University at Albany
Statement of Principles for Worker Rights
Code of Conduct for Goods and Services
The University at Albany (“University”) is committed to the principle of humane working conditions for workers all over the world who are involved in the manufacture of goods, or services for the University community. The University recognizes that freedom of association and collective bargaining, living wages and benefits, involuntary labor, child labor, health and safety, discrimination and the rights of women are legitimate concerns for the workers producing these goods or services. In adopting this Statement of Principles for Worker Rights (hereafter “Statement of Principles”), the University also prioritizes the right of self-determination by workers and the collective bargaining process. In prioritizing the right to organize as the keystone of workers’ rights we recognize that there are countries where established unions may not represent the interests workers and in these instances this Statement of Principles may be a tool to help workers of better enforce their rights. We recognize that in many workplaces workers are intimidated, repressed and even murdered in order to decimate unions or scare workers out of a union drive.
The University expects that companies contracting with our university to provide goods and services or directly manufacturing or providing goods and services for our university including suppliers, licensees, and subcontractors (collectively “manufacturers/ contractors”) be held to the highest standard of compliance in the production and distribution of such goods.
Therefore, subject to any collectively negotiated agreements, where it can be documented that workers have had full, open and democratic representation and have endorsed and ratified the agreements, manufacturers/contractors will be expected to adopt policies and implement practices consistent with this Statement of Principles. Furthermore, the University acknowledges that this Statement of Principles is dynamic. As it changes, manufacturers/ contractors will be expected to adjust their labor practices to reflect the purposes and intent of these principles.
1. Freedom of Association
Manufacturers/contractors should at all times recognize and respect the rights of workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining. No worker should be subject to harassment, intimidation or retaliation in efforts to freely associate or bargain collectively.
2. Labor
The University recognizes that wages and benefits are essential for workers to meet their basic needs. Wages and benefits should ensure that workers can meet basic needs which at a minimum include food, housing, and education. The wage and benefit package must be consistent with the laws of the country of manufacture and may also include supports that address cultural and social needs of workers.
No worker should be required to work more than the regular hours and overtime allowed by the laws of the country in which the goods are manufactured. Subject to the laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the worker or workers, every worker should be granted 1 day off in each 7 day period and all overtime work performed should be voluntary. Similarly, any limitations on the hours of overtime a worker may work and the wages paid for such work should be determined by the laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the worker or workers.
Finally, the use of forced labor from prisons, indentured, or bonded labor is considered contrary to this Statement of Principles.
3. Child Labor
Subject to the applicable laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the workers, no person under the age of 15 should be permitted to work in the production of goods for the university’s consumption as well as the University’s Marks (as laid out in the Taskforce on Sweatshop Labors Principles of Unity). Manufacturers/ contra-ctors should, in consultation with government, human rights, and non-governmental organizations, take reasonable steps to minimize the impact that working has on the educational opportunities for children.
4. Harassment and Abuse
Manufacturers/contractors should treat each worker with dignity and respect. Manufacturers/ contractors should prohibit any involuntary use of contraceptives or pregnancy testing. Workers should not be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse, including corporal punishment, death threats or blackmail. Manufacturers/contractors should actively, publicly remediate alleged problems of harassment and abuse in its chain of production and distribution/service.
5. Discrimination
No worker should be subject to discrimination in hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, promotion, termination, retirement or other terms and conditions of employment on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation or marital status.
6. Women’s Rights
Women workers should not be discriminated against on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits or other terms and conditions of employment, where they perform work of similar skill, effort and responsibility for the same manufacturer under similar working conditions as men.
Women requesting maternity leave should not be discouraged from doing so. Subject to the laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the workers, the social or cultural practices of the region or the medical needs of the mother and child should be considered in determining the length of such leave; women taking maternity leave should not face dismissal or threat of dismissal, loss of seniority or deduction of wages, and should not be denied the opportunity to return from approved leave to the same or similar position at the same wages and benefits.
7. Health and Safety
Manufacturers/contractors should provide workers a safe and healthy working environment in compliance with all applicable local and national health and safety laws and any such additional health and safety standards as may be set forth in the terms of any agreement negotiated by the workers.
Manufacturers/contractors should provide appropriate health and safety equipment and accommodations for all workers, including pregnant women. Such equipment and accommodations should ensure a safe working environment for all workers and health of pregnant women. Ensuring the health of pregnant workers includes, but is not limited to, the provision of safety equipment and the implementation of practices that will protect against contamination from toxic or hazardous substances to which pregnant workers may be exposed. Such practices may include, but not be limited to the temporary rotation of pregnant workers from work that involves the use of toxic or hazardous chemicals.
