Nike's Labor Practices
	
		
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Case Details:
  
Case Code : BECG018 
Case Length : 12 Pages 
Period : 1996 - 2001 
Pub. Date : 2002 
Teaching Note : Available 
Organization : Nike, CBS News, Vietnam Labour Watch 
Industry : Apparel and Footwear Industry 
Countries : USA, Vietnam 
 
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Excerpts
The VLW Report
	
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 According to surveys and interviews carried out by VLW, workers in Nike's factories in Vietnam were exploited in many ways. Nike's Code of Conduct (see Exhibit I) was being violated consistently by its contractors. 
 
Though Nike claimed that it was trying to monitor and enforce its Code, it did 
not have an effective system in place for monitoring and enforcement. There were 
not enough Nike supervisors in all of Nike's factories in Vietnam to ensure that 
its contractors were complying with the Code of Conduct on a day-to-day, 
shift-to-shift basis... 
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 Nike's Reaction
 Nike constantly denied that it used unfair labor practices. 
	The company sent representatives to college campuses in the US in an attempt 
	to convince students that Nike's treatment of foreign labor was fair.  
	
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		 In addition, Nike targeted journalists in countries 
		in which they had factories to report their side of the story. 
		 
		Vada Manager, Nike's senior spokesperson, explained the rationale for 
		this move, "Unlike US-based reporters, who are writing about factories 
		they have never visited, journalists working in those countries 
		understand the local conditions." 
		 
		Nike offered a 12-minute online video tour of its contracted shoe 
		facilities in Vietnam...  | 		
	 
 
Three Years Later
In May 2001, a report prepared by a labor rights group 
claimed that even after three years, Nike had not delivered on its promises. The 
report said that Nike used to warn its factory managers about inspections by its 
own inspectors in advance, allowing them to minimize toxic fumes by the time 
they arrived... 
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Nike's Code of Conduct 
Exhibit II: Nike's Track Record (1988-1996) 
Exhibit III: Nike's Five Year Financial History 
 
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