September 24, 2004: Volume 62, Number 3

Senior surveys Chinese perceptions on labor

Annette Stock '05 has a modest goal: "I want people to look at the tags when they put their clothes on in the morning."

Stock is just back from China, where she used a mini-term at Tianjin University School of Traditional Medicine to lay the groundwork for an extensive study about Chinese perceptions of their labor economy.

The work will become the basis for her senior thesis, about which she says, "I want it to be amazing. I want to put as much time into this as I can."

Stock said she wants to raise the consciousness of American consumers, especially her fellow college students, to make them aware that their purchases have a direct impact on people halfway around the globe.

About five years ago, college students across the country learned from various labor organizations that their colleges and universities were investing and contracting with companies who used so-called sweatshop labor. These students wanted a stricter code, designed to ensure that factories producing clothing and other goods bearing school names respect the basic rights of workers. Over 100 colleges, including Union, withdrew from the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and joined the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC).  These campus boycotts helped call attention to the plight of workers in China and other countries.

Now, Stock wants to take what she calls a "second step," raising awareness so that consumers will push for humanitarian support to those workers.

Stock, a native of St. Johnsbury, Vt., is a senior political science major with a minor in philosophy. She is a president of both Pi Sigma Alpha (political science honor society), and the College's chapter of Amnesty International.

Her idea to study Chinese views on labor began to take shape during a class called Politics of China with Prof. Ted Gilman, and came into sharper focus during an American Higher Education seminar with Prof. Terry Weiner. She has also been aided by Prof. Richard Fox, her political science advisor, and Prof. Jianping Feng, the leader of the China mini-term. "So many Union faculty came together to make my project possible," she said. "Without their help I would have never left Schenectady!"

Her visit to China was supported by a grant from the East Asian Studies Department, with funding from the Freeman Foundation.

By interviewing Chinese citizens, Stock hopes to gain a deeper understanding of their perception of sweatshops. "It's such an important issue," she said. "College students are painfully unaware of the international labor economy, especially about the complex nature of sweatshops."

Stock, a member of the executive committee for the Minerva Houses, said she plans to return to China with the contacts she has developed at Tianjian University, where one dean circulated her questionnaires to the students in his classes.

"We don't even know what the Chinese think," she said. "Having more information may allow consumers to look at other alternatives."

Stock credits faculty support and her experience in Minerva's Green House, where she lived last year, for helping develop her leadership skills. "If you have a good goal and want to make a difference," she said, "Union can give you the support to reach it."

Stock said she is considering law school, but plans to take a year to do humanitarian work, most likely in China.

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