Nike Chair Phil Knight "defended his company's labor
practices" yesterday in a letter to congressional critics,
and "extended an invitation for members of Congress to tour
the facilities to see for themselves," according to Scott
Sonner of the AP. One of the members who spearheaded the
letter to Nike, U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), said, "If
Nike will give us freedom of access and let us talk to those
workers we want to and go where we want to, it might be an
interesting idea." Responding to the letter written by
Sanders and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and signed by 50
colleagues, Knight said the lawmakers should "become more
familiar with Nike's operations," and added that Nike's
commitment to the protection of its workers "is unparalleled
in the footwear and apparel industry." Knight: "You should
know that we have created and currently directly support
nearly 15,000 jobs in the U.S." But Sanders responded to
Knight's letter by adding, "This means that in a company
which spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year in
advertising in this country and which controls the lion's
share of the sneaker market here, only 3 percent of your
workers are employed in the United States" (AP, 11/20).
MORE FALLOUT: An editorial in the HARTFORD COURANT,
entitled, "Nike's Dirty Business In Vietnam," said that Nike
"can no longer claim ignorance" against charges of poor
working conditions abroad. From the editorial: "Could some
of [Nike's] millions be used, instead, to provide better
work conditions in Nike plants? And might not these
athletes ask a few tough questions about the labor practices
of the company?" (HARTFORD COURANT, 11/19).
TAR HEALED? In Raleigh, editorial writer Jim Jenkins
comments on UNC-Chapel Hill students criticizing Nike's
marketing partnership with the university: "[Y]ou can't
blame a bizillion-dollar shoe company for trying to sell
stuff and making deals toward that end. ... So that
shouldn't make anyone mad at Nike. Instead, let's direct
the attention where it belongs -- squarely with the
university's leaders" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 11/20).
