The smarter we are the more we learn from those around us. That's certainly true of a group of students who have been working to better conditions for sweatshop workers overseas.

United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) learned their social activism and tactics from the labor movement and now we in the labor movement can relearn some valuable lessons from the students.

USAS scored its biggest victory in November when its campaign convinced Russell Athletic, one of the largest U.S. sportswear firms, to reopen a plant in Honduras and rehire 1,200 workers. Russell closed the factory in January shortly after the workers had unionized.

The key to the students' success was convincing a number of major universities to cancel their licensing agreements with Russell. Sales of sweatshirts and other apparel with the colleges' logos are a lucrative part of Russell's business.

USAS also took their campaign to professional sports teams licensed to Russell and some big retailers who sell the garments.

In addition to rehiring the 1,200 workers, Russell also agreed not to fight unionization at its other factories in Honduras. Not surprisingly, union leaders in Honduras - some of whom had received death threats over the years - hailed the agreement.

The big lesson for those of us in the labor movement who are often discouraged by the slow pace of progress is that this was not an overnight victory. It followed 10 years of creating a movement to convince universities to adopt codes of conduct for the factories where their logo apparel is produced. The students also used sit-ins over the years to get the universities to finance an independent group to monitor factory working conditions.

Mike Powers, a Cornell official who is involved in the monitoring group, said Russell's closing of the Honduran factory was a direct violation of the university's code of conduct, which includes workers' right to freedom of association - and that includes joining a union if they wish.

Another lesson for us in the labor movement is that the students reached out beyond the schools where USAS has chapters. The additional support at 100 other colleges gave them greater strength. USAS also got 65 members of Congress to sign a letter expressing concern over Russell's actions.

Because the students had used militant tactics, such as lengthy sit-ins, in the past, they didn't need them now. The schools remembered.

I don't know about you, but if I were grading these students, I'd give them an A-plus.