The BCTGM’s Check the Label campaign received a powerful new endorsement from Student Works at Penn State (SWAPS), an official Penn State student organization that brings together students with local and statewide unions and their members. SWAPS recently sent a letter to the Office of Procurement at Penn State urging the university to boycott Nabisco products made in Mexico for purchase and resale on Penn State’s campus.
BCTGM International President David Durkee commended the organization’s efforts saying, “Our boycott initiatives on colleges and universities have been received with passion and enthusiasm, as these forums are brimming with both loyal Nabisco customers and passionate student activists who are eager to make a positive impact in the world. Student Works’ principled letter to Penn State’s Administration is a true testament to what our college campaign is about, and we hope the university’s leadership upholds its commitment to ‘promote the general welfare of the citizenry,’ and agrees to stop the purchase and resale of Nabisco products made in Mexico. This Mondelēz/Nabisco business model is designed to seek out areas of the world where work is transferred from higher-wage economies to lower-wage economies, like Salinas, Mexico, where workers are not adequately protected or compensated for the production of their products; a business model that deprives workers in the U.S. of quality employment and offers those across borders and oceans all but industrial servitude in that transferred work. Consumers can and will dictate appropriate corporate policies and ethical standards in the future through the power of their purchase choices. We applaud these student activists and welcome their support.”
On February 6, BCTGM held a teach-in at Penn State as part of their “Check the Label” campaign, which expanded to college campuses in November 2016. The campaign aims to educate American consumers about the merits of rejecting made-in-Mexico Nabisco products to end the corporate race to the bottom that treats workers in America and in Mexico with disrespect and without regard to the financial well-being of their families and their communities. These business models are designed to only reward the CEO with increased compensation.
Read the BCTGM’s Press Release on the Student Works at Penn State letter.