Center, UC Santa Cruz

10 a.m. How Do You Survive on 31¢ an Hour? Labor, Community, and the Global Sweatshop

Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange Mary Tong, Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers Silant Chung, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Moderator: Mary Beth Pudup, UCSC

Noon The Race to the Bottom: The Restructuring of Global Production

Edna Bonacich, UC Riverside and the Garment Workers Coalition in Southern California Richard Appelbaum, UC Santa Barbara Susanne Jonas, UCSC Moderator: Patricia Zavella, UCSC

2 p.m. Sweatshop Campaigns and the New Activism

Lora Jo Foo and Nikki Bas, Sweatshop Watch Stacy Kono, Asian Immigrant Women Advocates David Werlin, Service Employees International Union Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange Mary Tong, Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers Silant Chung, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Edna Bonacich, UC Riverside and the Garment Workers Coalition in Southern California Moderator: Dana Frank, UCSC

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