Jim Keady

Are Nike's Factory Workers Paid a Living Wage? (Video Blog)

2011-10-21T13:18:32-04:00

Is London's Civil Unrest a Harbinger for U.S. Cities?

2011-08-16T11:27:28-04:00

As I watched the coverage of the civil unrest in London this past week, all I could think was, "this is just the beginning." First, let me be clear about my naming the actions of the people involved as "civil unrest" rather than "riots." Riots, as the news likes to call such actions, connotes something that just erupted out of the blue, unexplainable and senseless. One might argue the point of senselessness, but this civil unrest is quite explainable and in fact, predictable.

We have reached a tipping point in the cancerous march of global capitalism. The poor and economically disenfranchised have been aware for years that the system is dysfunctional, exploitative, and unjust. But now it is the educated, hard-working, middle-class that have finally had the scales fall from their eyes. As more and more wealth and social benefits have been stripped away from them to feed the greed of the uber-rich, an anger has been growing, a tinderbox being stacked twig by twig. It only needed a flashpoint, a spark, in this case, a shooting by police, and London was awash in violence, buildings aflame.

In the United States, this type of civil unrest may come sooner or may come later, but it will come. At the moment, much of the righteous anger has been channeled into the Tea Party movement. These citizens are organized and focused, but unfortunately, they are off-base with their analysis and targets. At some point, they will realize that neither the Republicans (nor the Democrats) nor the Corporatists they defend could care less about them. Right now, they are a pawn, being used by the uber-rich to consolidate power and bring more riches to the gilded class. When they do wake up and see the socio-economic reality for what it truly is, I fear for our nation. These class warriors will be pissed, they will be well armed, and they will have nothing to lose. They will make this past week in London look like a schoolyard skirmish.

Do You Really Want To Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.?

2011-01-17T17:17:31-05:00

As the nation gears up to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, I would like to encourage all Americans - but particularly my fellow white Americans - to consider who this man really was and why he was murdered.

You see, most white Americans have reached a point where they can celebrate Dr. King, but that is ONLY because King has been sanitized, stripped of his prophetic zeal, made palatable to whites who 40 years ago may have been among the throngs of fools casting epithets, bricks, and firebombs at Dr. King and his followers.

Make no mistake about it; Martin Luther King was a radical. If he were alive today, most people in power (read: white people) would hate him, would hate what he was saying, and would hate what he was willing to die for.

We watch Dr. King's famous "I have a dream" speech and it inspires us, it makes us feel warm and fuzzy. But if that is all Dr. King did - make people feel warm and fuzzy - why was he so reviled?

Consider the following from the book, "The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.: From Solo to Memphis," by David J. Garrow.

"On November 18, 1964, FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover publically called Martin Luther King, Jr. 'the most notorious liar' in America. Three days later, one of Hoover's top assistants wrote and sent the following anonymous letter to King. Included with the letter was an incriminating tape recording which the FBI had obtained by 'bugging' King's hotel rooms.

KING
In view of your grade... I will not dignify your name with either a Mr. or a Reverend or a Dr. And, your last name calls to mind only the type of King such as King Henry the VIII...

King, look into your heart. You know you are a complete fraud and a great liability to all of us Negroes. White people in this country have enough frauds of their own but I am sure they don't have one at this time that is any near your equal. You are no clergyman and you know it. I repeat you are a colossal fraud and an evil, vicious one at that. You could not believe in God... Clearly you don't believe in any personal moral principles.

King, like all frauds your end is approaching. You could have been our greatest leader. You, even at an early age have turned out to be not a leader but a dissolute, abnormal moral imbecile. We will now have to depend on our old leaders like Wilkins a man of character and thank God we have others like him. But you are done. Your "honorary" degrees, your Nobel Prize (what a grim farce) and other awards will not save you. King, I repeat you are done.

