Poverty affects millions (billions?) of people worldwide, including people living in “developed” countries. There are numerous social consequences of poverty that impact all of us, even if we aren’t poor. In this episode of Fitness Rocks I briefly discuss a paper from the Journal of the American Medical Association about why we should care about people living in poverty who suffer poor health. The bottom line is that their poor health becomes a risk for your health – listen to the podcast to hear how that works.
Play Podcast 144
I also have an interview with Jim Keady of TeamSweat.org in this episode. Jim talks about his work on behalf of Indonesian factory workers over the past twelve years. These people, according to Jim who has lived among them, are living in horrible conditions while they work in factories making products for Nike.
I tried to get a representative from Nike to do a telephone interview telling their side of Jim Keady’s story, but my request was denied. If you are a Nike representative, the offer to come on Fitness Rocks is always open. I like Nike products and I want to keep buying them – please convince me, and everybody else, that there is no ethical reason why I should avoid your products.
I urge you to watch the twenty-minute video called Behind the Swoosh. It is a video documentary of Jim’s experience living in an Indonesian slum on $1.25 per day.
Poverty is not a liberal or a conservative issue. It is a global issue with negative consequences that affect everybody. Fitness Rocks is a health and fitness podcast so I focus my discussion on how Poverty creates health risks for people around the world, including you.
I am NOT responsible for the opinions or data presented by Jim Keady in Fitness Rocks Podcast 144. I am merely a person interested in the work Jim Keady is doing, and I want to share his story with people who listen to Fitness Rocks. I am not accusing Nike of anything, but I would like to hear their response to Jim’s report from Indonesia.
References:
Why Rich Countries Should Care About the World’s Least Healthy People – JAMA
Behind the Swoosh – video about Jim Keady’s work in Indonesia
Related posts:
Thank you for an EXCELLENT podcast! It was very clear that this was a subject that was important to you, and I appreciate your candor. Your guest was excellent, well informed, and passionate about what he is doing. He has informed me – I didn’t know anything about this. I had heard something about Nike and their “sweat shops”, but this podcast put the spotlight on what is really going on. Thank you for this – I will be sharing the info with everyone I know!
I received this email from Nike today (October 7, 2009). The email did not have my name in it, so I tend to believe this is a standard form email – but I don’t know that. Anyway, I’ve copied it to the comments section for everybody to review.
Email from Nike:
Thank you for your email regarding the conditions for workers in Nike contract factories. We take your concerns very seriously.
Nike has been on a long journey over the past decade to understand the issues and complexities of working with contract factories and how to improve the lives of workers that make Nike product. We have learned a lot along the way and we are a better company for it. But like every other company that sources in a global supply chain, we know that change can be slow and is often challenging to implement across a complex and diverse supply chain.
With regards to wages, we follow guidelines that are set by law. We believe contract factory workers should be rewarded with compensation that is fair, competitive and locally relevant.
The issue of wages, and the definition of a ‘living wage’, is a source of discussion and debate for the footwear and apparel industry. There is no current definition of a living wage that is commonly accepted or auditable; making an industry-wide approach challenging.
Nike currently requires its suppliers to pay at least the local minimum wage and legally-owed benefits to workers, including any agreements and additional benefits outlined in individual employee contracts or collective bargaining agreements. We require factories to comply with a standard against which we can audit consistently. Where factories are found not to have met these standards, we require the factories to take remediation action.
Beyond just meeting minimum requirements, Nike believes that a responsibly competitive industry that invests in its workforce will bring about locally-relevant wage increases for workers over the long term. And we’re acting on that belief by partnering with factories in piloting an education program which combines initiatives such as Lean and Human Resource Management to enable factories to control costs and experience first hand how investing in workers improves product quality and grows their business. Even in areas where labor is in abundant supply, factories with high levels of productivity, efficiency and stable orders tend to provide benefits to workers that are beyond legal requirements.
