According to Ryan, the FLA lost the support of labor groups in 1997 when it announced it would monitor compliance of a defined code of labor standards. The FLA then began to solicit partnerships with universities.
To date, the FLA's members include about a dozen major manufacturers, such as L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer, several human rights organizations and 147 colleges and universities, according to Ryan.
"The FLA has made a lot of progress in the past 12 months," Ryan said. "And the top two reasons I give for this are usually Chuck Ruff and Sam Brown."
Members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) have been the FLA's foremost critics at Harvard. They have argued that the FLA's interests do not completely reflect those of the University.
"FLA membership is inconsistent with Harvard's code of conduct," PSLM member Benjamin L. McKean '02 said. "For example, Harvard's code specifies independent monitoring, which the FLA does not have."
Although Harvard is reluctant to join the WRC right now, Ryan said he would not rule out the possibility.
"The WRC at this point is not as advanced," Ryan said. "It is still working on its platform. If things move along, we won't rule out looking to join."
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