On Friday, April 29, six UT-Austin students, representing the nationwide Students Against Sweatshops campaign, briefly occupied the office of university President Bill Powers. The students, supported by a rally outside, demanded that the university affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent textile-factory monitoring group, to ensure adequate working conditions in factories manufacturing Longhorn clothing. UT is currently affiliated with the Fair Labor Association, which includes representatives of the manufacturing corporations – described by the students as a conflict of interest. According to a statement released by SAS, “More than 180 universities … are already affiliated with the WRC.” Powers said only that he would present the information to UT System administrators. The occupation coincided with other SAS actions to support workers’ rights, including at Rutgers University in New Jersey and Emory in Atlanta.

This article appears in May 6 • 2011.

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Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.