Students want state uniforms made fairly

April 4, 2008  Brattleboro Reformer

By CHRIS GAROFOLO, Reformer Staff

A group of concerned students, instrumental in getting Brattleboro Union High School to become the first high school in the country to join the Workers Rights Consortium, continues to pursue its ideals at the state level.

A concept originating in the halls of the high school has blossomed into a measure passing through the Statehouse that, if passed and signed by Gov. James Douglas, would require that all uniforms for people employed by the state, such as correctional workers, state police and park rangers, to come from a certified supplier who complies with U.S. workplace laws.
Nine BUHS students, part of the Child Labor Education and Action Project (or CLEA) journeyed to testify in front of the Senate Government Operations Committee in Montpelier on Wednesday morning and briefly discussed the goals of the measure.

"It went really well, it was so exciting," said BUHS senior Fiona Mahurin. Three of the students testified before the committee and answered a few questions before the bill successfully passed, she said.

The committee voted in favor of the students' bill in a clean 5-0 sweep with only a minor change that will not adjust the objective of the measure.

"It basically gets the same job done. It still reaches the same goal," said state Rep. Sarah Edwards, PBrattleboro. The measure now goes in front of the full Senate, which is expected to vote on it later in the week, she said. "I expect it to pass out of there and be at the governor's desk within the next couple weeks."

If the bill is successful, Vermont will join a handful of communities across the country in successfully passing sweatshop-free legislation. The conception for the project came from a BUHS social studies program and grew into a movement to require school uniforms to be made in sweatshop-free factories with the following step into the Statehouse.

"With enough leverage, we can change workplace practices within these (clothing) industries," said Edwards.

Earlier in the month the students traveled to the Statehouse and watched their measure, known as House Bill 338, make its way through the first part of the Legislature before the bill moved to the Senate committee.

Edwards has been involved with the high school students since 2006. She said it has been a pleasure working with them because they are very passionate and knowledgeable about the issue.

"Their creditability was built in. It made working on the bill easier to testify. They did a terrific job," she said.

BUHS Principal Jim Day said the organization has always gone beyond the norm for a group of high school activists.

"CLEA has been a concerned group of students as long as I've been here," he said. "I'm very proud of the things that they do day in and day out."

Chris Garofolo can be reached at cgarofolo@reformer.com or 802-254-2311 ext. 275.