(MADISON) A University of Wisconsin-Madison official is stressing patience as the school probes reports of worker abuse and corruption with Hermosa Manufacturing, a former subcontractor for Adidas.
Dawn Crim, of the UW Chancellorâ??s Office, told the campusâ?? Labor Licensing Committee that Adidas has pledged to: crack down on blacklisting among its suppliers, start a hotline for reporting worker abuses and help 63 blacklisted workers find new jobs.
Crim acknowledges some labor advocates want UW-Madisonâ??s contract with Adidas cut now, instead of letting it expire in 2011. She says the school intended all along to monitor the situation, to ensure that workers are in fact being rehired and to ensure that the strategy is working. However, she says they feel like they need to give the strategy an opportunity to work. (Second item.)