GLOBE PROJECT: Find the non-disclosed locations of Adidas and Nike factories. Where are the secret factories? As soon as we systematically identify where they are, we can monitor what they are doing.

NEW We also want to find comparable factories where working conditions are better. For example,

What are the condition of factories where New Mexico State University Campus Story buys its garments with our logo on them?

Contact dboje@nmsu.edu at Academics Studying Nike, if you know where they are.

Africa

El Salvador, Guatemala

Korea

Factory List

Labor Alerts (11,150 subscribers), a free service of:

Campaign for Labor Rights, 1247 "E" Street SE, Washington, DC 20003.

Phone: 202-544-9355, fax: 202-544-9359

Trim Bissell, National Coordinator; <clr@afgj.org>

CLR is a member of the Alliance for Global Justice.

To subscribe/unsubscribe, contact < clr@afgj.org >

This alert posted January 12th, 2001

1. Nike Workers in Mexico Fighting Against Sweatshop Conditions and for an

2. Letter From a Kuk Dong Worker

{This alert was prepared by the US/LEAP based upon sources from Mexico.

See <www.usleap.org> for updates.}

Nike Workers in Mexico Fighting Against Sweatshop Conditions and for an

Independent Union - Immediate Action Needed!--Tell Nike to be sure their

Compliance Officer in the factory talks to the protesting workers!

All 800 workers at the Kuk Dong factory, which produces for Nike and many

U.S. universities, have been staging a work stoppage to protest labor abuses

since 8:00 am, Tuesday the 9th.

A Nike code of conduct compliance officer is currently on the factory

premises. The union deserves to meet with the Nike compliance officer to

let their voices be heard. Nike needs to know that workers say Nike's code

of conduct is being violated!

Reportedly, the immediate cause of the strike was the firing of 20 workers

who had complained about rotten food in the cafeteria and low wages ($30 for

a 45-hour week). The workers also complain of forced overtime (including 14

to 16 year old workers who are legally required to work no more than 6 hours

a day and are instead working 10), verbal abuse, and failure to give legally

mandated benefits like maternity leave. Finally, workers say the factory

has a union which is said to be in bed with the company. The workers want

to exercise their right to freedom of association and create a new

independent union in its place. Negotiations were set for Thursday the

11th, but were cancelled at the last minute.

The workers demand that:

1) All workers return to work, including the fired workers.

2) The company agrees not to fire or take reprisals against anyone for

having participated in the stoppage or other protests

3) The company recognizes the Kuk Dong Workers' Coalition as the legitimate

representative of the workers and agrees to deal with them as such, pending

a legal process that will take some time to conclude.

Workers plan to continue the stoppage until the company meets the demands.

Already they have been harassed with anonymous threatening notes and there

is some fear that the police or union thugs might attack them. The workers

are supported by their parents (most of the workers are young women from

rural villages surrounding Atlixco) and the UNT (National Workers Union), an

independent and democratic union federation. Many workers are single parents

and are the sole wage earners for their families, which makes the wage

issues especially pertinent.

Kuk Dong International is a Korean-based Nike producer with large factories

in Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico. Reports indicate that there have been

repeated labor disputes at Kuk Dong's Indonesian factory, most recently over

the failure to pay a minimum wage.

1) Contact Nike ASAP! Let the company know that you are aware of the events

at the Kuk Dong factory in Mexico and that the company has a code of conduct

compliance officer on the premises. Request that this officer meet with the

Kuk Dong workers, document their complaints, and that the company support

the workers' demands to rehire the fired workers, not take any action or

reprisals against workers who have participated in the protests, and

recognize the Kuk Dong Workers' Coalition as the legitimate representative

of the workers. Be sure to tell Nike not to "cut and run" from this labor

dispute and warn them that to do so would tarnish their reputation.

Chairman and CEO NIKE, Inc.

One Bowerman DriveBeaverton, OR 97003-6433

2) Send letters of solidarity (preferably in Spanish) to the workers at the

following e-mail address: librado@gofairtrade.net

LETTER FROM A KUK DONG WORKER

Brothers and Sisters:

We are workers at the Kuk Dong 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

disagreement, and to be heard.

We thank you for your attention,

Josefina Hernandez Ponce

ACCORDING TO (January 17, 2001)

Campaign for Labor Rights, 1247 "E" Street SE, Washington, DC 20003.

Phone: 202-544-9355, fax: 202-544-9359

Trim Bissell, National Co-Coordinator [on leave]

NIKE'S REACTION TO LABOR ABUSES--

According to Nike's Code of Conduct, all of plants producing for Nike must

respect freedom of association, the most important of all worker rights.

