Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor Rights

NEW REPORT ON NIKE

In this alert:

NEW REPORT ON NIKE

In August, Jeff Ballinger of Press for Change led a delegation to Indonesia to meet with representatives of independent unions and non-governmental organizations, as well as to initiate an important new survey of Nike shoe workers.

Following is a small selection of the now-completed survey's results. For a copy of the full report, contact Press for Change jeffreyd@mindspring.com, (617) 496-6423. See also the Press for Change web site www.nikeworkers.org.

FINDINGS:

Wages:

NIKE CLAIMS: 75% of Nike shoe workers in Indonesia earn an average of 400,000 Rupiah per month.

REFERENCES: See http//nikebiz.com/media/n_wage.shtml, where Nike spokesperson Maria Eitel says that a "majority" earn an average of 400,000. See also "PR NEWSWIRE" Nike press release March 23, 1999, where Nike spokesperson Vada Manager is quoted on the 75% figure.

SURVEY FINDINGS: 1,939 of the 2,300 Nike shoe workers interviewed are earning between 250,000 and 300,000 Rupiah ($35-42) per month. Only ONE PERCENT of the workers surveyed is earning 400,000 or above!

Abusive behavior:

SURVEY FINDINGS: 1,309 shoe workers (57 percent of those surveyed) reported seeing another worker being mistreated or yelled at.

Forced overtime:

SURVEY FINDINGS: 818 complained about forced overtime.

Also included in the survey:

NIKE GARMENT WORKERS: 1,200 Nike garment workers.

BATA SHOE WORKERS: For comparison, the survey also included 500 shoe workers at Bata - a Canadian company with a much better labor record (and with higher wages, even though Bata manufactures cheap sports shoes for the Indonesian market!)

Postscript:

JEFF BALLINGER ADDS: Nike spokesperson, Vada Manager, was emphatic when he told Penn State's "Daily Collegian" last spring that a Nike manager was always in the factory when Nike shoes or apparel are being produced. When we were in the Nikomas [ Nike ] factory complex at the start of this survey work ... we asked the Taiwanese manager to see the Nike person. He replied that he had already gone home (it was around 6:15 p.m.). We noticed that thousands of workers were coming back into the factory after a short break; many we spoke to said that they would be working until 9 p.m.

NIKE VIDEO AND SPEAKER AVAILABLE IN MIDWEST

Campaign for Labor Rights Midwest is organizing a short speaking tour in the Midwest December 1-7. Midwest regional organizer Emily LaBarbera-Twarog will show a video and talk about the international campaign in support of justice and empowerment for Nike workers.

The video features an interview with Haryanto, who was fired because of his activities as a union organizer in the Lintas factory in Indonesia, which manufactures Nike shoes. Among the other activities for which he was fired, Haryanto passed out Nike's code of conduct to other workers.

Haryanto decided to form a real union in the factory when he and 7 co-workers were injured by the same defective machine (Haryanto lost two fingers on his right hand) and when the government-controlled union demonstrated that it was interested only in quelling worker unrest.

Haaryanto's testimony and a sign-on letter to Nike were included in a Campaign for Labor Rights alert posted on October 30. If you do not have a copy of this alert and would like it emailed to you, send a request to clr@clrlabor.org.

TO BRING THE TOUR TO YOUR COMMUNITY, contact our Midwest office: (202) 232-5002, clrchicago@mindspring.com. Hosting organizations will need to provide lodging (if outside Chicago), meals and an honorarium: $100 for community presentations, $300 for campus presentations.

SWEATSHOP ACTIVIST ORGANIZING PACKET

The third installment of the 1999 Sweatshop Activist Organizing Packet has been completed. Everyone who ordered the packet earlier automatically receives the updates. Anyone ordering now receives the third installment, plus whatever is still current from installments 1 and 2. Order by email clr@clrlabor.org or phone (202) 232-5002. Include your postal address: Packet is in hard copy. Packet includes donation form and return envelope. Suggested donation: $10.00.

If ordering from outside the United States, please pay by credit card. From within the U.S., either credit card or check payment is welcome. If you are paying by card, the charge will be credited to Campaign for Labor Rights through the Alliance for Global Justice, of which CLR is a member project. Your bill, however, will show a payment to the Alliance. Just email us your name exactly as it appears on the MasterCard, Visa or Discover card, your account number, the expiration date and the amount of the payment in U.S. dollars.

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