Russell Update

As you may have read in the Emerald today, President Frohnmayer has said he will not cancel the contract with Russell because of the WRC’s claims of labor violations. Here is the letter he sent to one of the members of Step Up, Oregon! In it, he explains that he does not believe their argument is valid because the purported illegality to which they refer is, in his view, not applicable to the OUS’ policy.

For your reference, here is the letter Step Up, Oregon! sent to Frohmayer.

UPDATE: This is a copy of the OUS policy Frohnmayer is citing.

Other developments:

• Sixty-five members of Congress have expressed concern to Russell in a letter. The list includes Eugene’s Peter DeFazio and fellow Oregon Congressman David Wu. “We urge you,” the letter reads, “to take all necessary action to ensure that any harm done to your employees in Honduras is fully remedied in a manner satisfactory to workers and their elected representatives, and that their rights to association are respected going forward.” However, the wording of the letter does not suggest that Russell has actually committed any wrongdoing. It merely states that if Russell has committed wrongdoing, it should redress it.
• Meanwhile Russell has its own letter, from the President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya Rosales, which is available here in the original Spanish and in a translation from Russell here.