Say 'No!' to Nike!
• £4/55/35FF. Cheque payable to P. Rousset, IIRE, Postbus 53290, 1007 Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Saturday, October 18 will see an international mobilisation in support of the rights of Nike production workers. Labour, human rights and community activists in Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Holland, Italy, Switzerland and the USA will leaflet at stores selling Nike products. US activists will target Niketowns- the company's new multi-floor superstores. Dianne Feeley
IF WE HAD THE RIGHT TO UNIONIZE
AND BARGAIN WE COULD IMPROVE
CONDITIONS!
YOU MUST BE
LIVING IN
FANTASY LAND!
Nike signs multi-million dollar endorsement contracts with sports superstars like Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Its advertising budget is US$650 million. Yet a pair of Nikes selling for $90 has a labour cost of $1.20. Seventy percent of all Nike athletic shoes are produced in China and Indonesia. Nike has also signed with transnational contractors in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Seventy to ninety percent of the workforce is female. The vast majority do not make more than $2.50 a day— for which many are forced to work 60-80 hours a week. Independent investigator?
Given the widespread labour abuse by Nike subcontractors in Asia, Nike Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phil Knight announced last February that he was commissioning an independent investigation of its Asian operations, making all facilities open to a team of