Thursday, March 13, two workers from the TOS Dominicana factory in the Dominican Republic came to Georgetown. Manuel Pujols and Julio Castillo discussed the fight for better conditions and wages they have been waging at the TOS factory. Workers have experienced intimidation, verbal abuse, forced and unpaid overtime, while Hanes management refuses to address the problems in the factory. Take Action: Write to Hanes!

[This piece was submitted as an Op-Ed to The Hoya]

This Thursday, GSC is honored to host Manuel Pujols and Julio Castillo, two union activists among the many workers fighting for justice at the TOS Dominican, a Hanes t-shirt factory. Click here for more info on the event! Last week, all 15 students in "Sweatshop At Home And Abroad" (a 4-credit course designed & run by GSC members) traveled to the Dominican Republic to meet with workers organizing at TOS and across the country. Check back soon for a full report and photos on the trip!

Russell Athletic, in response to pressure from United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), agreed to re-open its Jerzees Choloma factory in Honduras and re-hire all workers fired, after the factory was shut down following attempts by the workers to unionize. USAS, the national network GSC is a member of, became involved in the case after the Workers’ Rights Consortium, a group that monitors working conditions in factories producing university apparel, reported the violations in the factory.

On Friday, October 12, Georgetown Solidarity committee marched in protest in front of Carnegie Endowment of International Peace and demanded president, Jess Matthews to use her power as a hanesbrands board member to end sweatshops in the Dominican Republic. The rally culminated in an intense tug of war between the menacing powers of corporate greed and the powerful worker's struggle for justice. Jess Matthews, played by a GSC alum, found herself torn between greed and peace, conflicted by her position as president of a large group human rights organization and her role as a board member of union buster and money stealer hanesbrands. End the end, the powers of corporate greed prevailed as Jess Matthews sided with Hanesbrands and ignored the worker's demands.