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Ralph Nader & League of Fans ask LeBron James to support workers' rights in Nike factories March 21, 2007
LeBron James
Dear Mr. James:
Congratulations on your continued success as one of the NBA’s elite
players. Perhaps basketball fans across the world will be able to watch
you and the Cavs in the Finals very soon.
As someone who participates in many generous charitable activities, we hope you will be responsive to this appeal.
When last we wrote you in December, 2003 regarding your
relationship with Nike and with the workers who produce the Nike
products you endorse, you were just one month into your rookie season
and six months into your reported 7 year, $90 million contract with
Nike. Neither you nor your agent replied to our letter.
Since that time, Nike has admitted, through self-monitoring,
that its contracted factories are places where extraordinarily low
wages, physical and sexual abuse, restrictions of bathroom use and
other human rights abuses take place. Finally acknowledging problems
that worker’s rights advocates have been exposing for well over a
decade is a responsible step for Nike, as is its important disclosure
of factory locations. But this acknowledgment and disclosure does not
mean the problems are being addressed.
As we expressed in our previous letter, Nike products are
synonymous with sweatshops in developing nations, and the company still
chooses to maximize profits on the backs of workers who live in poverty
and whose human rights are unprotected. We ask that you support justice for these people.
Mr. James, pro athletes are not unlike most people in this country who
tend not to believe that they have the power to influence change. Some,
however, know they have the power but are afraid that speaking out
publicly could disrupt their positions personally, professionally,
commercially, or in the media.
But there are others. For example, athletes like Etan Thomas,
Steve Nash, Carlos Delgado, Martina Navratilova, Adonal Foyle, Adalius
Thomas, Josh Howard, Adam Morrison and others have all raised their
voices against the war and occupation of Iraq.
Stephon Marbury has spoken out in a different way. Through
direct action, Marbury has launched his own basketball sneaker, which
retails for about $15. He has challenged the entire basketball sneaker
industry, in part, to present inner-city kids with an affordable (yet
still stylish and well-made) alternative to the $150 shoes that you and
others endorse. That Marbury’s shoes, produced by Steve and Barry’s,
are made in China suggests it is likely they are manufactured under
sweatshop factory conditions, given that independent trade unions are
illegal in China. Hopefully Marbury’s efforts toward positive change
will soon lead him to address worker’s rights as well.
Mr. James, as someone who enjoys unsurpassed commercial
influence and with it, great negotiating power, you are in a unique
position to stand up for the people who make the products you endorse.
We urge you to let Nike know that you support the rights of those
workers by demanding that:
- Nike insist its contractors pay a living wage, under safe
working conditions, that allows workers to meet their basic needs, and
that Nike pay contractors enough to do this;
- Nike insist its contractors recognize independent unions and
that factory management collectively bargain with these unions in good
faith; and
- Nike agree to a program of factory monitoring through
international unions and human rights organizations that are credible
and completely independent of Nike.
You have a chance to make an impact around the world not just
with your basketball playing ability, but for your generosity as a
human being in helping to improve working conditions for hundreds of
thousands of workers.
We look forward to your response. Should you or your agent
require more than a letter to respond, we can arrange for two of the
workers from Nike factories overseas to travel to the U.S. and meet
with you personally so they can convey their eyewitness accounts.
Please let us know by April 16, 2007.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
Shawn McCarthy
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