On April 23, 2013, more than 1,100 garment and apparel workers at the Rana Plaza Building just outside the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka were killed in one of the worst industrial disasters to date.
Approximately 2,500 others injured from the collapse were pulled from the wreckage, shedding light on the unsafe conditions and drastically low wages for Bangladeshi workers in industry.
This Friday, former Bangladesh workers from garment and apparel factories will lead a panel as part of the 2015 United Students Against Sweatshops National Conference, scheduled to take place in Knoxville.
Jasmine Taylor, a junior in political science and global studies, who represents United Students Against Sweatshops as the People of Color Caucus co-chair, said the female workers’ narrative of that April day and the “militant” strength of Bangladesh unionizers inspired a more personal commitment to the living wage campaign for university campus workers.
“These women are strong, and they are organizing in Bangladesh every day,” Taylor said. “They are facing a lot of ‘yellow unions,’ who are basically people who are paid by a company to come and intimidate and harass them. Last summer, someone had their legs broken in Bangladesh trying to unionize, so it’s not just all little, sad stories.
“These are fierce people.”
While the workers’ panel brings global perspective to the conference, Taylor said the 150 chapters scheduled to attend this weekend’s conference will be discussing living wages for campus workers and labor forces in Tennessee as a statewide campaign.
The decision to bring the conference to Knoxville, Taylor said, comes from recognition of Tennessee as a historically anti-union state and desire to dispel negative associations for union members.
“Everyone decided to come here over California, because they believe so badly that the South needs a labor movement that is sustainable, is constantly moving and keeping their momentum up,” Taylor said.
Seminars and discussions will be held that include sessions on organizing, discussing institutional issues with administrators, direct action and debunking the reason behind the union stigma.
The Progressive Student Alliance at UT also plans continued support and collaboration this weekend with University Campus Workers, the union available for campus workers and other employees from UT.
Tom Anderson, an employee of UT Facilities Services and president of United Campus Workers said one of the main roadblocks faced by university employees regarding wages is the administration’s stance on how a raise in earned — by merit rather than longevity.
“That’s problematic on a number of levels, most particularly that performance evaluations are subjective,” Anderson said. “Even more base than that, if someone at the university wants a fair wage and raise, it should be based on cost of living. We haven’t had a real cost of living assessment, and I’ve worked here for 14 years.”
Anderson and United Campus Workers members, in conjunction with the United Students Against Sweatshops conference, will host a rally on the corner of Cumberland Avenue and James Agee Street in support of living wages and re-installment of benefits cut from Gov. Bill Haslam’s 2015 budget for state workers in the public sector.
“I think raising awareness that wages are not were they need to be, that people are still struggling, and that support needs happen through support of the state not on the backs of the students, is the end goal for [United Campus Workers],” Anderson said. “Now, with the new legislation, we’re also fighting for our own benefits.”
Anderson and other members of United Campus Workers are currently making plans for a larger march to Haslam in Nashville in the spring to lobby legislators to reconfigure policies governing fair wages and employee benefits in Tennessee.
For more information about United Students Against Sweatshops and this weekend’s conference, visit their website.