Yet... Nike has not intervened in any illegal firings nor requested the

reinstatement of those fired last week before the strike. They have stood by

while Kukdong has taken out arrest warrants on bogus charges against at

least 6 people who were active in the strike. Nike has not put pressure on

Kukdong to recognize the only democratic representative of the workers, the

Kukdong Workers' Coalition, and to end the protection contract that Kukdong

management signed behind closed doors without any worker involvement. Nike

claims to know nothing about the low wages, terrible health and safety

violations, child labor, and other violations at the factory despite the

fact that it is one of the most heavily "independently" monitored factories

BEAVERTON, Ore., Feb. 8, 2001

A five-person team from the independent monitoring organization Verité has begun its five-day monitoring assignment at the Kukdong apparel factory in Mexico where a dispute between two unions last month led to a work stoppage and an examination of the factory's workplace practices.

Verité, an Amherst, Mass.-based non-profit labor and trade-monitoring group, announced Monday that the team began conducting its monitoring project, Monday, Feb. 5 and will continue through Friday, Feb. 9. The team is working in concert with rotating observers whose role is to provide information to management, unions and buyers to assist the process for workers returning to resume their livelihoods. The observers possess a range of experience, including work with the United Nations and the International Red Cross.

Verite, recently accredited by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), will report its findings, along with a suggested remediation plan, to the FLA, factory management, Nike, Reebok, universities and other nterested parties....

For more information about Verite contact Mil Niepold, director of programs at 201-432-8429. http://www.prnewswire.com/

EXHIBIT 5 - Call to Action -

Campaign for Labor Rights posting - February 16, 2001

United Students Against Sweatshops has received reports from their

representatives in Mexico that two of the five workers who were originally

fired in early January for their leadership in the struggle for an independent union at the Kuk Dong factory in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico will attempt to return to work early next week, perhaps as early as 7 am Monday

morning.

This is a defining moment in the campaign, as their return would encourage

hundreds of workers who are afraid to go back in to work because of the fear

and intimidation tactics being used by the company. Kuk Dong management,

through its security chief, has threatened physical harm against the leaders

of the independent union effort and has not publicly denied reports that

they still have warrants out for the arrests of five workers and one

organizer who have been at the lead of the campaign. Threatening the workers

is a direct violation of the principles of freedom of association in

university codes of conduct as well as Nike's own code. Despite this, Nike

has not publicly taken a position specifically calling for the safe return

of the five fired leaders, nor has it called for the charges to be dropped

against them.

The return of these 5 leaders of the union effort was strongly recommended

in the results of both the independent investigation of the Worker Rights

Consortium and also the independent mediator Nike originally dispatched to

the conflict, Arturo Alcalde. The International Labor Rights Fund, who also

participated in drafting the Alcalde report, said it best: "We believe that

the crisis at the Kuk Dong factory can be resolved if action is taken

swiftly to re-employ all the workers who were on strike. When it comes to

union representation, justice delayed is justice denied."

Other violations of freedom of association continue at the factory:

**Because of an arbitrary and illegal deadline set by management at Kuk Dong

for workers to return to their jobs, all employees illegally fired during

the strike are currently being rehired as new employees. This is a clear

violation of the agreement signed by Kuk Dong to allow workers back to the

factory unconditionally under the terms of their previous employment.

Hence, The previous salaries, positions, and seniority of returning workers

are revoked, and all workers are being forced to sign statements of loyalty

to the FROC CROC, the "company" union.

**Kuk Dong management has isolated workers who it believes are leaders of

the independent union effort. This tactic is used to actively discourage

organizing among workers in the factory. Below in this Labor Alert is a

statement from one of the leaders of the strike who has been forced to be

locked up in an office, away from his normal position and the rest of the

employees, since he has been brought back to the factory.

**Last week, over 70 workers were not allowed to return immediately to the

factory. Rather, they were told by Kuk Dong officials that management would

get back to them after reviewing their files, since "nobody could be

trusted" and the company would only hire those workers that were

"convenient." Although they were told they would receive telegrams

detailing their status early this week, it is clear that all of the workers

have not been allowed back to work.

**Representatives of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) stationed in

Puebla, Mexico report that the company is physically dividing workers in the

factory, telling them that they are now working for multiple owners and

multiple companies. This is a clear union-busting tactic.

**Kuk Dong has not dropped its contract with the FROC CROC,which was found

by Nike's own independent mediator, Arturo Alcalde, to be illegal and

invalid because it did not incorporate a salary structure. Yet Nike has

allied itself with the FROC CROC by falsely insisting that under Mexican

law, workers must sign statements of support for the company union before

getting their jobs back (which they would not have to do if they were not

being brought back under the classification of new employees).

**Nike has not committed to having a continual presence of independent,

external monitors at the factory during the crucial next few weeks to see to

it that intimidation toward the workers does not continue.

Statement of Ivan de Erick Diaz Xolo, a strike leader isolated from other

workers at the factory (translated from Spanish):

My name is Ivan de Erick Diaz Xolo. I am one of the workers at Kuk Dong who

participated in the stoppage. When I went to ask for a job, or rather, to be

reinstated, I was rejected until the fourth time I went, when I was admitted

but I was placed in an office position. I never told them I wanted to be

there. I simply wanted and still want to be in my previous position, which

was "Inspection." I tell them every day to allow me in my work area and they

do not pay attention. They say that this order was given by the "President

of the Company". This is what Hugo de la Peña says to me. I thought they

were going to honor the agreement they made with Conciliation and

Arbitration Board that people were going to be reinstated to their work

areas.

