Union Quits Anti-Sweatshop Task Force

The apparel union UNITE withdrew from a White House task force on sweatshops, calling the panel’s recent recommendations inadequate. The union said it severed its ties because the panel failed to call for a “living wage”--pay that reflects the cost of living--for apparel workers. The task force plans to create a nonprofit agency that would monitor the labor sites of apparel companies around the world, but UNITE said the plan’s inspection mechanism is inadequate. The task force is composed of representatives from industry, labor and the human rights community. Its recommendations are part of a voluntary code of conduct for participating apparel companies.