8. Compliance and Monitoring
To ensure that appropriate labor practices as outlined in this Statement of Principles are respected by the companies contracted with the university to provide goods and services or that manufactures or provides University products or services, manufacturers/contractors will be expected to implement compliance programs that include, among other things, internal and independent external monitoring efforts, and which demonstrate manufacturers/ con-tractors’ continuing commitment (and that of their subcontractors, licensees and suppliers) to promote consumer, labor and human rights. Such programs should include, but not be limited to:
A. the good faith adoption of workplace standards consistent with this Statement of Principles;
B. the formal conveyance of workplace standards (in applicable local language) to all their facilities down the chain of production including subcontractors, and communication of the manufacturers/contractor’s commitment to comply with the workplace standards to their senior officers, managers and workers;
C. the implementation of a system of both internal and external monitoring to ensure conformance with workplace standards. Such a system should include, but not be limited to:
• the receipt of written certifications by the University and its Taskforce on Contracts and Services (yet to be formed, and until it is formed, receipt to the existing Taskforce on Sweatshop Labor) , on a regular basis, from their facilities that the workplace standards are being met, and that workers have been informed about the standards;
• an agreement that their facilities will submit to periodic inspections and audits, including those conducted by accredited external monitors, for compliance with the workplace standards;
• the assurance that all their facilities inform their workers about the workplace standards orally and through the posting of standards in a prominent place (in the local languages spoken by employees and managers), and that manufacturers/contractors undertake other efforts to educate workers about the standards on a regular basis;
• the establishment of programs to train their internal monitors about the workplace standards and applicable local and international law, as well as about effective monitoring practices, so as to enable their monitors to assess compliance with the standards;
• the conducting of periodic announced and unannounced visits by independent monitors and or human rights/ labor/ environmental NGO’s/civil society or governmental representatives to an appropriate sample of their facilities to assess compliance with the workplace standards as stipulated in this Statement of Principles, including, but not limited to, conducting periodic audits of production records and practices and of wage, hour, payroll and other worker records and practices of their facilities;
• the disclosure of company names, owners, and/or officers, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, nature of business association, including the steps performed in the manufacturing process, of all manufacturing facilities;
• the establishment of secure communications channels, in a manner appropriate to the culture and circumstances, to enable workers to report noncompliance with the workplace standards, with security that they will not be fired, punished or subjected to discrimination, intimidated, threatened or made to suffer any form of repression for doing so;
D. the prompt remediation of instances of noncompliance with the workplace standards as they are discovered and the immediate implementation of reasonable efforts to ensure that such instances do not recur.
Statement of Principles for Worker Rights
Code of Conduct for Goods and Services
The University at Albany (“University”) is committed to the principle of humane working conditions for workers all over the world who are involved in the manufacture of goods, or services for the University community. The University recognizes that freedom of association and collective bargaining, living wages and benefits, involuntary labor, child labor, health and safety, discrimination and the rights of women are legitimate concerns for the workers producing these goods or services. In adopting this Statement of Principles for Worker Rights (hereafter “Statement of Principles”), the University also prioritizes the right of self-determination by workers and the collective bargaining process. In prioritizing the right to organize as the keystone of workers’ rights we recognize that there are countries where established unions may not represent the interests workers and in these instances this Statement of Principles may be a tool to help workers of better enforce their rights. We recognize that in many workplaces workers are intimidated, repressed and even murdered in order to decimate unions or scare workers out of a union drive.
The University expects that companies contracting with our university to provide goods and services or directly manufacturing or providing goods and services for our university including suppliers, licensees, and subcontractors (collectively “manufacturers/ contractors”) be held to the highest standard of compliance in the production and distribution of such goods.
Therefore, subject to any collectively negotiated agreements, where it can be documented that workers have had full, open and democratic representation and have endorsed and ratified the agreements, manufacturers/contractors will be expected to adopt policies and implement practices consistent with this Statement of Principles. Furthermore, the University acknowledges that this Statement of Principles is dynamic. As it changes, manufacturers/ contractors will be expected to adjust their labor practices to reflect the purposes and intent of these principles.
1. Freedom of Association
Manufacturers/contractors should at all times recognize and respect the rights of workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining. No worker should be subject to harassment, intimidation or retaliation in efforts to freely associate or bargain collectively.
2. Labor
The University recognizes that wages and benefits are essential for workers to meet their basic needs. Wages and benefits should ensure that workers can meet basic needs which at a minimum include food, housing, and education. The wage and benefit package must be consistent with the laws of the country of manufacture and may also include supports that address cultural and social needs of workers.
No worker should be required to work more than the regular hours and overtime allowed by the laws of the country in which the goods are manufactured. Subject to the laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the worker or workers, every worker should be granted 1 day off in each 7 day period and all overtime work performed should be voluntary. Similarly, any limitations on the hours of overtime a worker may work and the wages paid for such work should be determined by the laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the worker or workers.
Finally, the use of forced labor from prisons, indentured, or bonded labor is considered contrary to this Statement of Principles.
