Mizzou Students Push for Rejoining Workers Rights Consortium

MSA bill calls for student vote on university's membership in labor rights monitoring group

Feb. 21, 2026 at 1:39pm

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The Missouri Student Association (MSA) has passed a bill that would put a referendum on the spring ballot, allowing the student body to vote on whether the University of Missouri should rejoin the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), a labor rights monitoring organization. The university previously cut ties with the WRC while budgeting for the 2026 fiscal year, opting instead to operate under the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), which the bill argues has less transparency around its worker rights investigations.

Why it matters

The WRC conducts public investigations into labor rights abuses in the garment manufacturing industry, which supplies collegiate apparel. The bill's sponsors argue that rejoining the WRC would give students more visibility into the university's supply chain and ethical standards. This issue has been raised before, but the administration previously ignored calls to remain in the WRC.

The details

The MSA bill, SB 65-17, passed the full Senate with 27 votes in favor and 5 abstentions. It calls for a student referendum on whether Mizzou should rejoin the WRC, which would require a fee of 1% of licensing revenues (minimum $1,500, maximum $50,000). The university previously paid the WRC $18,000 annually to maintain membership. The CLC, which Mizzou now uses, is committed to ethical sourcing but does not publicly report on the frequency or methodology of its inspections.

  • The MSA bill was passed on Tuesday, February 21, 2026.
  • The student referendum is planned for the spring 2026 MSA ballot.

The players

Missouri Student Association (MSA)

The student government organization at the University of Missouri.

Workers Rights Consortium (WRC)

A non-profit organization that conducts investigations into labor rights abuses in the garment manufacturing industry, including for collegiate apparel.

Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC)

The organization that currently handles licensing and oversight of official Mizzou merchandise, with a stated commitment to ethical sourcing.

Maggie Funston

MSA Speaker of the Senate.

Justin Sills

College of Engineering Senator who introduced the bill.

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What they’re saying

“I'm hoping that with this ballot initiative, should it pass, that student voices will be amplified through it. I think there's a lot of power to having that general consensus from the populace and making sure that we're doing right by them, and supporting one issue over the other.”

— Maggie Funston, MSA Speaker of the Senate

“This bill, it serves two purposes. It's to gather the opinion of the student body as well as to raise even more awareness over it. I believe it affects everyone on campus and people who aren't on campus, right? Parents and the supporters of Mizzou Tigers.”

— Justin Sills, College of Engineering Senator

What’s next

If the student referendum passes, the university administration will have to decide whether to rejoin the Workers Rights Consortium.

The takeaway

This vote represents an effort by Mizzou students to have more transparency and oversight into the ethical standards of the university's apparel supply chain, an issue that has been raised before but previously ignored by the administration.