Title
Resolution Directing the City Administrator to Appoint a Sweatfree Procurement Advisory Group to Evaluate the City’s Apparel Vendors and their Global Supply Chains for Compliance with Acceptable Labor Standards
Memorandum
This memorandum and resolution seek support for the City Administrator to appoint a Sweatfree Procurement Advisory Group to evaluate the City’s apparel vendors and their commodity suppliers with regard to compliance with acceptable labor standards.
Body
Whereas, Several City departments procure an array of apparel, such as uniforms, protective gear, and other specialized work garments, through various means including contracts for purchase by the City, distribution agreements for purchase by individual employees on an as-needed basis, and public distribution of apparel with the City’s logo on the City’s website;
Whereas, Global supply chains typically include factories that are commonly referred to as “sweatshops,” which violate domestic standards on wages, hours, workplace safety, and health, as well as international standards on freedom of association and prohibition of forced labor, child labor, and discrimination with respect to employment;
Whereas, The City enforces its labor laws and supports businesses that provide decent, safe and humane working conditions;
Whereas, The City wishes to preserve the integrity of its procurement process for apparel by evaluating its contractors’ capacity to deliver apparel and distribution services fairly. Such an evaluation includes review of their capacity to ensure compliance with domestic labor laws in the country of production and international standards of decent work as specified in ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work;
Whereas, The City needs a comprehensive review of its apparel providers to determine whether they, or their commodity suppliers, engage in sweatshop practices based on available information; and
Whereas, the City requires an analysis of the potential impact on City operations of eliminating all vendors whose supply chain cannot be verified as being “sweatfree” based on available information, including the impact on the costs of apparel to both the City and those individual employees required to purchase their own uniforms and other apparel, as well as the availability of alternatives for essential goods, such as protective turn-out gear for firefighters and body armor for police officers;
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator appoint a Sweatfree Procurement Advisory Group (SPAG) which shall review all City contractors currently providing apparel through contracts or distribution agreements with the City to determine whether these vendors or their commodity suppliers use “sweatshop” labor practices. SPAG shall develop a “Sweatfree List” of City vendors whose factories and global supply chain factories are deemed compliant with acceptable labor standards based on available information and report their conclusions to the City Administrator;
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator, in consultation with SPAG as necessary, shall determine the impact of eliminating all contracts and agreements with vendors not on the Sweatfree List, including the City’s ability to find alternative vendors, and in the event that alternative vendors are not available to provide specific goods, the potential impact on City operations, and any additional costs to the City to acquire necessary apparel, as well as potential increased costs to individual City employees required to purchase their own apparel;
RESOLVED, That the Sweatfree Procurement Advisory Group will be comprised of five members, to include: one City Council member, one City staff member, and three residents of the City of Ann Arbor. One of these three residents shall be a University of Michigan faculty member with knowledge of international labor practices and workers’ rights. Another shall be a University of Michigan student affiliated with a UM student organization focused on labor codes or specializing in labor-related matters, and a third shall be a worker rights advocate; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator shall report back to the City Council on or before August 30, 2024.
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Eyer, Harrison, Ghazi Edwin, Radina, Song and Disch