3. Child Labor
Subject to the applicable laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the workers, no person under the age of 15 should be permitted to work in the production of goods for the university’s consumption as well as the University’s Marks (as laid out in the Taskforce on Sweatshop Labors Principles of Unity). Manufacturers/ contra-ctors should, in consultation with government, human rights, and non-governmental organizations, take reasonable steps to minimize the impact that working has on the educational opportunities for children.
4. Harassment and Abuse
Manufacturers/contractors should treat each worker with dignity and respect. Manufacturers/ contractors should prohibit any involuntary use of contraceptives or pregnancy testing. Workers should not be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse, including corporal punishment, death threats or blackmail. Manufacturers/contractors should actively, publicly remediate alleged problems of harassment and abuse in its chain of production and distribution/service.
5. Discrimination
No worker should be subject to discrimination in hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, promotion, termination, retirement or other terms and conditions of employment on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation or marital status.
6. Women’s Rights
Women workers should not be discriminated against on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits or other terms and conditions of employment, where they perform work of similar skill, effort and responsibility for the same manufacturer under similar working conditions as men.
Women requesting maternity leave should not be discouraged from doing so. Subject to the laws of the country of manufacture or the terms of any agreement negotiated by the workers, the social or cultural practices of the region or the medical needs of the mother and child should be considered in determining the length of such leave; women taking maternity leave should not face dismissal or threat of dismissal, loss of seniority or deduction of wages, and should not be denied the opportunity to return from approved leave to the same or similar position at the same wages and benefits.
7. Health and Safety
Manufacturers/contractors should provide workers a safe and healthy working environment in compliance with all applicable local and national health and safety laws and any such additional health and safety standards as may be set forth in the terms of any agreement negotiated by the workers.
Manufacturers/contractors should provide appropriate health and safety equipment and accommodations for all workers, including pregnant women. Such equipment and accommodations should ensure a safe working environment for all workers and health of pregnant women. Ensuring the health of pregnant workers includes, but is not limited to, the provision of safety equipment and the implementation of practices that will protect against contamination from toxic or hazardous substances to which pregnant workers may be exposed. Such practices may include, but not be limited to the temporary rotation of pregnant workers from work that involves the use of toxic or hazardous chemicals.
8. Compliance and Monitoring
To ensure that appropriate labor practices as outlined in this Statement of Principles are respected by the companies contracted with the university to provide goods and services or that manufactures or provides University products or services, manufacturers/contractors will be expected to implement compliance programs that include, among other things, internal and independent external monitoring efforts, and which demonstrate manufacturers/ con-tractors’ continuing commitment (and that of their subcontractors, licensees and suppliers) to promote consumer, labor and human rights. Such programs should include, but not be limited to:
A. the good faith adoption of workplace standards consistent with this Statement of Principles;
B. the formal conveyance of workplace standards (in applicable local language) to all their facilities down the chain of production including subcontractors, and communication of the manufacturers/contractor’s commitment to comply with the workplace standards to their senior officers, managers and workers;
C. the implementation of a system of both internal and external monitoring to ensure conformance with workplace standards. Such a system should include, but not be limited to:
• the receipt of written certifications by the University and its Taskforce on Contracts and Services (yet to be formed, and until it is formed, receipt to the existing Taskforce on Sweatshop Labor) , on a regular basis, from their facilities that the workplace standards are being met, and that workers have been informed about the standards;
• an agreement that their facilities will submit to periodic inspections and audits, including those conducted by accredited external monitors, for compliance with the workplace standards;
• the assurance that all their facilities inform their workers about the workplace standards orally and through the posting of standards in a prominent place (in the local languages spoken by employees and managers), and that manufacturers/contractors undertake other efforts to educate workers about the standards on a regular basis;
• the establishment of programs to train their internal monitors about the workplace standards and applicable local and international law, as well as about effective monitoring practices, so as to enable their monitors to assess compliance with the standards;
• the conducting of periodic announced and unannounced visits by independent monitors and or human rights/ labor/ environmental NGO’s/civil society or governmental representatives to an appropriate sample of their facilities to assess compliance with the workplace standards as stipulated in this Statement of Principles, including, but not limited to, conducting periodic audits of production records and practices and of wage, hour, payroll and other worker records and practices of their facilities;
• the disclosure of company names, owners, and/or officers, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, nature of business association, including the steps performed in the manufacturing process, of all manufacturing facilities;
• the establishment of secure communications channels, in a manner appropriate to the culture and circumstances, to enable workers to report noncompliance with the workplace standards, with security that they will not be fired, punished or subjected to discrimination, intimidated, threatened or made to suffer any form of repression for doing so;
D. the prompt remediation of instances of noncompliance with the workplace standards as they are discovered and the immediate implementation of reasonable efforts to ensure that such instances do not recur.
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