No person can overcome facts, not even a fraud like yourself... I repeat- no person can argue successfully against facts. You are finished... Satan could not do more. What incredible evilness... King you are done.

The American public, the church organizations that have been helping - Protestant, Catholic and Jews will know you for what you are - evil, abnormal beast. So will others who have backed you. You are done.

King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You have just 34 days in which to do (this exact number has been selected for a specific reason, it has definite practical significant [sic]). You are done. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal fraudulent self is bared to the nation."

Read those words again. Really, stop and read them. If Dr. King was someone who made us feel warm and fuzzy; if Dr. King was someone who could and should be celebrated; if Dr. King was someone who simply inspired people; then why would such a disgusting letter be written to him by the FBI? Why would people have thrown bricks and M80s at him? Why was he jailed? Why were his followers beaten? Why was he cut down by an assassin's bullet on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis?

Why? Because he was a radical; because he preached God's good news to the poor; because he made people who benefited from the status quo incredibly uncomfortable; and like all the great prophets before him, he was killed for doing these.

So instead of celebrating Martin Luther King as the inspiring leader that makes you feel good, I encourage you to celebrate him honestly, and honor Martin Luther King as the revolutionary that he truly was.

A simple way of doing this might be to consider what Dr. King may have stood for today and what he might have said about the current state of affairs in our nation.

I would argue that it is fair to say, based on his words and example, that if Dr. King were alive in 2011, he would say that:

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are unjust.

The disparity of wealth between the rich and the poor in America is unjust.

The influence of corporate money in American politics is unjust.

And so on...

As he did when he was alive, Dr. King would prophetically speak the truth of God and he would demand that these wrongs of war, economic injustice and failures in democracy, be set right. And Dr. King would go beyond words, he would take action - he would put his feet in the street and his body on the line and he would rally others to do so. And in doing these things, Dr. King would encourage the wrath of the majority in our nation, particularly those who benefit from the status quo, and they would hate him for it and they would wish him dead.

Have the courage to think of that on January 17th.

That is what this national holiday should be about - deep reflection on Dr. King's life and mission and whether or not each (or any) of us has the desire and the courage to truly bring his dream to reality in these United States of America.

Peace (and Justice),

Jim Keady

A Call to Arms: How We Must Take the Fight to Nike

2010-09-08T23:16:28-04:00

I have spent this summer thinking deeply about why we have not had more successes in the decade-and-a-half struggle to end Nike's exploitative labor practices around the world, specifically in Indonesia, where much work has been done. I could go on and on with my analysis on this, but I will not. It is a waste of time and energy. I want us to focus on the present and on winning.

How can we win?

First, we need to get very clear on what we want. In the U.S., we have talked about winning in terms of "living wages," and in Indonesia, we have talked about winning in terms of "increasing welfare" for workers. Neither of these phrases has any traction with the general public, nor do they have traction in Nike's cutthroat capitalist world. We need to keep it simple when discussing what we want. Nike's Indonesian workers need to tell Nike, "We want a raise. Period." They also need to tell Nike how much of a raise they want. The current basic wage for Nike's Indonesian workers is Rp1.100.000 (US$122) per month. This is a poverty wage. During my last visit to Indonesia in June, workers shared with me that they need at least Rp3.000.000 (US$333) per month to live with any sense of dignity.

How would this raise impact the cost of Nike sneakers? Nike has published that the labor costs on an average pair of sneakers is about $2.50. If that labor cost tripled because of the raise that workers asked for, and if that extra cost were passed on to consumers of Nike sneakers, it would mean that our $100 pair of Nike's would cost $105. Yeah, $5 extra bucks to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty in the industrial slums of Indonesia. Put it on my bill Nike. I'll pay it.

How can we make this happen?

