[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 56 (Monday, April 29, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4113-H4115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NIKE IS A WORLD-CLASS AMERICAN COMPANY AND A GOOD CORPORATE CITIZEN IN
OREGON
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Furse] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, just prior to the April recess, my colleague
from Ohio, Ms. Kaptur, took to the House floor and criticized the
operations of Nike, an important Oregon-based company headquartered in
my district. I fundamentally disagree with her assessment of Nike and
rise today to set the Congressional Record straight. Simply stated, the
company that my colleague from Ohio portrayed in her statement is not
the company that I have been working with for the last 3\1/2\ years and
which has been headquartered in my district for the last quarter
century. In my view, Nike is a world-class American company, providing
good American jobs, and has been and continues to be a good corporate
citizen in Oregon.
I find it most unfortunate that the Congresswoman, nor her staff, nor
anyone from the jobs and fair trade caucus, took the time to check with
Nike, to understand their side of the story before the statement was
given, neither did they check with me. So in the name of fairness,
let's look at the allegations and then the facts, one by one, to get to
the bottom of what this company is really about.
First, it is alleged that Nike has downsized its work force and shut
down all of its U.S. production. The fact is that currently, Nike
directly employs over 5,500 employees in the United States, 3,500 of
whom are based in Oregon. This makes Nike one of Oregon's leading
private sector employers. The majority of these U.S. jobs are
professional, technical, design, or managerial positions--highly
skilled jobs that command high wages. It is interesting to note that on
average, Nike employees in Oregon make over $45,000 per year. That
compares very favorably with the average Oregon private sector income
of roughly $25,000 per year.
The remainder of Nike's U.S. jobs include customer service,
distribution, sales, retail and yes, manufacturing. With a U.S.
production force of nearly
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1,800 people, Nike is the largest provider of American manufacturing
jobs among all athletic footwear companies. This includes Nike's air
sole factory in Beaverton, OR, where 800 Oregonians are employed making
the air cushioning units which are incorporated into most of Nike's
footwear products. In addition, it is important to recognize that Nike
sources nearly 70 percent of the apparel it sells in the United States
within the United States, which translates into thousands of additional
U.S. jobs. In total, Nike and its U.S. subsidiaries and subcontractors
manufacture hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shoes, apparel,
accessories, and printed products in the United States.
And despite what was alleged, Nike hasn't downsized its work force
and moved production overseas. Nike has always produced its athletic
footwear in Asia, because that is where the athletic footwear
industry--including the expertise, efficiency, and innovation--has
always been located. It is true that in the late 1970's, in an effort
to build a U.S. athletic footwear manufacturing base, Nike opened two
factories in Maine and New Hampshire, but that effort proved
unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. But what is important to note is
that when those two factories were running, they employed 825 people--
including those in research and development. Today, as mentioned
earlier, Nike and its subsidiaries employ nearly 1,800 Americans in
direct manufacturing--so in fact Nike has greatly increased not
downsized its U.S. manufacturing work force.
Second, with regard to allegations about the exploitation of workers
at Nike factories overseas, it is important to note initially that like
nearly every other athletic footwear and apparel company, Nike doesn't
own the factories producing Nike goods. Rather, Nike contracts with
privately owned facilities. But in every factory where Nike sources
product, Nike is guided by its code of conduct and Nike binds all its
business partners to the code's principles with a signed memorandum of
understanding [MOU]. Together, these documents require all factories in
which Nike does business to:
First, certify compliance with all applicable local government
regulations regarding minimum wage; overtime, child labor laws;
provisions for pregnancy, menstrual leave; provisions for vacations and
holidays and mandatory retirement benefits; second, certify compliance
with all applicable local government regulations regarding occupational
health and safety; third, certify compliance with all applicable local
laws providing health insurance, life insurance, and workers
compensation; fourth, certify that it and its suppliers and contractors
do not use any form of forced labor--prison or otherwise; fifth,
certify compliance with all applicable local environmental regulations,
and adhere to Nike's own broader environmental practices, including
the prohibition on the use of chlorofluorocarbons [CFC's], the release
of which could contribute to the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer;
sixth, certify that it does not discriminate in hiring, salary,
benefits, advancement, termination, or retirement on the basis of
gender, race, religion, age, sexual orientation or ethnic origin; and
seventh, agree to maintain on file such documentation as may be needed
to demonstrate compliance with the certification in the MOU, and
further agrees to make the documents available for Nike's inspection
upon request.
And Nike's code of conduct and MOU with its factories are strongly
enforced. Not only does Nike have Americans in every factory where it
does business to ensure that the code and MOU are being strictly
adhered to, but Nike conducts independent audits also to evaluate
overall compliance with the code and MOU. When a problem is discovered,
Nike is quick to respond to address and remedy the problem to ensure
that all workers employed in factories making Nike products are safe
and treated fairly. So far, the relationship between Nike and the
factories is working well. For instance, in a recent audit of an
Indonesian footwear factory, 90 percent of the workers surveyed said
they liked the factory's work, environment and wages.
