What Went Wrong With Nike Sweatshops

Nike has plenty of critics, but some believe the company has done nothing wrong with the treatment of their workers. William Stepp, from Libertarian Mises Institute, believes that the benefits the workers are given at the factories improve their lives (Nike sweatshops, 2017). William backs his opinion by the fact the workers agreed to the wage and work hours before deciding to take the job (Nike sweatshops, 2017). The workers are supplied with benefits like free physicals, clinic and health services, uniforms, food, transportation, and entertainment; if the other part of the factory work is not as glamorous, the workers still receive better treatment from the factories than other jobs (Nike sweatshops, 2017). In addition, studies were conducted by the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities, and they discovered that 70% of Nike workers in Thailand would rate their supervisors as good, and that 72% thought they were paid fair wages (Nike sweatshops, 2017). If the workers believe they are being treated fairly, and that the factory job is more stable than farm work, is there really a problem. Many factory workers will migrate towards factories because the work is steady than farmland, and they can send money back to their families. The factories supply jobs to people who normally would not be able to find jobs that pay a decent and consistent wage (Nike sweatshops,

2017).

However, the willingness of the workers makes them easy targets for low wages and poor factory conditions, and the factory strike in China is the perfect example of human beings that are tired of being treated like they do not deserve fair

rights.
Factory Strike
In April 2014, Yue Yuen Industrial holdings factory, which produces Nike and Adidas shoes, had a massive worker strike. Nearly 50,000 of the 60,000 workers of the plants refused to work until management agreed to fair terms (Lau, 2014). The workers realized threat the company was not paying them the full amount that was legal (Lau, 2014). Each month the workers were missing 250 yuan a month for their social insurance, which is just one of the social benefits that Yue Yuen Industrial was suppose to pay (Lau, 2014). IN addition, the workers also demanded to have a pay raise, with the slow down of the economy employee rights have become more significant (Lau, 2014). The increased activism has caused violence in the plants, and police have clashed with the strikers, however the workers won this victory of getting higher payment and the full amount for their social insurance. They managed this victory even though the management of the company tried to keep them from organizing their efforts, and the workers are scared to step up in fear of retribution (Lau, 2014). The government and management make getting the rights the workers deserve almost impossible, and the counter argument that William Stepp offered does not take into consideration that management takes advantage of the workers, and keeps them from pursuing labor activism. These workers are desperate for the money and benefits they are given, and will put up with unhealthy working conditions, because these factory jobs are the only thing available. A factory uprising of nearly 50,000 workers speaks for itself, the rights of workers need to be respected these are humans not just workers.