United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) is a labor-union-backed organizing effort focused on college campuses that attacks major clothing brands involved in university licensing agreements that manufacture clothing overseas. It was founded in the late 1990s.¹ The group has also attacked Teach for America, a teacher training group that has been opposed by teachers unions.²

Background

USAS has also pushed for workers on college campuses to unionize or have previously advocated on their behalf for higher wages and better work conditions. They also host campus labor lunches picnics to educate campus workers on how to better advocate for themselves. ³

Financials

USAS has received dedicated funding from numerous major labor unions, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the United Steelworkers (USWA), Unite Here, and the AFL-CIO.⁴

Staff

Molly McGrath is the Development and Communications Director for the USAS. She previously worked as Development Director for journalism activist group Progressive Magazine, formerly called the Progressive Media Project. ^{5 6}

1. Dreier, Peter. “The Campus Anti-Sweatshop Movement.” The American Prospect. Sept. & oct. 1999. Accessed December 14, 2017. http://prospect.org/article/campus-anti-sweatshop-movement
2. Hess, Rick. “Why TFA Should Tell the ‘United Students Against Sweatshops’ to Shut Up and Sit Down.” Education Week. November 04, 2014. Accessed December 14, 2017. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2014/11/why_tfa_should_tell_usas_shut_up_sit_down.html
3. “UMD Workers Advocate for Living Wage, Right to Unionize.” The Diamondback, October 26, 2022. https://dbknews.com/2022/10/25/umd-workers-living-wage-union/.
4. Data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards from Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Forms LM-2) filed with OLMS in 2016 and 2017. Queries conducted December 14, 2017.
5. “Structure of USAS.” United Students Against Sweatshops, Accessed September 28, 2023. https://www.usasnet.org/who/structure.shtml
6. Progressive Magazine, Accessed September 28, 2023. https://progressive.org/op-eds