They do not even allow me to enter the factory, and if I want to enter I

need to be accompanied by someone from security. These orders were given by

Hugo de la Peña.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

Ivan de Erick Diaz Xolo

Prol. 11 Sur #2505 "A" Col. Valle Sur

<><><><><>

The Kuk Dong workers' campaign and the international solidarity that must

work in tandem with it, can be thought about in four stages (as outlined by

USAS). We are in Stage 1 of this 4-stage campaign. If the collective

action of the worker organizing at Kuk Dong and our solidarity isn't enough

to make it out of any one of the stages, the struggle may be lost. We must

work to support the Kuk Dong workers through all four of these stages!

(1) In stage 1(the stage we are currently in), workers need to be rehired

quickly, charges dropped, and steps taken to ensure that freedom of

association won't be violated by intimidation tactics or other illegal

actions.

(2) In stage 2, the workers will file for legal recognition of the union.

(3) In stage 3, the workers will quickly file for a fair "revote" of workers

at the factory to choose which union they want to represent them. If this

process drags out too long before the vote is allowed to happen, or if there

is the degree of intimidation and illegal actions leading up to and at the

vote by the FROC CROC, this free and fair election could be made impossible.

(4) In stage 4, the workers will begin to negotiate for a contract. If this

doesn't happen quickly, the company can possibly file for the

de-certification of the union. During this stage, the union must have enough

internal strength and outside support to win concrete improvements in the

contract.

We are in the 6th week of stage 1. The longer we allow Nike and Kuk Dong to

drag this out, the less likely it will be for the workers to win a victory

for the independent union. We must act now to push the campaign on to stage

<><><><><>

CALL TO ACTION

Throughout this struggle, Nike has fully participated in a "scorched earth"

strategy by using stall tactics at every turn. When five workers were

originally fired at the factory, Nike stood by and did nothing. When police

attacked the subsequent worker occupation of the factory grounds, sending 15

people to the hospital, Nike stood by and did nothing. When Kuk Dong

management illegally fired or forced the resignation of more than 200

workers the following week, Nike stood by and did nothing. It said it had

an independent mediator studying the issue, and that it would not act until

he found the facts. When both that independent mediator and the WRC

uncovered serious violations of freedom of association at Kuk Dong and other

violations of the Nike and collegiate codes of conduct, Nike decided to call

for another investigation because it did not like the results of the first

two.

While Nike stands by, refusing to act, serious violations of freedom of

association continue. Workers are being forced to find other work, and

consequently those who originally supported the union are fired de facto,

weakening the organizing effort and the freedom of the workforce to choose

their own representatives. Nike has not been just a buyer in the wrong

place at the wrong time; rather, it is a fully complicit participant in a

strategy to undermine workers' right to organize.

Please take the following two (2) actions before this Monday to help ensure

that the two union leaders will have a safe return to the Kuk Dong factory.

(1) Contact Nike and Kuk Dong BEFORE MONDAY, February 19th, telling them to:

A. Publicly guarantee the safe and unconditional return of the 5 leaders

originally fired in the Kuk Dong struggle, and to renounce the earlier

threats to their physical safety and the issuing of warrants for their

arrest. Demand that they reaffirm their commitment that all workers should

be rehired to Kuk Dong unconditionally and without reprisal, and to increase

their pressure on Kuk Dong management to see that this is carried out.

B. Publicly call on Kuk Dong to rehire all returning workers

unconditionally and under the same salary, position, and seniority of their

previous employment, including guarantees that all leaders of the

independent union effort will not continue to be isolated from other workers

at the factory.

C. Publicly call on Kuk Dong to discontinue the illegal process of forcing

returning workers to sign statements of loyalty to the FROC CROC, and urge

Kuk Dong to drop its illegal and invalid "protection contract" with the FROC

CROC.

D. Commit to the continual presence of mutually agreed upon local

independent monitors at the factory to ensure there is a free and fair

climate for an election at Kuk Dong where the workers can secure a union

that represents their voices.

E. Publicly re-affirm their commitment to continue the same levels of

production at Kuk Dong as it has since the factory opened and see to it that

Kuk Dong remains in Atlixco de Puebla.

F. Remind them that their actions to date have been insufficient to ensure

that worker rights are respected at the Kuk Dong factory, and that justice

delayed is justice denied.

Contact:

Philip H. Knight

Chairman and CEO

Nike Corporation

One Bowerman Drive

Beaverton, OR 97003-6433

Phone: (503) 671-6453

Fax: (503) 671-6300

Email: phil.knight@nike.com

Add a cc to:

Dusty Kidd

Global Director for Labor Practices

Nike Corporation

One Bowerman Drive

Beaverton, OR 97003

Phone: (503) 671-6453

Fax: (503) 532-0440

Email: Dusty.Kidd@nike.com

Kukdong International Mexico S.A. de C.V.