1. A trade union at one of Nike's Indonesian shoe factories needs to formally request contract negotiations.

2. The trade union must also formally request that representatives from Nike-USA be part of the contract negotiations.

3. In the contract negotiations, the trade union must tell Nike:

* We want a raise so that the basic monthly salary for workers is Rp3.000.000 per month.
* We want this raise ratified in a new contract to which the trade union, the factory owners and Nike are legally bound.
* We want this contract executed within 30 days.

4. If after the 30-day period, Nike refuses the demands of the union, then TEAM SWEAT, which is made up of thousands of workers, students, activists, investors and athletes will publicly pressure Nike until they meet the unions' demands.

Given the victory that USAS and Nike's workers in Honduras recently had, NOW is the time for Nike's Indonesian workers to hit Nike hard. Remember, Nike said that they would never pay out severance to workers, that it was not their responsibility. But because of workers and consumers fighting together, Nike did pay out. We can make them meet workers' demands again.

To my comrades in Nike's factories in Indonesia, it is time for you to shed yourselves of the meekness that has been infused in your hearts by your colonialist past. It is time for you to stand up and fight. You are strong, smart and courageous. You are the reason that Nike makes billions of dollars in profits. Without you, there is no Nike. You can bring Nike to their knees and you have an army of supporters in the international community waiting to fight with you. So act. Now.

Peace,

Jim Keady

The Dumping and Burning of Nike Scrap Shoe Rubber

2010-07-12T20:16:47-04:00

On June 16, my team and I left my hotel at 6:30 a.m. and drove 90 minutes to a Nike shoe factory in one of the industrial areas outside Jakarta, Indonesia. There we sat and waited (again). We were back on the beat looking to document the dumping and burning of Nike scrap shoe rubber.

This is an important issue because Nike has made major public statements about their supposed commitment to protecting the environment. In fact, if you read their most recent corporate responsibility report, it is loaded with claims and planned initiatives on how they say they will limit their global environmental footprint. I am unsure how successful they are going to be since it seems that they cannot even manage their trash in a way that is responsible.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I have been pushing Nike on this issue since I first discovered that shoe rubber from their plants was being dumped and burned in villages around the factories. For years, Nike denied any wrongdoing (note the following quote from Nike's Carolyn Wu).

"The disposal of footwear soles by burning that Mr. Keady discusses in his presentation is either counterfeit or unauthorized."
- Carolyn Wu, Issues Manager, Nike, Inc. ~ May 10, 2002

In 2009, Nike did admit, to me at least, that there was some validity to my claims. Just before my visit to Indonesia in 2009, Nike sent one of their top environmental people from Asia to investigate this issue. During his visit, this Nike exec sat outside a factory and waited for the dump truck to leave the plant. He followed it and found that the end of the line was a public dump where eventually Nike had to clean up 180 dump truck loads of scrap shoe rubber and spend thousands of dollars on an environmental remediation of the site. The resulting policy change was Nike's new waste management system.

The question I wanted answered was, "Is the waste management system really effective or it is simply another Nike public relations ploy?"

So...there we sat and waited.

The giant yellow dump truck rolled out of the factory gates around 10:15 a.m. We whipped our van around and followed it down the bumpy dirt road. I must share that I felt somewhat uneasy as we were doing this. In 2002, while doing similar research at a dump, I ended up being chased in my van by machete wielding preman (thugs) on motorcycles who worked for the mafioso that ran the dump. They eventually caught us, beat my driver and brought my team back to the dump where I ended up on my knees with the boss telling me, "If you come back here, I will kill you," as he stood over me with a sword drawn over my head.

The dump truck pulled into a makeshift recycling center that is run by the local community and started to unload. To not raise suspicions with the men who ran this operation, I posed as an American buyer of shoe scraps. We told them that I worked for a company that made artificial soccer fields and that we used this kind of material as a base. They bought the story. From our conversation I learned that they only received the scrap foam from the factory -- about one ton a day -- and it is sold to buyers that use it to make cushions for sofas, chairs, etc. There was no scrap shoe rubber dumped with them, but they told me where it was discarded, a dump site just up the road.

