Dear Fr. Holtschneider:

We, the undersigned, are students, faculty, staff, and alumni who are very concerned about reports that Nike sub-contractors, Hugger and Vision Tex, failed to pay their workers over $2.2 million back wages and legally mandated severance pay when they closed their respective factories on January 19, 2009. We understand that over a year later, the workers are still owed approximately $2.2 million. Under DePaul's Licensee Code of Conduct, Nike is responsible for ensuring that its contractors and sub-contractors uphold the standards set forth in the Code. We feel that the continued failure of Nike and its contractors to pay the workers the $2.2 they are legally owed is an egregious violation of our Licensee Code of Conduct, which states, "Employers ... shall provide [their workers all] legally mandated benefits." We also understand that Nike's contract is up for review on an annual basis.

Therefore, we call on you to not renew DePaul's contract with Nike when it comes up for review this year. We further ask that DePaul not renew its contract with Nike until the workers are paid the $2.2 million in back wages and legally mandated severance benefits that they are owed.

Sincerely,

Sponsor

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