Retorno de Ave. Continentes Num. 38

Rancho Los Soles

Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico

Tel: 011-52-244-61020~3

Fax: 011-52-244-61024

Email: kukdong.@rpc.com.mx

Kukdong Corporation (Korea)

Kukdong Building 229-3 Young Dap-Dong

Sungdong-Ku, Seoul, Korea

Tel: (02) 3407-7701~7905

Fax: (02) 2249-5915

2243-7776

http://www.kd.co.kr

email: kukdong@kd.co.kr

(2) Contact the Mexican Labor Secretary: Urge the Labor Secretary to use

this conflict as an opportunity to prove that Mexico is a fair and stable

place for people to work without violent intimidation, and that all workers

enjoy the right to organize independent unions.

Contact:

Lic. Carlos Abascal Carranza

Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social

Periférico Sur No. 4271

Edif. A, piso 4

Col. Fuentes del Pedregal C.P. 14149.

Phone: 011-52-5-645-2962

Fax: 011-52-5-645-5594

Email: cabascal@stps.gob.mx

EXHIBIT 6 - February 19 - USAS Post

Update from struggle at Kuk Dong factory in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico:

Illegitimate company union threatens strike in desperate move to restore its authority; Fear of violence against workers escalates

United Students Against Sweatshops has just learned from our representatives

in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico that the the FROC CROC, the illegitimate

official union allied with management, has filed 21 counts of unfair labor

grievances at the Kuk Dong factory as of last Tuesday, February 13th. This

is a desperate attempt by the FROC CROC to maintain its authority over the

workers sympathetic to the movement to win an independent, democratic union

at the factory and to attempt to scuttle the gains that have been made to see

that freedom of association is guaranteed in the factory. The grievances

allege, among other issues, the following:

- that Kuk Dong is showing favoritism toward supporters of the work stoppage

and paying them more than others

- that two secretaries in the Kuk Dong offices, who have been sympathetic to

the movement for an independent union, have treated workers poorly; and

- that the previous presence of independent monitors in the factory is unfair

meddling by outsiders in the FROC CROC’s business, and

- that Kuk Dong has interfered in the internal affairs of the FROC CROC by

ordering the reinstatement of workers illegally fired during the strike.

These grievances have been sent by the FROC CROC via the local government’s

labor and reconciliation board to Kuk Dong, Nike, and Reebok; supposedly,

they are supposed to be given to all workers in the plant, although from

independent interviews it turns out that few workers have received them.

There is a significant fear that to assert their ‘authority’ the FROC CROC

will again resort to violence in this unfolding episode by trying to force

workers at the factory to stage a strike supporting their grievances. This

could happen as soon as tomorrow, Monday, February 19th. Incidentally, this

is the same date that some of the leaders of the independent union organizing

effort, whose illegal firings precipitated the original strike at Kuk Dong in

early January, will attempt a return to the factory in a watershed moment for

the workers’ struggle that would encourage perhaps hundreds of workers who

are afraid or unsure to go back in to work at the moment because of fear of

company intimidation tactics. These leaders have previously received threats

from the security chief at Kuk Dong that they would be physically harmed if

they attempted to return.

A strike by the FROC CROC would be illegal because it would not be called by

a majority vote of the workers in the factory; rather, it would be a strike

called by leaders of an undemocratic, unrepresentative, company-allied union

who has never previously advocated for improving conditions at the factory

previous to this struggle. The leaders of the movement for an independent

and democratic union at Kuk Dong are advocating, to demonstrate the

illegitimacy of the FROC CROC, that workers do not strike. But there concern

that thugs hired by the company union will raid the factory to intimidate

workers into going on strike and physically harming those who refuse. It

would be an ironic twist on the events that transpired January 11th, when

police and thugs from the FROC CROC raided the factory to break up a wildcat

strike for an independent union; their violence on that night sent 15 workers

to the hospital.

As more workers who were illegally fired return to employment at the factory,

and the movement for an independent union moves forward, there is a higher

likelihood that the FROC CROC or security forces at Kuk Dong will escalate a

strategy of violence and intimidation tactics. Because of this possibility,

it is urgent that Nike do two things immediately to guarantee the safety of

workers at Kuk Dong and ensure that their freedom of association is respected:

(1) Nike must make a public commitment to maintain a third party monitoring

presence at the factory of local human rights organizations in Puebla to

ensure that the workplace is an environment free of intimidation through the

duration of this struggle. This is a demand repeated previously several

times over the past few weeks, without an ongoing commitment yet to maintain

this third party presence. Given the escalating situation at Kuk Dong, this

is now only all the more urgent and necessary. Not maintaining this presence

when the history and threats of violent intimidation tactics by the FROC CROC

and security at Kuk Dong are so high would serve to make Nike complicit in

that strategy.

(2) Since the grievances filed on Februrary 13th were sent to both Nike and

Reebok, as well as Kuk Dong management, they should release publicly the date

and time that was set by the local labor and reconciliation board that a

strike may begin if the allegations are not answered.

