Nike Chair Phil Knight's announcement Tuesday in
Washington, DC, that the company will take "several steps to
improve working conditions" in Asia "marked a significant
shift in the company's response to human rights complaints,"
according to Jeff Manning of the Portland OREGONIAN.
Activists "welcomed the news," including "longtime Nike
critic" Jeff Ballinger, head of the NJ-based Press for
Change. Ballinger: "This could mean better lives for
millions of Asians" (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/13).
OTHER VIEWS: In Toronto, Naomi Klein writes in an op-ed
that while Nike "has finally decided to address some
substantive issues," the problem is "it has not addressed
them in a substantive way." She writes that Knight "totally
dodged the living wage question," and that Nike "is now
grandstanding on child labour" (TORONTO STAR, 5/14). In
Tampa, Hubert Mizell writes that "pressure on Nike is
appropriate." Mizell: "Knight is making changes, but he
must be pushed harder. But shouldn't we even more
considerably fume about odious business practices far closer
to home?" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 5/14). In N.Y., Rush &
Molloy report that filmmaker Michael Moore "is taking a few
bows for pressuring" Nike with his film, "The Big One."
Moore: "I did not expect the change to happen this quickly"
(DAILY NEWS, 5/14). NBC's Jay Leno noted Nike's reforms,
including its decision to raise its minimum working age to
18 in Asia: "I guess they're having problems with a lot of
the younger workers teething on the sneakers" (NBC, 5/13).
