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.
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.
Share the voice of garment worker leaders from six Asian countries on Facebook as we rise up to #FightTheHeist!
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Resources
WATCH: Garment worker union leaders from 6 Asian countries speak out against pandemic wage theft and urge workers around the world to #FightTheHeist
Press
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.