These demands are in addition to the ones posted last Friday about the

planned return to the factory this week of the leadership of the movement for

an independent union and guaranteeing freedom of association for the workers

at Kuk Dong. Those demands also included:

1. Publicly guarantee the safe and unconditional return of the 5 leaders

originally fired in the Kuk Dong struggle, and to renounce the earlier

threats to their physical safety and the issuing of warrants for their

arrest. Demand that they reaffirm their commitment that all workers should be

rehired to Kuk Dong unconditionally and without reprisal, and to increase

their pressure on Kuk Dong management to see that this is carried out. Nike

wrote in a statement released last Friday that “The factory intends to rehire

the original five workers that initiated the work stoppage and has made a

formal written request that charges be dropped against the workers in

connection with the events of January.” The proof of that will begin

tomorrow.

2. Publicly call on Kuk Dong to rehire all returning workers unconditionally

and under the same salary, position, and seniority of their previous

employment, including guarantees that all leaders of the independent union

effort will not continue to be isolated from other workers at the factory.

Nike’s statement last Friday said that the factory intends to reinstate all

of the workers at the same salary, benefits, and seniority. However, they

said nothing about bringing workers back to their former positions, and USAS

reps reported that Kuk Dong resisted an attempt by Reebok to meet about the

situation of Ivan de Erick Diaz Xolo, the worker who released a statement to

the U.S. last week describing how he has been confined to an office, away

from other employees, since returning from the work stoppage.

3. Publicly call on Kuk Dong to discontinue the illegal process of forcing

returning workers to sign statements of loyalty to the FROC CROC, and urge

Kuk Dong to drop its illegal and invalid "protection contract" with the FROC

CROC.

4. Publicly reaffirm their commitment to continue the same levels of

production at Kuk Dong - Mexico as it has since the factory opened and see to

it that Kuk Dong remains in Atlixco de Puebla.

Please contact the following people and urge university presidents with Nike

contracts and licensing codes of conduct to publicly call on Nike to enforce

the freedom of association of the codes by complying with the above demands.:

Dusty Kidd

Global Director for Labor Practices

Nike Corporation

One Bowerman Drive

Beaverton, OR 97003

Phone: (503) 671-6453

Fax: (503) 532-0440

Email: Dusty.Kidd@nike.com

Amanda Tucker

Senior Labor Practices Manager

Nike, Inc.

One Bowerman Drive

Beaverton, OR 97005

503-532-0311

Email: amanda.tucker@nike.com

Kukdong International Mexico S.A. de C.V.

Retorno de Ave. Continentes Num. 38

Rancho Los Soles

Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico

Tel: 011-52-244-61020~3

Fax: 011-52-244-61024

Email: kukdong.@rpc.com.mx

Kukdong Corporation (Korea)

Kukdong Building 229-3 Young Dap-Dong

Sungdong-Ku, Seoul, Korea

Tel: (02) 3407-7701~7905

Fax: (02) 2249-5915

2243-7776

http://www.kd.co.kr

email: kukdong@kd.co.kr

2) Contact the Mexican Labor Secretary: Urge the Labor Secretary to use this

conflict as an opportunity to prove that Mexico is a fair and stable place

for people to work without violent intimidation, and that all workers enjoy

the right to organize independent unions.

Contact:

Lic. Carlos Abascal Carranza

Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social

Periférico Sur No. 4271

Edif. A, piso 4

Col. Fuentes del Pedregal C.P. 14149.

Phone: 011-52-5-645-2962

Fax: 011-52-5-645-5594

Email: cabascal@stps.gob.mx

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic history about the struggle at Kuk Dong

Kuk Dong has been the site of a 1 ½ month long struggle for freedom of

association, just wages and benefits, fair conditions, and an end to physical

and verbal abuse as well as forced overtime. The workers make an average of

75-cents per hour, far below the cost of living for a family in the region,

and are forced to eat rancid food supplied by the company in its cafeteria.

The struggle was initiated when all of the 850+ workers in the factory went

on a wildcat strike on January 9th after 5 workers were fired at the factory

for being leaders in a campaign to organize an independent union at the factory.

Days later, as the workers occupied the factory grounds, 200 riot police

raided the factory raided the strike, and thugs hired by the company and it's

undemocratic union, the FROC CROC beat several workers, sending 15 to the

hospital. Two days later, an agreement was reached to allow the strikers to

return to work without reprisals, but shortly after hundreds of returning

workers were either fired or forced to resign. After an escalation in

pressure in Puebla and internationally, the company signed a second agreement

on January 25th stating that all workers could return to their jobs

unconditionally and without reprisal.

Kuk dong, a Korean multinational that operates plants in Brazil and

Indonesia as well as Mexico, produces U.S. university-logo clothing as

well as other items for Nike and Reebok. The plant is a textbook case

of how "protection contracts" in the Maquiladora industry work, and it

will be an acid test for implementation of university and corporate

"codes of conduct," as well as for the Mexican government.

