Task Force upholds report

UH Apparel Task Force chairman Steven Craig and member Richard Alderman said the task force stands by its July 2 Final Report.

UH Students Against Sweatshops member Timothy O’Brien filed lawsuit Wednesday against UH President Renu Khator and the task force over an alleged false statement in the task force’s report.

Details on the lawsuit can be found in The Daily Cougar’s Thursday article “Anti-sweatshop group files suit.”

O’Brien held a sparsely-attended press conference Thursday in front of M.D. Anderson Memorial Library.

“(The task force) committed fraud by negligently and maliciously publishing untrue statements in an attempt to damage our sweat-free campus campaign.”

O’Brien said SAS thrice unsuccessfully requested, in writing, that Craig change the Final Report statement, which said UH SAS predicts “little impact” from the University joining the Workers Rights Consortium or the Designated Suppliers Program.

Craig declined to comment about the alleged e-mail correspondence, but said O’Brien’s April presentation to the task force said nothing about the DSP’s effectiveness.

“He was supportive, but did you see any facts in his presentation? Did you see anything about how the DSP would be effective?” Craig said.

Craig said the task force’s statement is based on a Q-and-A session it held with O’Brien.

“If he has a tape of the Q-and-A session and if I’ve misinterpreted his quotes, I’m willing to admit fault,” Craig said. “If he’s not willing to present the Q-and-A session, there’s no evidence.”

Law Center associate dean Alderman said he also supports the report.

“Everyone in the committee agreed with the language of the report,” Alderman said.

O‘Brien was unable to provide the tape for review Thursday.

O‘Brien also said in the press conference they attempted to delay the lawsuit with what O‘Brien called a $250 bribe or with an offer to work for Alderman for $25 an hour, after a 90-minute discussion about the statements.

Alderman said that the offer was an attempt to work with O’Brien.

“He claimed he had to sue me by ‘today’ (March 26), or he needed an extra $250. I didn’t question why. I just said ‘is this all about $250?’ He said ‘yes.’ You’re telling me if you had $250, we could actually talk for the next few months. If he wants to sue me, he could sue me. I was trying to help him. He claimed he had no money and I was giving (it to) him to help him work through a problem,” Alderman said.

O’Brien said after the press conference that he would pass out fliers about Alderman’s involvement in the UH Apparel Task Force at 8 a.m. Saturday in front of the UH Law Center.

The University administration does not comment on pending litigation. Foss declined comment, while task force members Jim Granato and Saleha Khumawala were unavailable for comment.

“I think it will be quickly dismissed and there is no basis for the lawsuit, but that will be for the lawyers and the courts to decide,” Alderman said.
 

7 comments

Atho

Wed Apr 8 2009 19:53

It's hard to take someone seriously when they choose to wear the "kid going to senior prom" ensemble. But yeah, way to make people totally unsympathetic to a worthy cause.

Joe Shabadoo

Wed Apr 8 2009 01:19

Brendan Laws and Delfina, Yeah, O'Brien's age is a problem. He's looking for zombies to lead around. Ask yourself why your group has about 4 people in it when other campuses have hundreds. O'Brien drives people away. I know plenty of classmates who are politically involved but will not go within miles of O'Brien. He hurts the issue. He has no credibility, and his "protests" just are laughable.

If you have good politics and want to make a difference, then form your own groups. O'Brien is a dead end. Name one positive thing he's ever done. No serious activist will go near him. And the people he says he's fighting for? Well, check out his record around African-Americans and working people. The people he is "for" generally can't stand him. He has blown up at workers at UH so many times they've lost count. Is that respect for working people?

If you want to work on sweatshops, that's a great issue. But I can guarantee you 100 percent that you will fail totally with O'Brien. He's not in this to help people. He's in it to get attention for himself and he's using kids half his age.

Delfina

Mon Apr 6 2009 17:42

What does criticizing Tim's age accomplish? In general, the older generations are more active and ours isn't. If it's age that concerns you, then I encourage you all to become representatives of the activist youth on campus. It really is disheartening to see that so few care about the issues facing our society. It's time to cut back on the television watching so you can volunteer your time and mind to something proactive.

Nick P.

Mon Apr 6 2009 00:19

O'Brien needs to get a life. In reality, no one cares about sweatshops. No one cares about the third world country their T-shirts come from. I don't think UH cares, and that's great, because we need to take care of UH first! O'Brien has harassed the last 3 UH President. There are far more important issues to lose sleep over like the war in Iraq, abortion clinics, homeless Americans, and rising college tuition. Get a life O'Brien, no one likes you.

Joe Shabadoo

Sun Apr 5 2009 15:40

If Brendan Laws wants to really help out people, then get away from Tim O'Brien. He's death to every group he's with. You have a legitimate issue but O'Brien makes everything about him. You are being used by a guy twice our age who has his own agenda.

Brendan Laws

Sun Apr 5 2009 02:05

This is an extremely biased article. It's disappointing because with all of the tactile, documented, organized evidence SAS gave the Cougar, the first line reads that the Task Force upholds the report. This paper is treating word of mouth as a more credible source than, dated and well documented physical evidence. This article is validating administrative lies for no sensible reason.

It's just sad because the students of UH don't win when there is no journalistic integrity. The corporate criminals that make up the administration and run our university just get to keep stealing, and our supposedly "student" paper actually justifies them. We need a voice for students, not another corporate mouthpiece. The Cougar is letting us down.

Joe Shabadoo

Sat Apr 4 2009 18:43

3 people at O'Brien's press conference. Wow, impressive. Don't those kids realize that O'Brien is THE PROBLEM. There have been effective student groups at UH. SAS isn't effective because O'Brien doesn't care about the issue. He just wants attention and wants to try to sue and make money so he never has to actually do any work. He is organizational suicide. Any group he's with will DIE because he's so inneffeective. Do you really think that workers want him representing their cause? It's sad to see those young kids hang out with this guy whose over twice their age. They'll accomplish nothing because of O'Brien.

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