After an eight-month-long campaign by the Brandeis Labor Coalition, the University has signed on to a new anti-sweatshop initiative.University President Jehuda Reinharz wrote an April 19 letter supporting the Designated Supplier Program, which stipulates that retailers, like the Brandeis Book Store, must only buy from factories that treat their workers fairly.

Reinharz stated that the University will commit to the basic principles of the DSP and, "pledges to work collaboratively with the Brandeis Labor Coalition and the WRC toward the goal of ensuring that Brandeis' licensed apparel is manufactured by suppliers who respect workers' rights and pay a living wage."

BLC member Dan Mauer '06 said that there is a tentative six-month grace period before the DSP takes effect.

"Hopefully by the fall there will be the actual beginning of the program," Mauer said, noting he would like to see a Nov. 1 starting date.

Regional Manager of the Brandeis bookstore Glenn Hoyle said that he supported the University's decision to sign on to the DSP.

Mauer said he does not anticipate dramatic changes in the bookstore as a result of adopting the DSP, noting that a price increase of $1.25 for Brandeis clothing would be a "high-end" estimate.

"There is unlikely to be any change in what's actually sold," Mauer said, "because the idea of getting all these schools signed on is to have enough schools so that licensees really have to go along with it or they'll lose a lot of market shares."

Brandeis became the fourteenth university to sign on to the new anti-sweatshop initiative, which was developed by the United Students Against Sweatshops.

Sixteen schools across the country are now signed on to the program, according to Mauer.

Representatives from the schools met last week in Georgetown, BLC member Josh Rosenthal '07 said, to discuss logistics of the program's implementation. The discussion has continued through e-mail since then, he said.

Head of University Services Mark Collins, the main Brandeis administrator dealing with the DSP, said in an e-mail to the Justice that he is working with other school representatives and labor groups to "define how the DSP will specifically function, articulate what the impact will be on the various stake holders, and maximize college and university participation."

The commitment to the DSP follows the University's joining the Workers' Rights Consortium in December 2004.