The athletic apparel industry of Nike

The athletic uniform industry in which Nike is involved is a major m singley churchman in the United States, but the fact that none of the factories argon locate in North America has brought some heat to the club. Nike controls more than 40 percent of the U.S. Market for sports related goods, but doesnt find a single sneaker manufactory in this country (Miller 1). Nike inhabits to reconcile millions of dollars even so exploits induceers overseas by paying them very little, while requiring long minutes without extra time pay in factories that atomic number 18 non up to American standard. Nike subcontractors utilise nearly 500,000 lay downers in plants in In tireesia, China and Vietnam (Saporito 1). The exploitation of workers in third World counties, where the majority of Nikes labor is done sparks a polemical issue. People question why is it that Nike continues these practices.According to Just do it, Nike, Nike seems particularly fond of doing business in undemocrat ic countries like China and Indonesia, where the soldiers can be relied upon to crack heads if workers get out of line (Miller 2). The legions monitoring has been a large controversy due to the fact that these be often Chinese working against other Chinese workers, or Vietnamese against their own heap also. For Nike in that respect are two benefits it its a cheap way to monitor in an overseas factory and it creates a sheaper labor workforce. In turn do the labor cheaper for Nike.This gains it possible for Nike workers from the states to work on other things and only tour the factories when nessecary. While still presumptuous a stable workforce without good pay. The critics of Nikes labor practices piss interpreted tours and witnessed the mistreatment firsthand. Time magazine reported saying, The plants were establish to be modern and clean, well(p) lighted and ventilated and paying a decent wage by local standards-although by no means are they trouble free. submit no mist ake these are factories non amusement parks, and even in developing Asia, where jobs are scarce and getting scarcer, this is non the job of choice. (Saporito 1)The hire that the workers overseas are paid is nothing when compared to how much we pay for a twosome of shoe or the profit that CEO Phil Knight is making off his sportswear giant he once operated out of the tail end of his car as a college student.A big issue that surrounds sweatshops is wage. The borderline wage often does not reflect the cost of living. (Hepner Online)Is the wage middling? There are more people who feel the wage is sporting and the cost of living is taken into account when the wage is looked at, but studies steer otherwise in many factories. Just recently, CNN reported a resurrect to entry level workers in Indonesia, Nike officials said the increase will draw out the minimum monthly compensation package-which includes bonuses, housing, healthcare, transportation and meal allowances to approxim ately$37.14 a month.(Nike Establishes Labor Online) To many people living in the U.S., that package whitethorn sound good however the compensation package doesnt do away with the long hours, the poor conditions or the low rate of pay. galore(postnominal) of these workers are young children working to helper support their families. The benefits do not make up for the low pay rates that keep them in the work force. The pay is only enough to get by where these children fatality to be saving in order to leave the factories and return home.In Taking a Look inside Nikes Factories, part of mensuration Saporitos, Can Nike Get Unstuck? this is what was found. Americans pay $100 for a pair of shoes that a worker gets less than $3 a twenty-four hour period to make. They pay Michael Jordan $40 million to endorse them. Cant they beget more money to pay the workers? The short answer is no, because corporations pay the waiver rate for labor whereever they are. (Saporito 1) If this statement is true Nike pays the wage for the country the factory is in, then what is the controversy well-nigh?Much of it stems from the overtime that these workers are coerce to work without over time compensation. Here in the United States there are regulations placed on businesses that require then to compensate their workers with a higher wage for over time hours. So since Nike is an U.S. based company should Nike defecate to pay overtime? The answer is no. Nike doesnt have to pay overtime like here in the U.S. so they dont.In Vietnam Workers so want a reduction in overtime, the continuance of annual leave for the Indonesian workers making Nike shoes is more than 30 days though dozens of workers interviewed in November, said the actual add is 10 days. (Ballinger 2)There has been evidence of Nike breaking at least ball club labor laws in China according to AMRC a Hong Kong based merciful rights kind out that has been monitoring the abuse of human rights in China for the eventuall y 20 years. Children as young as 13, were found employed in Nike factories, working from 144-192 overtime hours per month to make ends meet. (Designer 1) Ernest and Young, an accounting firm, hired by Nike, to do research and the issue reported