Meghan Holden

Journal & Courier

Noi Supalai was locked in a room after she and her fellow factory workers asked their managers for better working conditions.

The Thailand factory was making garments for Nike and the company had recently asked for more products in less time, she said. Supalai said she and 2,000 other employees were working until sometimes 1 a.m., but they weren't able to meet the quota, so Nike wouldn't pay the factory. She went without a paycheck for two months.

The workers sent a letter to Nike and the company responded that it would help, Supalai said, but then it disappeared and took all of its orders out of the factory.

Eventually, the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent monitor affiliated with U.S. universities, helped the workers and they were able to receive better working conditions. But now, Nike isn't allowing monitors like the WRC to access the factories, so students across the country are asking their universities that have contracts with Nike to put a hold on the partnerships.

Purdue University students part of the national group United Students Against Sweatshops hosted Supalai Wednesday night, bringing in about 70 attendees. The students are asking President Mitch Daniels to put Nike on notice until it reverses its policy on independent monitoring, especially since the university's affiliated with the WRC.

The group planned a protest Thursday outside Hovde Hall, where Daniels' office is located.

Dana Smith, founder of Purdue's USAS chapter, said the group has had conference calls with Nike facilitated by university administrators to discuss the issue, but it hasn't been receptive.

"Nike is not budging," she said.

A representative from Nike wasn't immediately available for comment.

Daniels hasn't discussed the matter with the group yet, Smith said.

She said the university agreed last fall to cut ties with JanSport, whose parent company, VF Corp., was part of a worker safety crisis in Bangladesh's garment industry, according to the USAS website.

About 24 other university groups are working on this campaign, said Morgan Currier, USAS international coordinator.

"Many people's lives are depending on your effort in this campaign and they are waiting for the justice that they deserve," Supalai said via a translator.