In response to the allegation that workers making Nike shoes are paid
slave wages and are mostly poverty-stricken women and hungry girls, the
fact of the matter is that in the six Asian countries where Nike
currently sources footwear, workers are paid an average twice the
minimum wage mandated by the respective Government. And wages are only
part of the equation. Compensation in factories where Nike does
business often also includes subsidies for housing, transportation,
food and health care, bonuses for attendance and performance, and a
variety of paid days off for holidays and personal leave.
But perhaps the allegations that Nike threatens to tear up our
communities with their relentless marketing and causing children to
kill one another for shoes are the most outrageous and unfair of all.
To say that kids are killing kids just for a pair of $150 shoes
completely ignores what is really going on within our cities and with
our youth, and unfairly and naively places blame where it doesn't
belong.
Why didn't the Congresswoman from Ohio's floor statement mention all
the things Nike was doing to rebuild our inner cities and assist our
kids? Why didn't she mention that Nike actively operates a
multimillion-dollar P.L.A.Y. program--which stands for Participate in
the Lives of America's Youth--a program to promote sports and fitness
within our inner cities. Why didn't she note that Nike has contributed
hundreds of millions of dollars directly to a wide variety of charities
and nonprofit organizations--the goals of which include promoting
sports and fitness, improving the environment, supporting the arts and
humanities, preventing and controlling disease and other illnesses,
eradicating poverty and hopelessness, and many programs promoting
minority and youth initiatives.
When my own daughter, Amende Briggs, suggested that Nike institute an
art program in schools, the company enthusiastically supported the
idea. Nike has hired a full time director of the Art Outreach project,
which is currently operating in a number of schools in Oregon and other
States. Nike pays employees to teach art in schools.
Just in Oregon alone, over the last 2 years Nike has directly
contributed nearly $2 million to a broad assortment of programs. To
start, beginning in 1984, Nike has continually donated 10 percent of
its profits--up to $50,000 a year--from sales in its employee store to
assist economic development in the primarily minority, low-income
northeast Portland community. Programs benefiting from Nike gifts
include the Portland Urban League, Northeast Community Development
Corp., Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs, Oregon Council for
Hispanic Advancement, and others. In addition, Nike provided $250,000
to finish renovating northeast-Portland based Dishman Community Center,
nearly $250,000 to open Portland House of Umoja--a residential facility
for gang-affected youth--and just recently, using its environmentally
acclaimed reuse-a-shoe program throughout the Portland metropolitan
area. In addition, Nike annually contributes hundreds of thousands of
dollars per year in establishing innercity sports leagues such as a
low-income golf program for girls, several soccer programs, and direct
grants to numerous Oregon agencies to help establish and maintain kids
sports and recreation programs throughout the State.
Furthermore, Nike and its employees contribute support to a broad
range of Oregon's civic, cultural, educational, and environmental,
organizations, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival--Ashand, the
Oregon Bach Festival--Eugene, Art Quake--Portland, the Sunriver Nature
Center--Sunriver, the Nature Conservancy and numerous other programs.
All told, if one combines all of Nike's Oregon tax payments,
charitable contributions and direct support of other Oregon businesses,
Nike directly contributed over $270 million to Oregon's economy last
year.
Finally, I can't help but respond to the question raised by the
Congresswoman from Ohio when she pondered whether Phil Knight, Nike's
Chairman and CEO has a conscience. Not only is Knight directly and
personally responsible for all of the positive things Nike has done in
Oregon, the United States and the world for that matter, Knight is one
of the few remaining executives of Fortune 500 companies that remain
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at the helm of the companies they personally started--and that is
critically important in these days of corporate mergers and hostile
takeovers. Knight, a University of Oregon track runner, started the
company with his track coach in 1964, and sold shoes out of the back of
their cars. Now Nike is the world's largest sports and fitness company,
and Knight is one of the most influential figures in the world of
sports. The company started in Oregon and remains in Oregon because
Knight is committed to remain in the State. Any person who visits
Nike's corporate headquarters in Beaverton, any person who sees the
amount of economic development and employment Nike adds to the State,
any person who understands Nike's global operations knows that Phil
Knight has a conscience.
I know that Nike is proud of being an American company and proud of
its successful operations and employment in the United States and
around the world. I also can tell you that most Oregonians, and most
Americans for that matter, are also proud of Nike. To call this company
or Mr. Knight a corporate vulture is unfair and uncalled for. I would
hope my friend from Ohio would review her criticism and reconsider her
opinions of this important American company.
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