UF is not revealing the reason it ended its contract with Russell Athletic, which has come under fire recently for closing a factory in Honduras where employees formed a union.
When asked why the contract was canceled, a University Athletic Association spokesman released a one-sentence statement on behalf of Debbie Gay, licensing manager of the UAA, which read: "The University of Florida Athletic Association terminated its license agreement with Russell Athletic effective April 17, 2009."
UF is one of more than 60 universities in the U.S. to cut ties with Russell, which sells athletic apparel to schools, according to news reports.
Catherine Gammon, a spokeswoman for Russell said the closing of the factory, which employed about 1,800 workers, had nothing to do with the fact that workers formed a union.
Instead, Gammon said Russell decided to close the plant for economic reasons.
"With the downturn of the economy, the demand for the products went down," she said.
A big reason the company decided to close that particular factory was because it had a month-to-month lease, which allowed it to shut down operations without having to continue paying rent, she said.
Russell has closed 10 factories in the last 18 months, she said, and all but the one were non-union.
Studies commissioned by the Fair Labor Association, of which Russell and UF are members, determined that Russell closed the factory for economic reasons but also found that "inappropriate and unacceptable actions were taken that raise serious questions about Russell Corporation's adherence to freedom of association and the protection of workers' rights."
Gammon said Russell is in the process of implementing the 19 changes recommended by the FLA as a result of the studies.
Another study, commissioned by the Worker Rights Commission, concluded that "anti-union animus was a significant factor in the company's decision to close the plant."