According to a January 25th report by attorney Arturo Alcalde, a

widely-respected labor lawyer asked to investigate the case by the

International Labor Rights Fund, the union contract between Kukdong and

the government-dominated FROC-CROC union was signed before operations

began at the facility. The contract also contained no wage scale

provisions, according to Alcalde, but, as per Mexican law, prohibited

any other union on site because a union (FROC-CROC) already existed when

the plant was opened.

On January 9, 2001, the plant’s 800 workers struck over the firings of

25 workers, literally "rotten food" in the plant cafeteria, low wages

(averaging $3.80 to $4.30 a day), forced overtime, and to establish an

independent, member-controlled union at the plant. Police violence

occurred later in the month, sending 15 people to the hospital emergency

room with two being later admitted.

Due to an international outcry about the case, the plant management

signed an agreement on January 13th to reinstate all the fired workers,

but some strikers have been prevented from returning to work, according

to Alcalde and others. Armed police are now inside the plant, according

In addition to Alcalde’s report, the Workers Rights Consortium,

established by the United Students Against Sweatshops and involving 67

universities, sent its Executive Director to investigate the case. The

ILRF and WRC reports issued on January 25th both called for

reinstatement of all workers fired since January, implementation of

Mexican laws allowing workers to select their own union, and

improvements in wages, working conditions and treatment of workers.

Nike, which has been the focus of an international campaign as Kukdong’s

major customer, is awaiting the report of a third investigative team to

the plant put together by the Verité monitoring organization. The

Verité report is to be given to Kukdong, Nike, Reebok, the universities

whose products are produced at the plant, and the Fair Labor

Association, on February 15th.

The Kukdong case is a classic example of how business is done in the

maquiladora industry: using legal provisions to establish "protection

contracts" between employers and government-dominated unions prior to

the opening of the facility, then use of the arcane, lengthy procedures

to make the establishment of member-controlled unions virtually

impossible, and, finally, the use of firings, forced resignations and

violence when all else fails.

How the Kukdong case is finally resolved will show how much things have,

or have not changed, in the new presidency of Vicente Fox; how serious

U.S. universities are about enforcing their own codes of conduct for

licensees; and how serious Kukdong, Nike and Reebok are about obeying

Mexican and international law, and implementing their own codes of

The future of health and safety, as well as other labor practices, in

the maquiladoras of Mexico will be plain to see in how these three cases

are resolved. It will also be instructive to see what roles are played

in this resolution by the U.S. and Mexican governments, the U.S.-based

multinationals, the plants’ management and local political figures, and

the international movement of non-governmental organizations working to

end sweatshops in the global economy.

This report on Kuk Dong by the independent monitor that Nike agreed to at the advice of the International Labor Rights Fund. Arturo Alcalde is well respected among independent unions and non-profits in Mexico. This document is public, thanks to the ILRF - U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project http://www.usleap.org/#kukdong

Please find below the report on Kuk Dong by the independent monitor that

Nike agreed to at the advice of the International Labor Rights Fund. Arturo Alcalde is well respected among independent unions and non-profits in

Mexico. This document is public, thanks to the ILRF. USAS had made the public issuance of this report a demand of Nike

Press here for REPORT

REGARDING THE CASE OF “KUK DONG INTERNATIONAL.”by attorney ARTURO ALCALDE JUSTINIANI.

January 30, 2001,

February 19, 2001 Update from struggle at Kuk Dong factory in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico: 39 Kuk Dong Workers Successfully Return to Work, Previously Fired Leaders Required to Sign Individual Contracts

Source: Kukdong list - to subscribe - send an email to kukdong-moderator@yahoogroups.com or or nsteffan@indiana.edu

Immediate Alert from Kuk Dong Struggle, February 23, 2001from USAS

There is also a possibility that if the FROC CROC is successful on getting workers to leave the factory during their strike, that Kuk Dong may use that as legitimacy to again fire workers who are part of the movement for a independent and democratic union.

Update from Kuk Dong struggle in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico Friday, February 23rd -- 7 pm EST

The fact is that as of February 13th, the FROC CROC had filed all of the legal papers with the local arbitration and reconciliation board, Kuk Dong, Nike, and Reebok to have a strike at Kuk Dong. This becomes a constant source of

intimidation that hangs over the heads of all of the workers, especially when a union with such a brutal history -- both at Kuk Dong and in past struggles -- is involved. When there are constant rumors running through the factory that the FROC CROC is about to initiate a violent raid, they are taken very seriously. Any pressure that helps to avert violence is worth it.

The movement has so far won tremendous and unprecedented gains, and we should celebrate these victories. Let's pause a minute and do so.

Hundreds of workers and the leadership of the independent union effort have all been or are soon to be reinstated with their previous benefits and seniority. Charges have been dropped against the leaders of the struggle. Nike and Reebok have had to accept the demands placed before them to direct Kuk Dong to take these actions, and they have each had to publicly commit to retaining their production in Atlixco de Puebla. We have made a huge step forward.

