A Central American factory that was closed after workers unionized will now be reopened, thanks in part to a campaign students organized against Russell Athletic, a large producer of college uniforms and branded merchandize.

The AFL-CIO blog reports:

In what is being hailed as the biggest victory ever by student anti-sweatshop activists, Russell Athletic, the largest supplier of team uniforms and logo-wear, has agreed to reopen a Honduran factory shut down in January shortly after its workers formed a union and will rehire the 1,200 union members.

When Russell shut the factory and moved production to cheaper nonunion plants, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) mobilized on college and university campuses across the country. Their actions persuaded nearly 100 schools, including Harvard, Michigan, Miami, North Carolina and Stanford universities, to end their agreements with Russell for violating the workers’ rights.

The campaign only goes to show that an elaborate and persistent strategy of targeting factory operators can go a long way in allowing others to organize their workplaces to address their own concerns. So goes the power of international community organizing

Interns will do anything for some free breakfast. Some compromise their principles, emitting early-morning greenhouse gases like global warming was just a theory, deceiving hard-working Americans trying to make an honest living just for a stale bagel. Others prey on unsuspecting businessmen in line for their daily caffeine. "Pay for my iced tea you capitalist pig," they shout.