Farmington Area Citizens to End Sweatshops (FACES) is an organization concerned with globalization and the sweatshop industry in the US and overseas. Our members come from the greater Farmington community and the UMF campus, and we're working to educate everyone (ourselves included) about the conditions the goods they purchase are manufactured under.

Here's a list of projects we've dug our fingers into:

* Helping UMF become "sweat-free" -- Following last spring's successful petition drive, during which 759 signatures were gathered on campus, FACES drafted a comprehensive code of conduct. This document aims to accomplish many things. First, it will require UMF's suppliers of apparel, footwear, other textiles and all items bearing the UMF logo to adhere to strict labor standards including fair wages and benefits, safety regulations, women's rights, and restrictions on child labor. Further, the code will require UMF's suppliers to respect the right of their employees to form unions and bargain collectively. Each contractor will agree to publicly disclose its factory locations and conditions and allow both internal and independent external monitoring of their operations. A standing committee of students, faculty and administration will oversee the implementation of the code.

FACES presented the draft code of conduct to UMF President Theo Kalikow late last spring. She has agreed in principle to the fair labor purchasing policy outlined in the code, and has given the draft to the university's lawyer for review. FACES looks forward to helping UMF become the first institution of higher education in the state to adopt a binding code of conduct that demonstrates its commitment to fair labor practices.

* Educating the community about sweatshop issues and their relationship to the local economy -- Franklin County residents once played a large role in Maine's manufacturing industry. In the past twenty years, however, mills and factories here as elsewhere have been shutting down and moving their production overseas. For example, two years ago in Wilton the Bass shoe factory closed, moving its production to the Dominican Republic. Almost 350 workers lost their jobs. These jobs went to maquila or "apparel for export" workers who, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, make approximately sixty nine cents per hour, much less than the amount they'd need to make to live above the poverty line.

The displaced Maine workers also struggle following a plant closing. A 1999 study of six downsized central Maine factories by the Maine Center for Economic Policy found that laid-off workers were generally in their prime working years and had a median hourly wage of $12.48 an hour before their lay-offs. Of the two-thirds who find subsequent employment, only a few will make anywhere near their former income. The median hourly wage for laid-off workers at their new jobs fell $3.48 to approximately $9.00 an hour.

FACES is gathering information on area closings and their impact on Franklin County for public distribution on their website, http://www.oocities.org/faces04938 and will be urging the town of Farmington to become sweat-free with a petition drive modeled on the Bangor campaign.

Other efforts in our education campaign include helping to organize a debate between the two district 17 state senate candidates (who will answer questions about sweatshops and fair labor issues), gathering material and resources for teachers at the primary, secondary and college levels, and writing articles for use in town and college publications including 51%, UMF's feminist student magazine, and the Franklin Journal.

* Participation in the Maine Clean Clothes Alliance -- The Maine Clean Clothes Alliance (MECCA) is a statewide umbrella organization that includes the Bangor Clean Clothes Campaign, Farmington Area Citizens to End Sweatshops and the Southern Maine Clean Clothes Campaign. MECCA meets regularly to discuss how to influence sweatshop and fair labor issues at both the community and state levels.

If you're interested in sweatshop and fair labor issues or in joining FACES, please contact Brittany Braddock at Brittany.Braddock@maine.edu or 778-2120. Articles on these issues can also be found at the Women Studies Center at 12 Ricker Hall, across from the Mabel Hastie Lounge.