STOP NIKE, LEVI'S & VF CORP FROM FUNNELING STOLEN PANDEMIC WAGES TOWARD BUYBACKS
It’s been nearly three years since the pandemic, and millions of Asian garment workers — a majority of whom are women — producing for Big Fashion companies, have still not been paid the wages that they were owed during the COVID-19 pandemic after brands such as Nike, Levi’s and VF Corp canceled or drastically reduced orders en masse (as detailed in our Money Heist report).
In the meantime, these companies continue to report record revenue growth and profits, making their highest profits in over a decade as of 2021 — with their investors acquiring tremendous wealth through stock buybacks. The Nike-owning Knight family (the 25th wealthiest family in the world) paid themselves $74 million in dividends.
On 27th February 2023, Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), Global Labor Justice – International Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) and 20 garment worker unions from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – released a new report detailing how the wage theft of Asian garment workers directly led to high corporate profits for global fashion brands.
Follow the Fight the Heist campaign here – including our demands, report ‘Big Fashion & Wall Street Cash In on Wage Theft,’ the Fact Sheet on our OECD complaint against Nike, recent press and videos.
Resources
Garment worker union leaders from six Asian countries explain why we have launched the #FightTheHeist campaign!
Endorsers
- Garments Workers’ Unity League (GSUL), Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS), Bangladesh
- Textile Garments Workers Federation (TGWF), Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Garment & Sweaters Workers Trade Union Center (GSWTUC), Bangladesh
- Green Bangla Garments Workers Federation (GBGWF), Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers’ Federation (BGSSF), Bangladesh
- Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU), Cambodia
- Centre for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights (CENTRAL), Cambodia
- Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), Cambodia
- Federation of Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), Cambodia
- Federation Union of Free and Independent (FUFI), Cambodia
- Independent Trade Union Federation (INTUFE), Cambodia
- Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW), Cambodia
- Independent Labor Union Coalition (ILUC), Cambodia
- Confederation of Cambodian Worker-Movement (CCW), Cambodia
- Cambodia Independent Trade Union Federation (CITUFED), Cambodia
- Cividep, India
- Foundation for Educational Innovation in Asia (FEDINA), India
- Garment Labour Union (GLU), India
- Garment and Allied Workers Union (GAWU), India
- Hosiery Workers Unity Centre (HWUC), India
- Karnataka Garment Workers Union (KOOGU), India
- Mill Mazdoor Panchayat (MMP), India
- Munnade, India
- Society for Labour and Development (SLD), India
- Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), India
- Federasi Serikat Buruh Garmen, Kerajinan, Tekstil, Kulit dan SentraIndustri (FSB Garteks), Indonesia
- Federasi Serikat Buruh Indonesia (FSBI), Indonesia
- Gabungan Serikat Buruh Indonesia (GSBI), Indonesia
- Lembaga Informasi Perburuhan Sedane (LIPS), Indonesia
- Serikat Buruh Sejahtera Indonesia (SBSI) 1992, Indonesia
- Serikat Pekerja Nasional (SPN), Indonesia
- Trade Union Rights Center (TURC), Indonesia
- Muttahida Labor Federation (MLF), Pakistan
- Pakistan Textile Workers Federation, Pakistan
- Textile Power Loom and Garment Workers’ Federation, Pakistan
- Labour Education Foundation (LEF), Pakistan
- Pakistan Institute for Labour Education & Research (PILER), Pakistan
- Pakistan Textile Garment Leather Workers’ Federation, Pakistan
- HomeNet Pakistan
- Ceylon Merchantile Union (CMU), Sri Lanka
- Dabindu Collective Union, Sri Lanka
- National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS), Sri Lanka
- Revolutionary Existence for Human Development (RED), Sri Lanka
- Stand Up Movement Lanka, Sri Lanka
- Textile Garment and Clothing Workers Union (TGCWU), Sri Lanka
- United Labour Federation (ULF), Sri Lanka
- Shramabhimani Kendraya, Sri Lanka
- SAFE organization, Sri Lanka
- Save a Life organization, Sri Lanka
- Labour Justice and Research Limited, Sri Lanka
- Red Flag Movement, Sri Lanka
- Commercial Industrial Workers Union (CIWU), Sri Lanka
- Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Thailand
- International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific), Malaysia
- Focus on the Global South
Take Action
Twenty garment worker trade unions, AFWA and GLJ-ILRF, along with their allies, have come together in a global campaign to #FightTheHeist. They will take collective actions in their factories while engaging with the OECD to demand the world’s wealthiest fashion companies respect the basic human rights of their workers.
