COUNTERPUNCH
November 16-30, 1997, Vol. 4, NO. 20
Ken Silverstein and Alexander Cockburn

Phil Knight, Nike's billionaire boss, likes to think of himself as an industrialist with a global vision, the Henry Ford of cross-trainers. In recent public appearances, Knight has taken to describing his company as "a civilizing force in underdeveloped nations, such as China and Indonesia." A job at a Nike factory, Knight argues, should be viewed as a kind of internship, the skimpy paycheck a passport for a better future. "We give people a chance to work themselves out of poverty," Knight professed. "When their bellies are full and they've got a roof over their heads, only then can they think about changing their government." (As a lesson in the new global economy, Knight's company charges its workers for drinking water.) "Nike is US foreign policy in action," Knight wrote in Nike's 1996 annual report.

The intent of Nike/US foreign policy is starkly spelled out in an April 9, 1997, report that has fallen into Counterpunch's hands. It was issued by Jardine and Fleming, one of Hong Kong's largest investment houses. The Jardine and Fleming report is titled "Tracking Nike's Footprints Across Asia." The Jardine and Fleming report emphasizes: "If we delve deeper into where Nike has produced sneakers and its comments about political stability, we notice that Nike tends to favor strong governments. For example, Nike was a major producer in both Korea and Taiwan when these countries were largely under military rule. It currently favors China, where the Communists and only two men have led the country since 1949, and Indonesia where President Suharto has been in charge since 1967... Likewise, Nike never did move to the Philippines in a big way in the 1980s, a period when democracy there flourished. Thailand's democracy movement of 1992 also corresponded to Nike's downgrading of production in that country."

When democracy rears its head, Nike takes a hike. Political dissent inside China, where Nike produces more than one-third of its shoes, is starting to give the company a headache. "People are always talking about human rights and welfare," complains Allen Lee, who manages a Nike plan in China. "In 1989, people never did that. That was my golden time. No one squeezed me." The report notes that "Nike management found that it was very hard to make sneakers in America, primarily because of much higher labor costs and more stringent labor laws." The report said employment in Nike factories calls for "miserable repetitive work" that is unsuited for developed nations.

Nike's chief flack, Vada Manager, bizarrely included this analysis in a press kit delivered to the editors of college newspapers on campuses where protests against the company have begun to endanger lucrative sports shoe deals.