Much attention has been paid to Nike’s exploitation of workers in economically strugglingcountries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. Countless reports show the overseas workers to be underpaid, malnourished, and often physically and emotionally abused. Although Nike contends that they are paying above Indonesian minimum wage, the $1.60 a day workers earn is not even enough to buy three simple meals, estimated at $2.10. That’s not even considering the minimum $6.00 a month rent, clothing, and hygienic products every worker needs. While many Nike factories provide subsidized meals, workers could afford their own meals if they were paid a living wage. Jeff Keaty, a U.S. coach who was fired for refusing to wear a uniform with the Nike logo is in Jakarta, Indonesia trying to live on Nike factory wages.
These miserable working conditions and exploitative wages seem especially shocking considering that Nike is one of the richest corporations in the world, making Philip Knight, Nike president, the fifth richest man in America. A CBS News report found Indonesian Nike workers making a mere 20-cents a hour, while Mr. Knight’s net worth is estimated to be 5.3-billion dollars, as seen on Forbes 400 Richest List for 1996. Nike’s hierarchy of production costs is astounding. According to the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the 20-million dollars which Nike paid Michael Jordan to endorse products for one year is equal to the amount they paid Indonesian workers to produce 19 million pairs of shoes, many valued at as much as $120 a pair.
Nike contends that despite low wages, conditions are otherwise satisfactory. Yet the phrase “to Nike” has been coined to mean, “to take out one’s frustrations on a fellow worker” in the factories, where stories of abuse and sexual harassment are commonplace. At a plant in Vietnam, a supervisor hit fifteen workers in a row in retaliation for poor sewing. The incident left two women hospitalized, and great emotional scars on every worker involved. The supervisor, Madame Baeck, was allowed to leave the country after the incident, despite conviction. Other incidents of abuse have since arisen: a woman’s mouth taped shut for talking during working hours; 45 women forced to kneel on the ground with their hands in the air for 25 minutes straight; workers forced to stand in the sun for long periods of time as part of a heat punishment; and a Korean supervisor found guilty of molesting female workers. When a reporter from 48 Hours questioned a Nike spokesperson about this incident, he said he’d never heard of it, despite the fact it headlined Vietnamese newspapers.
These are only the incidents to make headlines in America, despite attempts to keep workers silent. We, as consumers, have not only the responsibility to stop these conditions, but also the choice of what athletic wear to buy. Boycott Nike products and demand home made shoes. Write to Nike and its spokespeople–the two biggest currently being Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods–demanding change. For although Nike has taken minimal and mostly symbolic (as opposed to revolutionary) steps, there is still great change needed. Consumers must hold manufacturers and retailers responsible for the conditions under which products and profits are made.
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And if we closed them down then these folks will have no work at all, the world is a cold and sometimes cruel place and when companies exploit these kinds of people it does cause my blood to boil, but you all do not have an alternate solution except to boycott Nike, which again will only cause these unfortunate people to lose what little income they have now. It is best not to cause them more problems. The problem is with the Indonesian government, they prefer praying to Allah and cursing Jews and Americans, rather than building their economy. Give it a rest and put your efforts into something that will bring results, like education and freedom for the Indonesian people. It is a third world country with little ambition to become anything better than it is. It is trapped by religious and traditional problems that have caused this problem, not Nike, if it had other work for these folks then Nike could not exploit them. Most of the third world’s problems are caused by over population, not Nike, teach them birth control and self motivation, educate them, and you will solve the problem, which is self inflective not caused by an America sneaker manufacturer.
I am schocked that Tiget Woods would endorse a company that basically is into slave labor.i will make sure all my contacts know….why pay him 400,000.00 a year and the real workers nothing?
WHERE ARE YOUR MORALS NIKE ?
I am DONE with you !
The anti-nike campaign is a strong statement of resistance against global-conglomerates which further the divide between rich and poor. Of course, a single campaign is seldom strong enough in and of itself to make any critical impact upon such a major corporation, yet its cirtue lies in the fact that it brings the message to the people, and in so doing, furthers their consciousness about such important issues in the world today.. Our brothers and sisters are working as slaves, and thus i majorly disagree with fred paul that we should not ‘interfere with the little income that they are receiving’, for this tyoe of silence is equal to favouring such an enterprise.. Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.. keep the message moving.. You have my backing all the way..
I think more videos such as this need to be shown. I don’t think most people realize this is still happening with some of these large companies. If they are aware, they are choosing to ignore it. As for the companies, a section acknowledging these problems on the corporate website isn’t enough. If they are truly socially responsible they will stop these practices now.
Great video, love the soundtrack! I agree totally that people need to be made aware of the conditions that these people have to work in for a near to nothing wage!
I’ll be telling all my mates about this video.. the broken Nike tick at the end was a very powerful statement, got me thinking.
Spot on!! dont think people realise how much shit goes on behind every trainer or t-shirt, how much people are putting into it and not getting out of it. selfish