There continues to be an active debate about how to best ensure that workers’ basic needs are met. Nike believes that local wage-setting is best done by negotiations between workers, labor representatives, the employer and the government. Because the success of this process varies by country, Nike increasingly sees the need for further regional and global discussions about the degree to which wages across the industry are meeting worker’s needs.
Beyond this, we are exploring ways to partner with local non-governmental organizations in order to assess the community development needs in targeted factory communities. We aim to determine whether Nike, in collaboration with others, might play a role in helping to tackle significant challenges that will further enable factory communities to thrive. Our belief is that wages can go even further if significant obstacles, such as access to health care and clean water, are removed for contract factory workers and their communities.
We believe there is ample room for innovation in this area, and that progress must occur throughout the industry, not only in Nike’s supply chain. In the meantime, we are committed to deepening our understanding of workers’ challenges and exploring different mechanisms for improving their welfare through new industry collaboration, public policy advocacy and other efforts aimed at positively impacting workers’ ability to save and thrive.
We are convinced that collaboration and transparency is key to meaningful change to improve the lives of workers, not just for Nike but across the industry. We have made positive strides over the past 10 years of working on these issues, and we will continue to put workers at the heart of our efforts in this area.
Regards,
Hannah Jones
VP of Sustainable Business & Innovation
It was frustrating to listen to this podcast which was so one-sided that I am surprised that you believe it was objective. I am not an employee of Nike however I do work internationally and found this situation to be more complex than simply adding $2 to a pair of shoes. Jim Keady stated that he believes these factories should be unionized and have no doubt that if you look at the funding behind his organization you will find union money.
If you really want to dive into the nuts and bolts of this issue, why not interview the organizations that represent the manufacturers and have a balanced conversation?
I wept as I drove through Indonesia – the poverty is real. The class system is real. The influence of religion is real. The lack of education is real. These jobs are liberating for women – and sorry Doc – you men are born with a sense of gender entitlement which means you can NOT possible understand what the women go through in these third world countries and their limited choices.
I challenge you to do the research – read Nike’s sustainability website, talk with their people, talk with the other organizations that are working together to find a solution. Join in – there are many folks who are not trying to unionize overseas factories but really improve the living conditions for all people (including those not working in a factory) living in poverty.
Susan,
As I said in the podcast, I made several phone calls to Nike and spoke to different people requesting an interview for them to offer their side of the story. They denied the requests.
It sounds like you know a lot about this issue – why don’t you do an interview with me and offer an opposing view?
Monte
Susan,
Just popped on to Monte’s website and saw your post. Let me offer the following.
1. I would more than welcome you to go through my list of donors throughout the years, I think that you will see that I am not bought by the unions as you insinuate. Have local unions made contributions in the past, yes, no more than $500 here and there. The largest contributor for my work has been the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). I went to a Jesuit college and have remained connected and they believe in what I am doing. Actually, let me take that back, the largest contributor has been me. I have gone $40K in debt and emptied my savings to do this work. Having said this, I do believe that unions and/or cooperative ownership models are the best means of ensuring that workers have a true voice in their workplace. Look at what you just did, you accused me of being backed by unions, with the insinuation that this undermines my credibility, yet you have no facts to back that up. That is wrong Susan.
2. During my last trip, I was happy to learn that both the representatives from Nike that accompanied me and the factory managers that I met, agreed that the workers’ consistent poverty really does boil down to the wage issue and that Nike simply needs to pay more for the wholesale product and ensure that workers get an increase in wages based on that.
3. The majority of the workers that have collaborated with me over the years are women. They know exactly what they are fighting for and they do it with or without my help. They have limited choices, yes, but they are not stupid, they know they are being exploited by the likes of Nike exactly because of their limited choices.
4. I think you might find it interesting to note that Nike has NEVER been willing to publicly debate me on this issue and they have been asked by multiple schools to do this. If their position is as strong as you believe it is, they should be able to bury me in a debate, right? What are they afraid of?
Enjoying the exchange. Keep up the great work Monte.
Peace, JWK
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