Russell Corporation's Rights Violations in Honduras

On November 7, 2008, the WRC released a 36-page report documenting serious violations of university labor standards by Russell Corporation. Over a two-year period, Russell managers carried out a campaign of retaliation and intimidation in order to stop workers at two of the company’s Honduran factories from exercising their right to organize and bargain collectively, a right explicitly protected by the codes of conduct of Russell’s university business partners. This campaign began with 145 illegal firings of union supporters in 2007 – which Russell ultimately admitted and was forced to reverse – and continued during 2008 with harassment of unionists and constant threats to close the Jerzees de Honduras factory in order to punish the union. The campaign culminated when Russell made good on these threats by closing the factory in January of this year.

The WRC report documents, in detail, the violations committed by Russell and recommends corrective action that is necessary to undo the harm to workers – beginning with the re-opening of Jerzees de Honduras and the reinstatement of the workforce. Russell has, to date, refused to undertake the necessary corrective action and therefore remains in violation of university and college codes of conduct.

Russell’s decision to close the plant represents one of the most serious challenges yet faced to the enforcement of university codes of conduct. If allowed to stand, the closure would not only unlawfully deprive workers of their livelihoods; it would also send an unmistakable message to workers in Honduras and elsewhere in Central America that there is no practical point in standing up for their rights under domestic or international law and university codes of conduct and that any effort to do so will result in the loss of one’s job. This will have a substantial chilling effect on the exercise of worker rights throughout the region.

The WRC continues to provide updates on the case to affiliate universities. Links to these communications can be found below, with the most recent listed first.

A number of these communications have been necessitated by Russell’s decision to circulate a large volume of misinformation to the university community. The company’s efforts to convey false information about the case began in 2007, when Russell insisted that the firing of 145 union supporters was wholly unrelated to their union activity and that all of these dismissals were carried out purely for economic reasons (the same claim the company is now making about the closure of the factory). After the reality was exposed, Russell was forced to admit that these were anti-union firings and reinstate the workers. However, the company has continued to provide false information and this effort has accelerated as concern about the company’s labor practices has grown in the university community. In order to ensure that our affiliates have accurate information concerning the case, we will continue, on an as-needed basis, to provide correctives to Russell’s misstatements of fact.

The WRC continues to hope that Russell will reverse course, acknowledge the magnitude and severity of the abuses it has committed, and agree to take adequate remedial action. To date, the company has refused to do so.

Read More:

• Two New WRC Reports Concerning Russell Athletic - June 19, 2009
• Findings and Recommendations: WRC Analysis of Russell “Collective Pacts” - June 19, 2009, en español
• Findings and Recommendations: WRC Report on Russell Worker Interviews - June 19, 2009, en español
• Additional Remediation Recommendations re Russell Case - June 1, 2009
• Russell's Letter Dated May 1 - May 18, 2009
• Russell Now Claims Death Threats Never Happened - May 14, 2009
• Update: Russell Athletic - May 8, 2009
• New WRC Finding on Russell Case - April 2, 2009
• Russell Says Workers in Honduras Don't Want to Exercise Their Associational Rights - March 17, 2009
• Russell Letter of March 4 - March 5, 2009
• NY Times, BusinessWeek, and Chronicle Stories on Russell Case - February 24, 2009
• Letters from Jerzees de Honduras Union - February 23, 2009
• FLA Acknowledges Depth of Evidence Against Russell; But Russell Still Refuses Adequate Remediation - February 17, 2009
• Irresponsible Posting on Russell Website - February 12, 2009
• WRC Memo to Affiliate Universities: FLA Report on Russell Case - January 29, 2009
• WRC Update: Jerzees de Honduras - January 28, 2009
• WRC Update: Jerzees de Honduras - January 16, 2009
• Petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for Precautionary Measures - January 14, 2009
• WRC Update: Jerzees de Honduras/Russell Athletic - December 9, 2008
• WRC Findings and Recommendations Report re Jerzees de Honduras - November 7, 2008
• Hallazgos y Recomendaciones re Jerzees de Honduras - 7 de noviembre de 2008
• WRC Update on Remediation at Russell Athletic Facilities in Honduras- January 30, 2008
• WRC Update on Russell Athletic - October 26, 2007
• WRC Memo to Russell Athletic re Remediation Steps - October 24, 2007
• WRC Memo to Russell Athletic re Jerzees de Honduras - October 22 2007
• WRC Findings and Recommendations Report re Jerzees de Choloma - October 3, 2007
• Hallazgos y Recomendaciones re Jerzees de Choloma - 3 de octubre de 2007

Related Links:

The following links provide related materials and information from other organizations. Please note that the WRC does not necessarily endorse the content of these pages and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

• The Fair Labor Association (FLA) also conducted an investigation of the Jerzees Choloma factory. Materials related to this investigation are available on the FLA’s website.