After a campaign from the Students for Economic and Social Justice (SESJ), working in concert with the United Students Against Sweatshops, the University of Montana-Missoula (UM) decided yesterday to cancel its contract with Russell Athletic because of their union-busting tactics in Honduras. This decision represents another big victory for the student group, which previously convinced UM to join the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), and is engaged in a campaign to convince UM to join the Designated Supplier Program.

This campaign was part of an international effort that has generated quite a bit of media coverage, including a segment on the Rachel Maddow show.

Some in the UM administration have downplayed the role of SESJ and student activism in their decision:

Yet, UM Vice President Jim Foley on Tuesday said the university didn't sever the contract with Russell because of the students' protest. The university has been looking into worker-rights violations by Russell for several years, far before the students got involved, he said.

The university came to its conclusion after discussing findings with the Workers Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association. 

UM joined the WRC because of a SESJ campaign, and even the official UM press release announcing the decision mentioned SESJ.

Either way, SESJ is applauding the university’s decision, and will continue to work with the administration, students, and others to stop sweatshops.

The SESJ have received a Campus Progress Action Grant for several years for their anti-sweatshop activities, and were recipients of the 2008 Campus Progress “Action Campaign of the Year” award. Action grants range from $200-$1,000, and are awarded to students working on hard-hitting, progressive issue campaigns. The image in this update was taken at a 06-07 SESJ rally. 

UPDATE: The Montana Kamin (the University of Montana - Missoula's student newspaper) ran an editorial on the SESJ victory today (3/5/09), and they also pointed out that this decision was directly linked to student activism:

With all respect due to Foley, who’s a smart guy, B.S. meters should be shooting through the roof on this one. [...] While it’s certainly plausible that Foley would have decided to sever ties with Russell if it had never appeared in the newspapers or been the focus of rallies, it’s far more likely that the issue would have died. So SESJ, your greatest achievement here was raising public awareness on a matter that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.