Example research essay topic: Forced To Work Minimum Wage - 675 words

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Dont Do It, The Nike Corporation There is a running battle with activists, especially on the internet, to keep corporations and governments focused on human rights and the environment. Recent activity has centered around International Monetary Fund and World Bank. A victory for these such groups came recently when Starbucks Corporation agreed to a deal that could triple wages for thousands of coffee farmers. One battle that has been going on steadily for a long time with few signs of relief is against the Nike Corporation. Activists charge Nike with having unsafe working conditions, treating its employees improperly, not paying its workers enough wages and forcing people to work overtime and without breaks. There have been several reported cases of abuse at Nike factories in Vietnam.

One report claimed that on International Womens Day of 1997 in Vietnam fifty-six women were forced to run around the factory grounds at Pouches. Twelve of the women fainted and were taken to a hospital by friends. CBS News reported that fifteen female workers were hit on the head by their supervisor for poor sewing. Two of these women needed to be sent to hospitals after the beatings.

This report also charged that four 0 five workers were forced to kneel on the ground for twenty 0 five minutes with their hands in the air. A Korean supervisor even fled the country after accusations that he molested some of his workers surfaced. Workers also told CBS News that the daily quota for products made is purposefully set unrealistically high. The workers are forced to work over 600 hours of overtime per year. If the workers do not except the hours he or she will get a warning and after three warning he or she will be fired.

One activist group found that Nike workers were working about twenty-seven days per month plus forty to sixty hours of overtime. There were even moths found when workers were forced to work over one hundred hours of overtime. An activist group called Boycott Nike reports that workers in Nike's Vietnamese factories are not allowed to use the bathroom more than once per eight-hour shift and they may not drink water more than twice per shift. It is common for workers in these factories to faint from exhaustion, heat, fumes and poor nutrition during their shifts. Nike workers are reportedly paid an average of twenty cents per hour or $ 1. 60 a day. Workers told Vietnam Labor Watch that the cost of three meals per day in Cu Chi is about $ 2.

This wage is even lower than Vietnam's own minimum wage. During their fist month as Nike workers earn $ 37. The minimum wage in the country is $ 45 per month. Nike also controls its subcontractors by dictating the p[rice per shoe and the cost of operation so that the contractors have to set high quotas and pay low wages. A British company estimated that the labor it takes to make one pair of Nike shoes is about $ 3, but these shoes often sell for over $ 100 in the United States. This is not the way that it has to be.

Companies such as Reebok and Coca Cola have been able to treat their employees in Vietnam much better than Nike has, pay them more fairly and offer benefits such as training and English lessons. Activists against Nike gave been using the internet very wisely to promote this important cause and get legislation passed. Many sites about Nike's practices link to petitions one can sign and addresses were concerned consumers should write. These sites also include important laws and precedences individuals can include in their letters and who the important people to talk to are. The sites also have dates of protests being planned and information about how to get a movement for safe labor started in areas where there has not been a lot of interest yet. One site tells which political figures are helping conduct the campaign against Nike and which organizations are offering support.

Research essay sample on Forced To Work Minimum Wage