It is happening in an economic context where more investment in the region is currently based on the premise that workers will never rise up and demand more respect, better wages, and decent working conditions. It is happening in one of the most conservative regions in all of Mexico, with a state and local government that is intricately tied to the corruption and brutality of the FROC CROC...

And after rising at 4 or 5 in the morning and not returning until late in the evening every day of the work week, they give up their nights for meetings and their weekends to travel to one of 200 pueblos to tell more of their companer's that they may return safely to the factory, that the movement still lives, that it is getting stronger. It is these people, women like Josefina Hernandez Ponce and Marcela Munoz, who are the heroes of this struggle.

Update from Kuk Dong struggle in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico Friday, February 23rd -- 7 pm EST

Solidarity is happening everywhere. It is not only the other human rights groups, women's groups, and labor unions in Mexico supporting in various ways the struggles of the workers. It is the students in Connecticut who hand out leaflets at college basketball games in sub-freezing temperatures, or in New Orleans who endlessly raise money to support the workers, or in San Francisco who hold a demonstration in the pouring rain, or in Chicago who take arrests inside a NikeTown to bring the level of intensity to another level. It is also the students from throughout the country who stop their lives for weeks on end to go to Atlixco, to accompany workers as they make their house visits and provide an international presence to ensure that violence is not carried out against them. It is also those in Toronto, or London, or Madrid, or Australia who picket and protest in support of the struggle. It is those workers at Nike factories in Thailand and Indonesia who have offered their support. It is the members of the Korean House of International Solidarity who, after years of holding Korean companies accountable for their practices in East and Southeast Asia, made their first foray into Mexico last week to support the Kuk Dong struggle and maintained a crucial presence as independent observers while the two leaders and many more workers successfully negotiated their reinstatement to the factory. It is the myriad (too many to count) of labor and human rights groups in the U.S., Canada, and Europe - locally and nationally - who give strategy, publicity, and grassroots mobilization to the struggle. The movement for an independent union extends a long way, and when it started on the first day of the strike it did so not only out of a sense of solidarity, but because of the knowledge that in doing so something better would come, not only for Kuk Dong workers but for our children and our future.

Update from Kuk Dong struggle in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico Friday, February 23rd -- 7 pm EST; See http://business.nmsu.edu/~dboje/nike/mexico.html for listing of additional updates.

EXHIBIT 11:

Workers of the independent worker coalition at the Kuk Dong factory have announced that they will be gathering on Sunday, March 18 to hold a meeting legal requirements for forming an independent union. Organizers fear that the participating workers risk reprisals if not outright violence and are calling for supporters to ask Nike [and Reebok] and Kuk Dong to take every necessary step to avoid these measures and, of course, not inflict any reprisals themselves.

The contact information I have is: Kuk Dong: Hoon Park, General Manager Kukdong International Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Retorno de los Continentes No. 38 Col. Rancho los Soles C.P. 74210 Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico Phone: (52) 244-61020-3 Fax: (52) 244-61024 kukdong@avante.net.mx

Nike: Dusty Kidd Global Director for Labor Practices One Bowerman Drive Beaverton, OR 97003 Phone: (503) 641-6453 Fax: (503) 532-0440 Dusty.Kidd@nike.com

The Athletic Apparel Industry is in metamorphosis (See AA Industry Tamara for more on the the theory of Tamara and its association with this and other actions).

ADIDAS factories (disclosed) in Mexico

ADIDAS - Mexico

BADGER DE MEXICO
ZONA INDUSTRIAL GUSTAVO
DIAZ ORDAZ, TAMAULIPAS
MEXICO
PRODUCT CAPABILITY:
jersey knit product, fleece

CONTACT:
TOM OVERSTREET
PH:704-871-0990
FX:704-871-0521
Tom@BadgerSportswear.com

SEE FULL LIST -- See ADIDAS List

REEBOK FACTORIES IN MEXICO

January 26, 2001. The Financial Times, "Nike, Reebok Mexico Plant violated Rights." The Kukdong apparel factory in Mexico where a dispute between two unions in January led to a work stoppage and an examination of the factory's workplace practices by Verité. See above news items.

In March, 2001 Reebok is giving out its Human Rights Award. Who better to give it to than the workers in Puebla Mexico struggling with Reebok subcontractor Kukdong.

CONTACT Reebok

	Reebok CEO, Paul Fireman; CEO Paul Fireman and his wife own 18% of the company.
	Headquarters:
	Mail can be sent to: Reebok International Ltd. PO Box 1060 Ronks, PA 17573 or to: 100 Technology Center Drive Stoughton, MA. 02072 or to:
	1895 J. W. Foster Blvd. Canton, MA 02021 Telephone: 617-341-5000 Web Site: www.reebok.com
	Reebok International Ltd. (RBK)
	Reebok CEO, Paul Fireman is one of the highest paid CEOs in the world.