We made our way down the road and came upon the dump site that we were told about. It turned out that while we were at the community recycling center, that another dump truck must have left the plant and come to this site. As it unloaded its trash, we watched and waited. It took about 20 minutes for the truck to be emptied of its contents. It was morbidly fascinating to watch the people at the dump sort through the trash as it was pushed off the truck. They scavenged for plastic bottles and anything else that might have value if salvaged.

When the team of men from the factory finished their work, loaded back onto the truck and rolled out back onto the road, we kicked into action.

Alif told the man that ran the dump that I was a Canadian reporter doing a documentary on recycling efforts in Indonesia. Rather than TELL you what I found here, I offer the photos below and will allow you to judge if Nike's claims about their new waste management system are legit.

Just an FYI, the kind of dumping I described above and that you can see in these photos, happens three to four times a day, every day, and the burning happens for hours every afternoon.

JUST(ice) DO IT.

This blog post was originally published on Jim Keady's site, TeamSweat.org.

Nike Workers: "We Want to Fight, but We Don't Know How."

2010-06-28T17:19:35-04:00
I recently spent 11 days in Indonesia as part of my work with Team Sweat, an international campaign focused on securing living wages and union contracts for Nike's overseas factory workers.

One of the goals of my trip was to find the workers that made the World Cup replica jerseys that I bought at Niketown in NYC before I left for Indonesia. My team had been searching for a couple of weeks prior to my arrival for the plants where these jerseys were produced, but to no avail. Luckily, following our meeting with the Nike shoe factory workers the other night, one of the union leaders said that he had a contact for us at a plant that may have produced this stuff. On Thursday night, he arranged for me to meet with half a dozen workers from this Nike apparel factory.

As I pulled the soccer jerseys from my bag --replicas from the U.S., Brazilian, Australian and English National Teams-- and passed them around the room, I was struck by the care and attention that each worker gave to the shirts. When most people grab one of these jerseys, they hold it up to themselves, throw it on, and are off on their merry way. But these workers carefully inspected each piece, running their fingers along each seam and holding it the way that a sculptor might hold and admire a finished piece of art. These were not just soccer jerseys to them; this was their lifework, and the pride they took in what they do and create was evident.

As things turned out, these particular jerseys were not produced at their factory, although they did produce replicas for Nike for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and they are now producing similar Nike products. They shared that there may be a factory within their group that produced these and they would try and find out for me.

As our conversation continued, the workers shared that (to no surprise), the number one issue for them was their wages. Their basic salaries ranged from Rp1.130.000 (125 USD) to Rp1.191.000 (132 USD). The differences in pay were because of the range of jobs that were held (sewing operator, machine tech, sample creators).

They also shared a couple of other interesting things. One of the women told me that whenever Nike monitors are scheduled to visit the plant, workers are told by the managers to lie to the monitors and not to discuss anything that might be deemed negative about the plant. They also shared that their work days are very long, sometimes working from 7am-8:30pm. And when they do have to work long shifts like this, the factory is supposed to provide them with dinner - a meal of at least 1400 calories. The reality is that they get small portions of rice, vegetables, tempeh, and salty fish - not nearly close to the agreed upon standard. They told me that in the past, they used to get a meal allowance of Rp2.250 if they had to work overtime. I know from my research that Rp2.250 would buy you about a third of a portion of a modest meal at the local food stall. So, it seems that whether they are getting the cash or the food, they are being cheated.

We came back to the discussion on wage levels and one of the men shared how tough it is to try and survive on the wages, especially given the fact that he has a daughter. I'm a relatively new parent myself (my daughter will be two in July) and so the issues that workers who are parents face have taken on new personal emotional meaning for me.

