The actions, public education, and solidarity of students across the country made for major changes in the apparel industry. In October 1999, Nike and some other companies announced that they would comply with the requirement to publicly disclose their factory locations. The WRC is committed to public disclosure of exploitative labor practices and to building networks of communication between workers on the ground and local solidarity efforts. It is the first independent monitoring organization that prioritizes the rights of workers over the profit of corporations. Although USAS has made significant gains in the apparel industry, much remains to be done.
Workers continue to be forced into horrendous working conditions.
Working with organized labor in the United States and elsewhere, we are making strides across the country to recognize rights of workers. We know that we have our work cut out for us. As long as people value money over humanity, as long as universities continue to contract with blatant rights violators, as long as workers that make university apparel are abused, we must fight for change. We'd like to be proud of the clothes we wear and be assured that fourteen year old kids aren't toiling for a pittance, sixteen hours a day, to make our T-shirts.