Take a minute to tell Nike, Levi’s and VF Corp to pay back the stolen wages to garment workers in their supply chains.
Do you want to be an ally? Stay up-to-date on the campaign by by signing up for its newsletter.
Share the voice of garment worker leaders from six Asian countries on Facebook as we rise up to #FightTheHeist!
Press
Foreign Policy in Focus (27 February 2023)
Garment Workers take on Wage Theft and Wall Street
A new international campaign is targeting fashion brands like Nike that are spending vast sums on stock buybacks instead of compensating workers for lost pandemic wages.
Inequality.org (27 February 2023)
Garment Workers Take on Wage Theft and Wall Street
A new international campaign is targeting fashion brands like Nike that are spending vast sums on stock buybacks instead of compensating workers for lost pandemic wages.
Ecotextile News (28 February 2023)
Campaign against ‘Wage Theft’ is Launched
Trade unions and workers’ rights campaigners have launched a new campaign accusing US fashion giants Nike, VF Corp and Levi’s and their investors of profiting through ‘wage theft’ from garment workers in their supply chains.
Peoples Dispatch (28 February 2023)
Garment workers in Asia have lost out on millions of dollars in wages since 2020, even as ‘Big Fashion’ corporations including Nike are raking in mega-profits for their owners and Wall Street, a new report has found. Trade unions have launched the #FightTheHeist campaign to resist this.
Jurnal Suryeang Pikiran Rakyat (1 March 2023)
SPN Represents Indonesian Garment Workers in Campaign Against Wage Theft, Mass Layoffs (Bahasa)
Indonesian trade union leader, Iwan Kusmawan, urges unions around the world to take up wage theft violations by global fashion brands with the OECD.
Financial Times (1 March 2023)
Asia Factory Workers Press Nike over Missing Pay
Nike is under fire from unions and non-profit groups after workers in its supply chain said they have suffered lost income during the coronavirus pandemic
Sourcing Journal (1 March 2023)
Garment Workers Blast ‘Dangerous’ New Normal at Nike
A group of 20 garment-sector unions filed this week a complaint alleging that the Just Do It firm violated OECD guidelines for responsible business.
Wort 89.9 FM (1 March 2023)
Horwitz: Garment Workers Bore The Brunt Of COVID Economic Loss
Earnings on garment workers bore the brunt of bad economics during COVID pandemic, according to Jacob Horwitz, Field Director at the GLJ-ILRF.
Just Style (2 March 2023)
South, SE Asia Unions Claim Fashion Brands are ‘Cashing in’ on Covid Wage Theft
Worker unions in six South and Southeast Asia countries have created a campaign called ‘Fight the Heist’ which claims fashion brands are profiting from wage theft during Covid and are eager to stop it.
Just Style (7 March 2023)
Nike under Fire as Unions Allege OECD Guidelines ‘Breach’ in Supply Chain
Nike has been accused of breaching OECD Guidelines with regard to the treatment of workers in its global supply chain following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sourcing Journal (8 March 2023)
Nike ‘Ignoring’ Questions About Forced Labor, Shareholder Claims
A longstanding Nike shareholder wants to know why the Just Do It firm is ignoring its questions about potential forced labor in its supply chain.
Supply Chain Dive (9 March 2023)
Shareholder Activist Blasts Nike for Doing Too Little to Prevent Abuses in Supply Chain
Nike is facing questions from investors about what it’s doing to protect workers in its supply chain from forced labor and other rights violations.
Dawn – Pakistan (18 March 2023)
Wage Theft in Big Fashion Supply Chains like Nike
Garment labour unions in six countries have launched a new campaign demanding that Nike, Levi’s & VF Corporation pay workers back their owed wages.