I asked him about his daughter and I learned that she is three-and-a-half years old. When she was just three months old, she had to be sent to live with his mother-in-law in a village in central Java between Solo and Yogakarta. Because he makes such a low salary producing for Nike, he is only able to see his daughter two or three times a year. He fought back his pain as he shared this with me and my heart went out to him. I have only been away from my daughter for a few days and I miss her dearly. I cannot imagine only seeing her two or three times a year.

I shared with him and his fellow workers that this situation is unfair. I showed them flyers I had prepared that documented how much Nike made last year from their sweat and hard work.

Nike's 2009 Revenues: Rp19.200.000.000.000 (2 billion USD)

I also showed them a flyer with the names, photos and salaries of the top five executives at Nike and what they made in 2009.

Phil Knight, Chairman of the Board
Basic salary = Rp28.254.340.000
Total salary = Rp34.564.540.000 (3.8 million USD)

Mark Parker, President and CEO
Basic salary = Rp13.769.230.000
Total salary = Rp88.005.870.000 (9.7 million USD)

Donald Blair, Chief Financial Officer, VP
Basic salary = Rp7.400.000.000
Total salary = Rp33.470.000.000 (3.7 million USD)

Gary DeStefano, President of Global Operations
Basic salary = Rp9.588.460.000
Total salary = Rp39.984.080.000 (4.4 million USD)

Charlie Denson, President of the Nike Brand
Basic salary = Rp11.923.100.000
Total salary = Rp73.333.700.000 (8.1 million USD)

After showing them these flyers, I shared with them that I am quite sure that none of these men or anyone that is working for Nike in the USA had to "export" their babies back to home villages. I shared with them that these Nike executives are getting rich, the Nike investors are getting rich, the athletes that endorse Nike are getting rich, but the workers who produced the real wealth for Nike continue to live in abject poverty. I asked them if they wanted to fight to change this.

One of the women responded, "Yes, we want to fight, but we don't know how."

Here our work begins.

JUST(ice) DO IT.

Why is Nike Afraid of Disclosing what their Overseas Factory Workers are Paid?

2010-02-11T15:42:17-05:00
TEAM SWEAT, the international coalition consumers and investors who are standing in solidarity with Nike's overseas factory workers have recently kicked off an effort to get Nike to publicly disclose how much their overseas factory workers are paid.

To date, Nike has refused to disclose this information and we are left asking, "If Nike feels confident that workers are being paid a fair wage, why are they afraid of making this information public?"

Perhaps it's important to provide a little history on what Nike has said publicly about workers' wages in the past. In my opinion, Nike has been a little schizophrenic on the factory worker wage issue." Check out the statements below and you will understand why I feel this way.

Nike Founder and Chairman of the Board, Phil Knight on Nike Workers' Wages

When asked by a PBS reporter if he felt comfortable that Nike factory workers were making a living wage, Phil Knight responded:

"Absolutely. No question about it."

Mr. Knight was emphatic that workers are paid a living wage, however, he provided no data to back up his claim.

Nike's 2006 Corporate Responsibility Report on Nike Workers' Wages
When discussing the issue of living wages, Nike's 2006 CR Report stated that:

"Some worker advocates suggest that a living wage should be paid. We do not support approach."

Wait a second. Didn't Phil Knight say that workers were "absolutely" being paid a living wage, "no question about it"? If Nike's founder and Chairman of the Board said that workers are being a living wage, why would Nike release a statement in their CR Report saying that Nike does not support living wages be paid to factory workers?

Vada Manager, Former Nike Director of Global Issues Management on Nike Workers' Wages

When asked by a reporter from HBO Sports about wages for Nike's factory workers, Vada Manager, Nike's Director of Global Issues Management said:

"(Nike) raised wages 70 percent in Indonesia. We have a code that applies globally and that provides wages that far surpass regional or national minimum wages."

In this statement, Nike's Director of Global Issues Management said that Nike has the power to raise workers wages. (Remember this when you read the next Nike statement.) He also said that Nike's Code of Conduct "provides wages that far surpass regional or national minimums." This is a lie. Here is what Nike's Code of Conduct actually states with regard to worker compensation.

