[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

[[Page H4114]]

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

[[Page H4115]]

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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