Bangladeshi labor organizer Kalpona Akter and Reba Sikder, a garment worker who survived the Rana Plaza collapse, spoke at Penn State on a United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) tour. Rana Plaza, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, came into the international spotlight after a tragic collapse killed over 1000 people in April of 2013. The two women spoke about their struggle to force brands to sign a legally binding agreement to improve apparel factory safety and working conditions in Bangladesh, as well as what students can do to make Penn State sweat-free! Penn State administrators set forth a requirement that, effective March 31, 2014, any company producing Penn State logo goods in Bangladesh must sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to help ensure safe working conditions. Failure to sign the Accord by March 31 will lead to termination or non-renewal of the license agreement.
Occurrences
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014