NIKNGO~1.txt is a Nike Inc. file; part of nikeworkers.com series; created Friday, June 19, 1998 5:38:15 PM; modified Saturday, February 14, 1998 2:12:56 PM; Saved by D. Boje as NIKngoworkwith (file origins).

How we look to work together

"NIKE should expand its dialogue and relationship with the human rights community and the labor groups within the countries where they produce goods and with their international counterparts."

Throughout the many recommendations former United Nations Ambassador and civil rights activist Andrew Young made in his report on conditions in international facilities making NIKE products, opening lines of communications was a central theme.

In addition to recommending we take more aggressive steps to explain and enforce our Code of Conduct, Ambassador Young specifically encouraged us to build bridges to objective members of the critical community. We have done both, and will continue to do so.

In Pakistan, NIKE has been a key member of a coalition dedicated to eliminating child labor from the soccer ball industry and placing Pakistani children into schools.

This initiative is being co-ordinated under the International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) and Save the Children, an international human rights organization.

In Vietnam, we have contracted with the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City to engage in an ongoing focus group with Vietnamese workers to monitor working conditions in factories making NIKE products. We are also working with CARE International to gather comparative wage information for a broad number of occupations from bus drivers to doctors and state-owned factory workers in the areas surrounding NIKE contract factories.

In Thailand, Thailand Business Investment in Rural Development (TBIRD) interviews workers in footwear factories about their jobs and work experience and shares the results of these interviews with factory management, who use the information to make adjustments to the workplace.

In Los Angeles, NIKE has contracted with Cal Safety to perform site visits and evaluations of factories.

Also in the United States, ongoing dialogue with representatives of the General Board of Pensions and Social Responsibility of the United Methodists Church recently led to the withdrawal of a shareholder’s resolution the GBOP had filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. While the GBOP went on the record to state they were "grateful for the actions NIKE has taken which we interpret as responsive to our concerns about fair labor practices," NIKE Chairman Philip Knight applauded the group’s willingness to sit down with NIKE and learn the facts about the company’s "leadership amongst athletic companies" and dedication to "continuous improvement" in our contract factories.

NIKE is also a founding and contributing member of President Clinton’s Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP). The AIP, which consists of organized labor representatives, apparel industry representatives and non-governmental organizations, is drafting uniform factory regulations for global companies manufacturing products in emerging economies.

In Europe, NIKE is as committed to improving the nature and frequency of dialogue with NGOs as we are dedicated to continued improvement of our labor practices. Outreach meetings with Christian Aid, Women Working Worldwide, Oxfam, Save the Children and the Trade Union Confederation in the UK; the Clean Clothes Campaign and Fair Trade Charter Working Group in The Netherlands; NCOS and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in Belgium; and the Heinrich-Boll Foundation in Germany have opened lines of communication and started the "getting to know each other" phase of relationship building.

As we continue to engage in conversations and projects with NGOs around the world, one thing is certain: the better we become at outreach and communication, the more opportunity we’ll have to improve our labor practices.

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