"The contractor provides each employee at least the minimum wage, or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher; provides each employee a clear, written accounting for every pay period; and does not deduct from employee pay for disciplinary infractions."

Where exactly in this paragraph does Nike provide for "wages that far surpass regional or national minimum wages?"

Hannah Jones, Nike Vice President for Corporate Responsibility on Nike Workers' Wages

In response to a letter from me, Hannah Jones, Nike's VP for Corporate Responsibility, wrote the following on April 19, 2009.

"Nike does require that factories manufacturing our products comply with local legal minimum wages, and this is something we aim to verify in our auditing process. However, because factories are not Nike-owned, it is not possible for us to mandate what wages should be paid by the factories to workers. Moreover, this data is not something that we collect; it is owned and managed by factories, which is why Nike cannot disclose workers' wage rates."

So, Ms. Jones, Nike's VP for Corporate Responsibility is saying:

1. That Nike gathers wage data to "verify" that factories are paying the legal minimum wage. This means that Nike has the wage rates for all their production plants.

2. That Nike cannot "mandate what wages should be paid." But didn't Vada Manager say above that, "Nike raised wages 70 percent in Indonesia"? If Nike raised wages, doesn't that mean that they can mandate what wages should be paid?

3. That data on wages "is not something that we (Nike) collect." But didn't she say in her first sentence above that Nike audits factories to ensure that they "comply with local legal minimum wages"? When you audit something, don't you collect data on it? How could Nike be sure that factories are in compliance if this data is "not something we collect"?

4. That based on her statements "Nike cannot disclose workers' wage rates."

Clearly Nike wants consumers and investors to remain in the dark on the issue of what workers are paid in their overseas production plants. This is despite the fact that in their 2006 CR Report, Nike said that "transparency is the first step to open-source problem solving." Given this and the information above, don't you feel that Nike has a responsibility to their consumers and investors to be transparent and publicly disclose the raw data on factory workers' wages?

Do you want to join us in demanding that Nike publicly disclose what they pay their overseas factory workers?

If you said, "yes," here is what you can do.

1. Send an email right now to Nike CEO, Mark Parker at mark.parker@nike.com and demand that he publicly disclose wage rates for Nike's overseas factories.

2. Cut and paste your e-mail to the TEAM SWEAT fan page wall on Facebook for all our supporters to see.

3. If you feel like having some fun with your video camera, make a short (10-20 second) video of yourself making your demand of Nike and post it to the TEAM SWEAT fan page wall on Facebook.

4. If you want to organize students at your school or in your community to put more grassroots pressure on Nike, email me at jim@educatingforjustice.org and I will tell you how to get started.

I'm looking forward to reading your emails to Mr. Parker, seeing your video clips, and hearing from you about organizing your campus with TEAM SWEAT.

Gay Marriage: Why New Jersey Christians Should Support It

2010-01-06T14:13:04-05:00

The Real Meaning of Christmas

2009-12-24T10:36:56-05:00
Getting and giving gifts, putting up the tree, sending Christmas cards...all of these are wonderful cultural traditions, but how many of us reflect deeply on the question, "What exactly are we celebrating at Christmas?"

We are celebrating the birth of Jesus-the person we Christians believe is the "Messiah." But who was this itinerant preacher from Galilee? What did he say and do that would have any relevance for Christians in the United States in 2009?

We can get a clue as to how the Word and life of Jesus have meaning for us today by looking at his most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount.

When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I doubt there is a Christian in the United States who would take issue with God's blessing the poor, the meek and the peacemakers. And it must have been a great comfort to the poor, the meek, and the peacemakers who were lucky enough actually to hear Jesus speak these words.

However...

If Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers," does that imply that "Cursed are the war makers"? If war makers are cursed, what does that mean for a nation that has spent more than $946 billion dollars on war making in Iraq and Afghanistan? What does it mean for a nation that has spent more than $5.8 trillion dollars on the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons?

If Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor", does the corollary hold, "Cursed are the rich"? If the rich are cursed, what does that mean for a nation that makes up 5% of the world's population, but consumes 24% of the world's energy? What does it mean for a nation whose citizens eat 815 billion calories of food each day--that's roughly 200 billion more than needed--enough to feed 80 million people? What does it mean for a nation whose citizens daily consume an average of 159 gallons of water, while more than half the world's population consume an average of 25 gallons?

If Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek," must we then consider that "Cursed are the powerful"? Who are the powerful? Take another look at the aforementioned facts on United States military might and dominance over global resources to answer this question.

So, blessed are the peacemakers, the poor and the meek. Cursed are the war makers, the rich and the powerful. That is not a warm fuzzy Christmas message for Christians in the U.S.A.

If this is what Jesus taught, are you sure you want to celebrate his coming into the world?

My guess is that if Jesus spoke his "good news" to American Christians in 2009, many of "the faithful" would want him lynched. We would challenge Jesus, saying things like, "Our military promotes and protects freedom!", and "We are rich and powerful because we are a Christian nation!"

For those who try to defend our use of military violence, my guess is that Jesus would respond as he responded to his disciples 2000 years ago, "Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." For those who try to defend our riches and power, Jesus might offer, "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." This "good news" has been squarely rejected by rich, powerful, war making patriots for more than 2000 years.

As uncomfortable as it makes us feel, we must deal with the fact that Jesus came to proclaim his radical and revolutionary gospel message of love and nonviolence, and he was murdered for it. Here in the United States, we continue to crucify him through our war-making, mammon-worshiping ways.

Let me be clear. I do not mean that we cannot and should not enjoy the cultural customs of giving gifts, decorating trees and sending Christmas cards; there is nothing inherently wrong with these. But as Christians, we cannot confuse them with the real meaning of Christmas-the celebration of the coming of Jesus, the prophet from Galilee, who calls us all to repentance and to building God's Kingdom of love, justice, peace and mercy. I ask you to remember this as you prepare for Christmas' coming and perhaps to reflect on the words of Timothy 2:11-14:

The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

Nike's Phil Knight Is No Revolutionary

2009-10-15T00:02:56-04:00
The October 19th edition of Forbes Magazine announced the Forbes 400 Revolutionaries, men and women whom Forbes considers "captains of capitalism (who) built a product, created a market or satisfied a need that touches us all."

Topping this list is Nike founder and chairman, Phil Knight. Forbes noted that the 71-year-old Knight has created the largest sportswear company in the world with $19.2 billion in sales last year and that Knight has a personal net worth of $9.5 billion-- $6 billion of which is in Nike stock.

What Forbes neglected to mention is that Mr. Knight's wealth has been amassed on the backs of mostly young women in Asia who, despite producing his products for 20 years, still live in abject poverty.

If we use the lens of history as our guide, Phil Knight is doing nothing new. To make himself really rich, he is exploiting the poverty, lack of education, and desperation of marginalized people. What exactly is "revolutionary" about taking advantage of the poor for selfish financial gain? Before Mr. Knight, this path was well-paved by the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the robber barons of industrial Europe, and the slave masters of the American south.

Rather than praise Mr. Knight's unjust actions, people of good will should challenge him. An excellent place to start would be with the words of the Hebrew prophet, Jeremiah.

"Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper room by injustice; who makes neighbor serve him for nothing, and does not give him his wages... you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence." (Jeremiah 22)

If Mr. Knight were to act justly in light of this prophetic warning, that would warrant his being called a revolutionary.

When Will Nike "Just Do It" On The Sweatshop Issue?

2009-10-02T20:58:25-04:00
Twelve years ago this month I got involved in the fight to end Nike's sweatshop abuses. Twelve years is one third of my life. It's somewhat surreal when I think of it like that.

