“BEHIND THE SWOOSH” EVENT
Event: Jim Keady’s “Behind the Swoosh: Sweatshops and Social Justice”
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Location: Reeve Memorial Union Ballroom (227)
Fee: Free to UWO Students w/Titan ID; $2.00 Faculty, Staff & General Public
In 1997 Jim Keady was a soccer coach with the St. John’s University Red Storm, the NCAA Division One National Champions, when he stood up against Nike and their sweatshops and lost his job for doing so. “I was given an ultimatum,” Keady recounted, “‘Wear Nike and drop this issue, or resign.”
Keady resigned as a matter of principle and has since made ending sweatshop labor his life mission. In the summer of 2000 he lived with factory workers in an Indonesian slum, trying to survive on their wage of 23 cents an hour and he documented what workers’ lives are really like. “I lived in a 9×9 box, sleeping on a reed mat on a cement floor for 30 days,” said Keady, “I lost 25lbs trying live like a Nike factory worker.”
Since that initial trip, Keady has returned to Indonesia on multiple occasions, most recently in January 2008, to learn more about Nike’s overseas operations. He has also taken part in grassroots campaigns and demonstrations on three continents that were focused on raising consumers’ awareness about Nike’s sweatshops. He is currently Producing and Directing a feature documentary film about Nike’s operations in Indonesia called SWEAT. Finally, he has met with Nike executives at every level, from retail store managers all the way up to Nike’s founder and Chairman, Phil Knight.
This event is free for UW Oshkosh students with their Titan ID and $2.00 for faculty, staff and general public.
(sorry the text/font is off, I copied it from an email. Picture via arthur’s design)
Brooke said,
March 11, 2008 @ 7:49 am
wow. i hope you go to it.
you should go here, i don’t know why i haven’t told you about it before now, but trust me…
http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea/rieth/index.php
also, i put some carrots in my green smoothy and it wasn’t bad.
joy said,
March 11, 2008 @ 9:29 am
wow that is amazing. that someone would go so far to live like them just to know what it’s like. That’s really a great cause. I look forward to hearing how that goes. post when you get done. Thanks for all your great info Megan, love reading you!!
Lish from Australia. said,
August 10, 2008 @ 10:08 pm
i am doin an assignment for SOSE, in school.. and its on Nike Corporations gone bad. i choose Nike because i know and i have seen people not being treated right and some day i will choose to help those people live there lives.
I feel as if this man has done so well by just going over there and living with them but it would also be hard, it’s not that kind of thing you could just do.
I wish to give a hand some how or if some one could inform me with futher information.. if so contact me on random_lish07@hotmail.com
thankyou.
Lish From Australia.
Sally said,
August 26, 2008 @ 3:37 am
Hello,
My name is Sally Jones and I am a year 12 student at Blackwood High School. I am studying Studies of Socities and for my individual investigative study I chose to investigate Nike in regards to human rights. If you could answer a few questions to aid my investigation it would be much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Sally Jones
1. Are you aware/how do you feel about the recent media coverage concerning the exploitation of Nikes employee’s being dubbed ‘human trafficking on a massive scale’?
2. Who should be held responsible for the treatment of Nike employee’s in developing countries?
3. Are you sentient of the work practices in multinational companies such as Nike factories? If so what are they?
4. What do you believe are the pressures/factors influencing the workplace conditions?
5. What do you believe are the social and ethical responsibilities of multinational companies such as Nike inc.?
6. What do you believe can be done to help combat ‘sweatshop’ workers human rights being abused?