conditions in Vietnam where young women get the picture sixty-five hour weeks for $10, in air so bad that 78 percent of the employees have respiratory problems. (Miller1)Factory workers endure abuse on the job lacking a voice or ablility to do anything about it. Since Nike contracts out for their factory managers, it has been hard for Nike to regulate what goes on when they are not on their tour or walk through. A Korean supervisory programy program in a Vietnam factory was found guilty of beating 15 Vietnamese about the head with a shoe upper, and other Korean supervisor was charged with sexual molestation. (Saporito 3) In this instance it was not an U.S. supervisor, nor was it a military officer but psyche of a diametrical nationality.T he hard part is that there are no independent unions and substantive corporate codes of conduct to discipline management. So workers must turn to the courts for help which is a long fought battle that no one wants to attempt. In one case that make it to, a Vietnamese court recently found a Korean supervisor guilty of beating workers and extradition may be sought for the accused sexual molester who fled. In Indonesia 24 discharged Nike workers are challenging the legality of their dismissal before the countrys despotic Court (Saporito 3). These are major breakthroughs in the court systems to have someone tried and convicted in these distant countries whose courts are often corrupted.Factory conditions are consistently getting press here in the U.S., as many are angry with Nike for not providing for their overseas employees. The following account is of the conditions in a Chiniese factoryTwelve hour shifts several days a week wages as low as 16 cents and hour 16 workers to a dorm ro om pregnant women fired. Workers are not allowed to talk. There is constant pressure to produce-workers are yelled at. If you dont meet your high production quota you must stay until you do-without pay. The factory is noisy, make full with dust and fumes. Workers have fainted, overcome by the long hours and the glue fumes. unity worker died another lost an arm other has had their fingers broken by the equipment. Most workers have never heard of the Nike code of conduct. There is no union and workers are afraid that if they complain, they will be fired. When a group of workers stopped working in March to protest had not been paid, they were fired. The supervisor warns workers in advance of any inspection, the factory is cleaned and if workers are interviewed it is in the presence of factory management. (The Neediest and the Greediest 4)This is only one description of the factory conditions and the requirements that are stray on the workers of these factories, on contract with Nike .In order to deal with the critical review Nike gets about working conditions and pay, Nike Inc recently established a new part with a mandate to continue to evolve its monitoring of subcontracted manufacturing facilities and to continue to upgrade conditions for workers in subcontracted facilities around the world. (Nike establishes 1) This department will monitor, compensation issues, benefits, the work environments, recruiting and hiring policies, overtime policies, worker management, environmental issues and supervision of independent monitoring systems. all(a) these are large steps by Nike to improve its factories and to relate the relations with people here in the U.S. who are appalled by the reports of poor work environment workers are forced to endure.The company has been tarred by an image as a sweatshop operator that exploits Asian workers who make shoes and apparel for Nike subcontractors. Nikes efforts to be a good corporate citizen, and they have been considerable, h ave yet to sway the public forum. Basically, our culture, and our style, is to be a rebel, and we sort of enjoy doing that, says Knight, who created a jock empire based on attack aircraft worship backed up with good product and great advertising. straightway that we reached a certain size theres a fair line between being rebel and being a bully, and yeah, we have to walk that line. (Saporito 6) According to Knight he will continue to make the sport-wear giant successful any way he can. The estimated net deserving of co founder and current CEO Phil Knight is $5.4 billion, one of the wealthiest people in America. (Miller 1)The issue remains whether the sports wear giant, Nike, will continue to do work in other countries, where labor is cheap and regulations are few, and not monitored on a normal basis. Nike will continue to exploit workers in these countries as long as America continues to buy the products. Nike, who recently fagged $978 million in one year on advertising worldwi de, depends upon Americans and their children to bribe its sneakers. Yet it locates 150 factories and some 350,000 jobs in Asia. Knight recently made the absurd and arrogant statement that, Americans dont want to make shoes. (Sanders 2)Is CEO Phil Knight right? Are American workers not free to make the shoes that are so popular in stores and classrooms crosswise the nation. If so, the exploitation will continue and Nike workers will remain underpaid and over worked in poor working conditions.