Investigations of factories find illegal practices
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Investigators say they have discovered illegal labor practices at a Mexican factory that makes athletic-themed apparel for several companies, including Beaverton-based sports apparel giant Nike.
Nike sells clothing from the Kukdong International factory in the Mexican state of Puebla to universities, including the University of Oregon.
One investigation of the Korean-owned factory found managers are illegally keeping laborers from returning to their jobs after a strike. Investigators also discovered evidence that managers physically abuse workers and employed children.
"The general manager himself volunteered information about one manager hitting a worker with a hammer," said Mark Barenberg, a Columbia University law professor who led that investigation.
Barenberg said factory mangers, many of whom are South Korean, attributed the problem to cultural differences because in South Korea it is acceptable for managers to discipline employees by hitting them on the head.
Hitting workers is a violation of Mexican law and violates the codes of conduct drafted by many universities that market clothing made at the factory. University of Oregon has sold Nike sweat shirts made at the Kukdong plant.
Nike spokesman Vada Manager said his company continues to investigate the allegations of abuses at the factory and facilitated one of the studies, led by Mexican labor lawyer Arturo Alcalde Justiniani.
Manger said Nike is supporting a third audit of the factory by Verite, a Massachusetts nonprofit group that monitors labor conditions. That study should start within two weeks, he said.
Manager said Kukdong's executives told Nike they never abused workers or knowingly employed children at the factory. Nike confirmed that some workers were barred from returning to their jobs after a Jan. 9 walkout.
He said Kukdong managers met with union leaders Thursday to ensure that all workers be allowed to return after the strike. Some workers may have been barred for opposing the factory's union, which they find too friendly with management. Manager said Nike is "trying to determine" whether workers were turned away with or without management's knowledge.
Multiple sources confirmed that "more than a handful" of children worked at the factory, Barenberg said. Other violations confirmed by multiple sources include Kukdong paying less than minimum wage, refusing to provide mandated maternity benefits and serving rancid food that sickened some workers.
Manager said Nike will update several universities, including the University of Oregon, on its labor findings at the factory. He hopes the Verite audit will determine the validity of the claims in Barenberg's report.
Manager said Nike has its own monitor that visits the factory occasionally, and the company had its outside auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, visit the Kukdong plant in May.
That audit uncovered problems including the employment of some 15-year-olds and a lack of communication between supervisors and workers, largely because of language barriers. Manager said the factory was given a chance to correct those problems, and follow-up checks showed some progress.
Barenberg's study was funded by the Worker Rights Consortium, a watchdog group supported by student activists and labor groups. Alcalde's study was sponsored by the International Labor Rights Fund, which is affiliated with the Fair Labor Association.