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Recent attacks against workers at a Korean-owned factory in Atlixco, Puebla that makes sweatshirts for the giant shoe company Nike have raised serious new questions about Nike's commitment to protecting workers' rights and the willingness of the Mexican government to enforce its own labor laws.
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Nike refuses to take responsiblity
As many of you know Nike has been at the center of the anti-sweatshop movement ever since the early 90's when exposés of their factory conditions came out. Before our current GAP campaign, Global Exchange led a corporate accountability campaign pressuring Nike to end its use of sweatshop labor. Through that campaign, some changes were made... one being Nike's Vendor Code of Conduct which was supposed to ensure that workers in Nike contracted factories were treated with respect and dignity, allowed to organize etc... Nike has hired on the ground compliance officers to monitor the factories, but it is pretty clear that they are not doing their job.
Tell Nike to be sure their Compliance Officer in the factory talks to the protesting workers!
It is also very important that we demand that Nike:
- disregards the current non-representative union
- call for the reinstatement of illegally fired workers and,
- recognize the organization that the workers are forming.
In peace and solidarity,
Leila Salazar
Submitted by ebrakken
January 14, 2001
This week, 800 workers producing Nike sweatshirts for export to U.S. colleges and universities have gone on strike against a company paying 75 cents per hour, demanding that their rights be respected. They have called on Nike to send a fully authorized representative to the scene to publicly ratify a resolution to the conflict that recognizes their newly-formed Kukdong Workers' Coalition. On Thursday night, police and thugs from the "company union" attacked the occupation, sending over 15 workers to the hospital. The struggle continues.
This Wednesday, January 17 there will be a day of action on campuses across the country calling on university administrators to enforce their codes of conduct with Nike and ensure that the rights of workers at Kukdong in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico are respected. Donations to support the workers are needed immediately. Please call United Students Against Sweatshops at 202-667-9328 to find out about mobilizations in your area or how to donate to the Kukdong Workers' Coalition.
On Tuesday 9 of January, at 8:00 am over 850 workers making college apparel for Nike staged a work stoppage, took over the factory, and began controlling the gates at the Kukdong International Mexico factory in the small city of Atlixco, Puebla in southern Mexico. Kukdong is a Korean-owned factory that makes sweatshirts for the Universities of North Carolina, Maryland, Michigan, Arizona, Penn State, Georgetown, Michigan State and Oregon, amongst others. It is located in southern Mexico.
The immediate cause of the strike was the firing of 5 workers who had led rank-and-file protest about rotten food in the cafeteria, low wages ($30 for a 45-hour week), and the failure of the company to pay the Christmas bonus in accordance with Mexican labor law. Between 20-30 others had recently been forced by the company to sign voluntary resignation forms. The five fired workers are: Marco Santiago Perez Mesa, Marcela Muñoz Tepepa, Josefin Hernandez Ponce, Mario Nicanor Sefina, and Eduardo Sanchez Velasquez. Four were supervisors, and one was recently named "employee of the month."
In independent interviews with members of United Students Against Sweatshops, workers also report physical and verbal abuse, the unwillingness of the company to pay maternity benefits, failure by the company to pay extra wages for overtime hours, attempts by the company to impose forced overtime, and serious safety and health violations. The company does not provide protective gear uniformly, or mandate its use and many workers report cases of throat, nose and lung irritation as well as conjunctivitis. The company provided food frequently leads to diahrreha, and a few workers report being hospitalized due to infections caused by the food. According to all workers, the food often is raw, rancid, or has worms.
The workers at Kukdong have responded to their exploitation by forming a democratic, independent union, the Kukdong Workers' Coalition, and demanding to be recognized to bargain new wages and conditions at the factory. Previously, the company -- like many in Mexico -- had selected its own union, bargained its own "protection contract" behind closed doors and without consent of the workers, and required all employees to affiliate with the company union (the FROC CROC) and accept the protection contract or be fired. The striking workers have placed three demands to Kukdong:
- That the company recognize the independent workers' organization, the Kuk Dong Workers' Coalition, as the legitimate representative of the workers and agree to deal with them as such.
- That Kukdong reinstate all illegally fired workers.
- That Kukdong agree not to fire or take reprisals against anyone for having participated in the stoppage or other protests.
- That Kukdong drop the bogus charges it has filed against at least 6 leaders of the protest for kidnapping the workers who occupied the factory last week and causing economic damage to the company.
