Friday, January 26, 2018

Hello, Vietnam

My name is Lexi McCool, and I am a junior studying Industrial and Labor Relations in Cornell University’s ILR School. From January 4th to January 17th, myself and five ILR students will attend classes at Ho Chi Minh City’s Ton Duc Thang University, located in southern Vietnam. We six students will also travel throughout the city, formerly known as Saigon, tour garment factories, and gain a more thorough understanding of pressing labor issues in the global supply chain—corporate social responsibility, minimum wage policy, and international collective bargaining strategies. We hope our daily blog posts will allow the students and faculty at Cornell to engage with each of these topics and understand Vietnam through our eyes and experiences.

Our first day in Ho Chi Minh City began with cultural immersion and an opportunity to meet the students of Ton Duc Thang (TDTU). Amidst jet lag, the morning started at 9 AM. Ton Duc Thang’s Dean of Labor Relations and Trade Unions, Dean Hoa, and Ms. Vinh, a faculty member in the Labor Relations School, held a welcome ceremony introducing us to the school and country. We enjoyed performances from TDTU students such as “Hello, Vietnam” and a more traditional song, shared in Vietnamese. Both performances were touching and beautiful, exemplifying the art and culture of such a captivating nation. “Hello, Vietnam,” in particular, spoke to the country’s previous war image and a desire to move beyond that perception, exploring the land’s “roots, soil, and soul.” I could not help but relate the song to our emerging experience and the new understanding of Vietnam each of us will have by the program’s end. Next was Cornell’s turn to contribute an opening performance for which we chose to sing the alma mater. Although our presentation of the school song was “happy,” as diplomatically stated by a TDTU student, our raw talent and ability to carry a tune in no way compared to the former performances. Still, it was fun to share a piece of our school and the experience provided an icebreaker for connecting with TDTU students throughout the day.

Welcome Ceremony

During a campus tour, I was impressed by the modernity and well-kept nature of the campus. Although TDTU is only 20 years old, the university has expanded rapidly, adding a library in the past year, and is openly striving for recognition as the top university in Vietnam. The well-manicured vision is led by the university president who aims to make strategic investments to ensure students are globally competitive and encourage research that influences the future of the nation.


Veronika impresses the crowd with her piano skills

Our first day on campus culminated with class on corporate social responsibility (CSR), taught by Professor Fincher, and a meeting with Ms. Lan Anh from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). During class, Cornell and TDTU students discussed global production lines, the CSR system, and possible innovations in sustainable labor practices. In particular, we examined how CSR is influenced by brands, governments, and monitoring organizations and considered how each institution can be leveraged to better enforce the existing labor code. Ms. Lan Anh built on this discussion, sharing the perspective of employers and the business community in Vietnam. Her presentation helped to create a balanced conversation, providing great insight into the challenges and pressures faced by national businesses, and allowed us to think more holistically about the Vietnamese labor experience.


By day’s end, jet lag had caught up with us and we were happy to enjoy milk tea, coffee, and hot pot at nearby restaurants with a few of the TDTU students. Although we went to bed as early as 9pm, our first day in Vietnam was full, exciting, and unique. – Lexi

Meet the 2018 ILR Vietnam Engaged Learning Team

The Students:

Olivia Harris ('20)
Hi! My name is Olivia Harris, I’m from Fairview, Oklahoma, and am a sophomore at Cornell University. My major is Industrial Labor Relations and I’m currently minoring in Human Development and Inequality Studies.

I’m on the executive board for Cornell’s Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity and the ILR SGA. I also enjoy doing research with Dr. Ceci and community service volunteering through Cornell Traditions. I’m participating in this opportunity because I’m interested in conflict resolution with a focus on labor relations and child labor. I’m also interested in malpractices within global supply chains and how to mitigate exploitation of workers.
Nathanael Cheng ('20)



Hello! My name is Nathanael Cheng and I am a sophomore at the ILR school from Philadelphia, PA. I am majoring in Industrial & Labor Relations and getting minors in Environmental & Sustainable Sciences and Law & Society.

In Vietnam, I am looking at the dissonance between rhetoric of a triple bottom line—people, planet, profits—and the reality at the first and second tier suppliers, the first steps of garment production. I am interested in corporations' pledges to be socially responsible and whether this is truly part of company culture or just an appeasement for Western consumers. Specifically, I am researching the many Taiwanese owned enterprises in Vietnam and their role as a major supplier to many Western brands. I look forward to sharing my experiences!

Lexi McCool ('19)


Hi! My name is Lexi McCool, and I am a junior in the ILR School from Raleigh, North Carolina.

I am excited to be in Vietnam learning about labor relations, minimum wage policy, and the garment industry’s global supply chain. My interests in the program relate to corporate responsibility, the distribution of profit along the supply chain, and the creation of better health, safety, and compensation standards for workers. On campus, I am involved as a student researcher in the Institute for Compensation Studies, the Roosevelt Institute, and my social sorority.
Veronika Koziel ('19)

My name is Veronika Koziel and I am a 3rd-year student in the ILR School at Cornell University. My interests currently lie in conflict resolution, alternative dispute resolution, as well as international relations and foreign languages. At Cornell University, I am a research assistant at the Institute for Compensation Studies and the Scheinman Institute for Conflict Resolution.

I decided to participate in this Engaged Learning Trip because of my love for cross-cultural communication and my desire to have the chance to meet with international students who also study labor relations. I am also very interested in the rapid growth and development of Vietnam, in particular, the newly changing minimum wage and social security policies being implemented. The main reason I aspire to continue my global career and studies is to demonstrate the power of solidarity, consciousness, and unity.

Mitch Butler ('19)

Hello – my name is Mitchell Butler, and I’m a junior in the ILR School from Columbia, MD. Within ILR, I’m interested in dispute resolution, labor law, and global supply chains. I also have a minor in Business and a strong interest in corporate social responsibility.

These interests, plus my passion for cross-cultural learning, led me to the Engaged Learning program. I’m excited to engage with TDTU students and faculty, and I look forward to expanding my knowledge of labor relations and cultivating new relationships. Outside ILR, I’m a member of Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity and serve on the executive boards of Scholars Working Ambitiously to Graduate (SWAG) and Delta Chi Fraternity.
Devon Gillams ('18)

My name is Devon Gilliams and I am a senior from Rockland County, New York. Within the ILR school, I am concentrating my curriculum on issues of global inequality in labor forces. I am interested in domestic and international movements for economic and social justice.

I chose to participate in this trip in order to research how to create more sustainable supply chains, with the emphasis on the question, “how do we best empower the worker?” I want to understand what methods are best to create a more equitable relationship between workers and management. I am eager to understand how the Vietnamese labor system relates to and differs from the US labor system. I also want to interact and collaborate with Vietnamese students who are also studying labor relations with the hopes of understanding their point of view and forging relationships that will last far into the future.

At Cornell, I am a research assistant for the Workers’ Institute and am also a staff news writer for the Sun where I have successfully merged my passions for writing and social justice issues on Cornell's campus.