Keady Reports on Current Conditions for Nike's Indonesian Workers

EFJ Co-Director, Jim Keady, recently returned from a two week research/organizing trip to Indonesia.  Keady reports that the status of the two key issues for workers – wages and collective bargaining – has gone largely unchanged since EFJ’s research in Indonesia began in 2000. “The spending power for Nike’s production workers is actually worse than it was in 2000,” Keady stated.  “This is despite the fact that Nike’s profits were at an all-time high last year of $1.5 billion dollars.  This is truly a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.” 

Keady also reports that Nike plans to stop orders to one of its Indonesian suppliers in July 2008.  “This move by Nike will put 7,300 people out of work and will also have a devastating effect on the surrounding community.”

In response to this move by Nike, the trade union at the factory has formally requested that Keady advocate and negotiate on their behalf.  To date, Keady has been in contact with Vada Manager, Nike’s Director of Global Issues Management, and Caitlin Morris, Nike’s Compliance Director.  Keady has sent a clear message to Nike that the goal of his engagement on behalf of these workers is to get Nike to reverse their direction and to make a long-term commitment to placing orders at this factory.

In concert with this factory-specific effort, Keady has also announced that in the coming months he will be re-launching EFJ’s Nike campaign under the banner “Team Sweat.”  More information on this development, as well a complete report from Keady’s January and May trips to Indonesia, will be forthcoming.

Cyclones and Hunger in Burma (Myanmar)

Survivors in Burma’s cyclone-devastated Ayeyarwady Delta will likely need food assistance for as long as a year, the UN warns. Many farmers will not be able to plant rice for this year's crucial monsoon paddy crop, due to the severe damage to their fields and a shortage of farming supplies after the category four storm swept across southern Burma. Paul Risley, a spokesman for the World Food Program (WFP), says Cyclone Nargis' accompanying tidal surge washed away or severely damaged the rice stocks of most of the delta's rural households, leaving many families with little to sustain them in the coming months. (IRIN)

In addition, it has been over a month since Cyclone Nargis slammed into Burma, leaving millions without food, shelter, and clean water. The current dictatorship has continued to not only block much aid from reaching those in need, but has forcibly evicted survivors from temporary shelters, extorted forced labor in exchange for food aid, and harassed and arrested Burmese who try to help their fellow people.  At the same time, the regime has continued its campaign of ethnic cleansing in eastern Burma. In May and June 2008, more villages have been attacked and destroyed.

How to help: Email UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and call on him to ask the UN Security Council to pass an immediate resolution on Burma.

Cluster Bomb Treaty Breaks New Ground - US Opts Out

The new cluster munitions treaty immediately banning all types of cluster munitions was adopted in Dublin on May 30, 2008. It will save thousands of lives for decades to come, with key treaty provisions stronger than even some of its staunchest supporters had expected, Human Rights Watch said today.  Participants plan to sign the treaty in the Norwegian capital Oslo in December. It would go into effect in mid-2009. The talks did not involve the biggest makers and users of cluster bombs: the United States, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan. More>

Beijing Olympics 2008

Play Fair 2008 is an international campaign taking place in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic Games to push for respect for workers’ rights in the global sporting goods industry. They have released a new report, "Clearing the Hurdles: Steps to improving working conditions in the global sportswear industry" which shows how violations of worker rights is still the sportswear industry norm, including in workplaces producing for adidas, sponsor of the Beijing and London Games and numerous national Olympic teams, and other key companies in the sector, such as Nike, ASICS, Puma, and New Balance. Based on interviews with workers in four countries, the report can be read here. More>

The Secret History of the American Empire
by John Perkins
(Author of New York Times bestseller
Confessions of an Economic Hitman)

In The Secret History of the American Empire, Educating for Justice is described in detail as an organization that serves as an example of the way people can change the world.

A bit about the book:

The Secret History of the American Empire exposes events that have defined our world, including:

• The current Latin American Revolution and its lessons for democracy
• How the "Defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business
• The role of Israel as Fortress America in the Middle East
• Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse"
• US blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela
• Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents

And then it offers a realistic plan for turning things around, a plan that draws heavily on Educating for Justice's successes. We are grateful to John Perkins for including us in this important literary work! Be sure to check out John Perkins' book signing events.

As Prices Rise, Parents Giving Children for Adoption

Financial pressures in Indonesia are driving more families to give up their children, says a report by the charity Save the Children, being jointly launched with the UN children's agency UNICEF and the Indonesian government. It found that about 500,000 Indonesian children are in care institutions, but only about 6 percent are orphans. Economic concerns, including rising food prices, are partly to blame, Save the Children says. More> 

EFJ Now Booking "Behind the Swoosh" for Fall 2008 and Spring 2009

Do you want to educate your campus about the latest on Nike's sweatshops?  Then bring "Behind the Swoosh: Sweatshops and Social Justice" to your school next year.  EFJ Director, Jim Keady, visited Indonesia in January 2008 and again in May 2008, and he wants to bring his recent findings on Nike's operations to your campus. Click here for our 2007-2008 Calendar and check out this recent article from Keady's visit to Elon University in North Carolina, Rethinking Nike: Former Soccer Coach Takes on Apparel Giant .