Workers were supported by their parents (most of the workers are young women from rural villages surrounding Atlixco) and by unions from the Volkswagen plant in the nearby city of Puebla. They planned to continue the strike until the Company met the demands.
However, on Thursday January 12, 2001 at around 10:30pm police in full riot gear attacked the 300 workers that were guarding the Kukdong factory that night. The police were led by Rene Sanchez Juarez, the leader of the illegitimate company union, the FROC CROC, the workers are seeking to replace. Reports from Mexico say that union thugs accompanied the police into the factory to beat up the workers. Once the workers saw the approaching police officers, they threw their arms up in the air and retreated to the exits. The group of workers included pregnant women as well as minors. They were hit, pulled, pushed and insulted. At least 15 workers ended up in the hospital and were later released, two still remain hospitalized as of Friday morning. The police raid was ordered by the governor of the state of Puebla, Melquíades Morales Flores, who is a member of the PRI and strongly allied with the company union.
At the time of the arrest, two leaders were violently kidnapped by the judicial police, threatened and then released. The kidnapped leaders were Claudia Ochoterena and Josefina Hernandez (who wrote a letter asking for solidarity from organizations in the U.S. just a day earlier, posted below). Nike has so far responded by the conflict by refusing to take responsibility for the situation and send its compliance officers already stationed in Mexico to the scene to facilitate and publicly ratify a resolution that recognizes the Kukdong Workers' Coalition as the legitimate, independent union. They have tried to say that the conflict is about a "dispute over catering/food contract" and have hinted at the possibility that they would end their production at Kukdong, throwing hundreds of workers out onto the street.
Workers are continuing to mobilize, despite the company's threat to fire workers who do not return to work, and need support, both moral and political. Only 50 workers have returned to work out of economic necessity (there is no strike fund) and over 1000 people are expected to march from the town square to the factory on Monday. Please continue to pressure Nike and Kukdong so that there is dialogue with the workers and their demands are met. Nike needs to be held responsible for the gross violations of human rights by Kukdong and the Mexican police.
We are asking individuals, and especially organizations, to do the following:
- Contact Nike and Kukdong management. Let them know that you are aware of the events in Mexico, and demand that they comply with Mexican laws, Nike's Code of Conduct, University codes of conduct and Convention 87 of the ILO with regards to the rights of freedom to organize. Demand that they publicly accept responsibility for the situation in Kukdong and that Nike agree to send a fully authorized representative to Atlixco with specific instructions to meet with the workers' organization to facilitate a resolution and publicly ratify an agreement with the company that meets the workers' demands.
The addresses are the following:
Philip H. Knight, Chairman and CEO NIKE, Inc. One Bowerman DriveBeaverton, OR 97003-6433 Phone: 800-344-6453 (their consumer affairs line) Fax: (503) 671-6300
or Vada Manager, public relations representative for Nike on these issues at: vada.manager@nike.com or 800-642-8170
Kukdong International-Mexico, SA de CV Fax: 011-52-244-610-24 E-mail: Kukdong@avante.net.mx
- Send letters of solidarity (preferably in Spanish) to the workers at the following e-mail address: elevenzapatos@hotmail.com.
- Support the striking Kukdong workers with a donation, as there is no strike fund for the workers' activities. Please call United Students Against Sweatshops at 202-667-9328 for more information.
- Participate in the mobilizations on campuses across the country this Wednesday, January 17 calling on university administrators to enforce their licensing codes of conduct with Nike and ensuring that the freedom of association of the Kukdong workers is respected. Call United Students Against Sweatshops at 202-667-9328 to find out about mobilizations in your area.
LETTER FROM A KUKDONG WORKER
Brothers and Sisters: We are workers at the Kukdong Internacional SA de CV factory. We make sweatshirts for Nike, some with university logos. We have been working for a year and month, during which we have suffered mistreatment from the Korean supervisors. Some talk to us in their language, and though we do not understand them at the moment, after researching the words, we know that what they call us the most means "trash".
We write you to ask for your support and solidarity with the work stoppage we have begun. We don't want to hurt the company, we just want to remove the union, since we were forced to join it and threatened with being fired if we did not. People who started work in the factory were made to sign their affiliation without knowing what they were signing. The union gained power, but this power was not to help the workers, but to serve the union's and the company's interests. Therefore we were forced to stop work to show our diagreement, and to be heard.
We thank you for your attention.
Sincerely, Josefina Hernandez Ponce