MEXICO
D&D Manufacturers, S.A. DE C.V.	Calle 24 No. 420, Cd Industrial Merida, Yucatan, Mexico	Bernardo Cisneros Buenfil Tel: 52 99 461 796 Fax: 52 99 461 899 NO BUSINESS EMAIL
Industrias N.E.M De Mexico S.A. DE C.V.	Avenida Padre Hidalgo 11027 Fracc La Joya Pablado La Gloria Tijuana, B.C Mexico	Melvyn Madrazo Tel: 52 66 361 250 Fax: 52 66 362 025 Email: nem@telnor.net
Kukdong Intl. Mexico S.A. DE C.V.	Retorno De Continentes Num 38 Rancho Los Soles Atlixco De Puebla, Mexico	Rhee Jon Hun Tel: 52-244-61020-3 Fax: 52-244-61024 Email: kukdong@avante.net.mx
Textile La Gaviota (Knitting, Dying & Cutting)	Kilometro 108 Autopista Mexico – Puebla San Miguel Xoxlta Puebla, Mexico CP 72620	Pablo Sidaoui Tel: 52 22 814 512 Fax: 52 33 814 333 Email: texgavio@avantel.net
Textile La Gaviota (Sewing and cutting)	Calle F No. 8 Parque Industrial Pueblo 2000 Puebla, Puebla Mexico CP 72225	Pablo Sidaoui Tel: 52 22 814 512 Fax: 52 33 814 333 Email: texgavio@avantel.net

MEXICO - Duke Disclosure - http://nikebiz.com/labor/fact_dk.shtml
Cactex S.A. DE C.V.	Oberro Mundial #9 El Sahuard Parque Industrial Dynatech Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico	Jose Rubio Partida Tel: 011-52-62-60-4923 Fax: 011-52-62-60-4942 NO BUSINESS EMAIL
D&D Manufacturers, S.A. DE C.V.	Calle 24 No. 420, Cd Industrial Merida, Yucatan, Mexico	Bernardo Cisneros Buenfil Tel: 52 99 461 796 Fax: 52 99 461 899 NO BUSINESS EMAIL
Industrias N.E.M De Mexico S.A. DE C.V.	Avenida Padre Hidalgo 11027 Fracc La Joya Pablado La Gloria Tijuana, B.C Mexico	Melvyn Madrazo Tel: 52 66 361 250 Fax: 52 66 362 025 Email: nem@telnor.net
Kukdong Intl. Mexico S.A. DE C.V.	Retorno De Continentes Num 38 Rancho Los Soles Atlixco De Puebla, Mexico	Rhee Jon Hun Tel: 52-244-61020-3 Fax: 52-244-61024 Email: kukdong@avante.net.mx
Promotora Lujo de Mexico SA DE C.V. (Cutting Facility)	Calle Ocampo Esq. Calle 4 Colonia Centroim CP 31680 Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico	Jose Luis Rodriguez Tel: 52 15 860 266 Fax: 52 15 860 722 Email: grupo_lujomex@infosel.net.mx
Promotora Lujo de Mexico S.A. DE C.V. (Sewing Facility)	Calle Manuel Saenz 109 Colonia Centro, CP 31680 Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico	Jose Luis Rodriguez Tel: 52 15 860 266 Fax: 52 15 860 722 Email: grupo_lujomex@infosel.net.mx
Textile La Gaviota (Knitting, Dying & Cutting)	Kilometro 108 Autopista Mexico – Puebla San Miguel Xoxlta Puebla, Mexico CP 72620	Pablo Sidaoui Tel: 52 22 814 512 Fax: 52 33 814 333 Email: texgavio@avantel.net
Textile La Gaviota (Sewing and cutting)	Calle F No. 8 Parque Industrial Pueblo 2000 Puebla, Puebla Mexico CP 72225	Pablo Sidaoui Tel: 52 22 814 512 Fax: 52 33 814 333 Email: texgavio@avantel.net

NIKE

EXHIBIT ONE - Are the Nike Sweatshops in Mexico?

Figure 1: Timeline from Boje, David M., Grace Ann Rosile, & J. Dámaso Miguel Alcantara Carrillo (2001) The KUK DONG STORY: When the fox guards the hen house.

EXHIBIT 2 - Sweatshops in Mexico -Nike SAYS NO Way

EXHIBIT 3 - Child labor and Mexico

EXHIBIT 4 - Verité

EXHIBIT 5 - Call to Action -

EXHIBIT 6 - February 19 - USAS Post

EXHIBIT 7 - Maquiladora Solidarity Network Feb 17, 2001

EXHIBIT 8 - Reebok and "Nike Failing to Secure Fundamental Rights at Mexican Factory"Report on Kuk Dong by Arturo Alcalde

REGARDING THE CASE OF “KUK DONG INTERNATIONAL.”by attorney ARTURO ALCALDE JUSTINIANI.

EXHIBIT 9 - February 19, 2001

EXHIBIT 10 - February 23, 2001-Kuk Dong Women workers

EXHIBIT 11:

ADIDAS factories (disclosed) in Mexico

ADIDAS - Mexico

REEBOK FACTORIES IN MEXICO