In 1997, I was in my first season as a graduate assistant coach with the Men's Soccer Team at St. John's University, the defending NCAA Division I National Champions. Along with my coaching, I was pursuing a masters degree in Theology. For one of my first classes, I was charged with writing a research paper linking moral theology and sports. I researched Nike's sweatshops in light of Catholic Social Teaching. Simultaneously, the SJU Athletic Department was negotiating a $3,500,000.00 million dollar endorsement contract with Nike.

Within six months I was at the center of a campus-wide debate over whether SJU should ink the deal. Within ten months I was given an ultimatum by my head coach, "Wear Nike and drop this issue, or resign."

I resigned in protest and became the first (and still the only) athlete or coach in the world to say "no" to taking part in a Nike endorsement deal because of their sweatshop abuses.

The NY Times and the AP Wire picked up my story and I became an instant expert on the sweatshop issue. My critics charged that those were "great jobs for those poor people" and that "you can live like a king on a sweatshop wage in places like Indonesia." I knew from my research that they were wrong, but I wanted to prove it.

In July 2000 I lived with Nike factory workers in Indonesia. I lived in conditions they lived in and on the wages they paid - $1.25 a day. I lost 25lbs in a month in a rat-infested slum in Tangerang, Indonesia, home to tens of thousands of the women and men who produce the Nike sneakers adored by so many athletes and consumers.

Following that initial immersion in 2000, I conducted field research in 2001, 2002, 2008 and 2009; I took part in demonstrations on three continents; I met with an Indonesian President (Wahid) and members of the U.S. Congress; I led workshops and listening sessions with Nike workers from a dozen factories in Bekasi, Bogor, Bandung, Balaraja, Tangerang, and Jakarta; I lobbied Nike shareholders and was escorted by police from at least one shareholder meeting; I produced a short documentary, "Behind the Swoosh" and am currently producing a feature documentary and writing a book, both under the title, SWEAT; I lectured at more than 400 schools in 39 states and in three different countries; and I met with representatives from Nike at all levels, including Nike founder and chairman, Phil Knight.

Has there been any progress? Has anything changed?

Yes. For example, because of the pressure that was placed on Nike by consumers, women workers no longer have to prove they are menstruating to get their legally guaranteed leave. Also, workers are no longer beaten with machetes or threatened at gunpoint for union organizing activity.

However, while we have seen the progress mentioned above, we still have no movement on the two most important issues - Nike workers are still being paid a poverty wage and Nike still refuses to bargain with their workers in good faith.

Why?

Because Nike has lied about working conditions and many consumers, even so-called progressives, believe that Nike "fixed those sweatshop problems." They did not.

How do I know?

I was in Indonesia as recently as August 2009 and in my meetings with workers I heard all too familiar stories of inadequate wages, forced overtime, illegal firings for union organizing, workers being cheated out of pay, etc. In part, what made this trip slightly different, was that Caitlin Morris, Nike's Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation, accompanied me. So now, when I put forth a charge about Nike's sweatshop abuses, Nike cannot say it isn't true as Ms. Morris was in the room with me when the latest round of videotaped allegations were made.

Now, some may want to give Nike a tremendous amount of credit for sending Ms. Morris to Indonesia with me and for taking action on the aforementioned menstrual leave and union organizing issues. I give Nike no credit for these. Why? Because Nike did not make any of these improvements voluntarily; they needed to be publicly embarrassed and pilloried to make each of these changes. Congratulating Nike for discontinuing these corporate crimes would be like congratulating a thief for no longer stealing or congratulating a rapist for no longer raping.

So, what do we do to get Nike to take action on the wage and collective bargaining issues? The same stuff we did to get them to move on the other human rights violations. We engage, we demonstrate, we publicly embarrass, and we organize, organize, organize!

Come join the fight at www.teamsweat.org!