Cicih (pronounced chi-chi) Sukaesih, a 33-year-old Indonesian woman, will be guest speaker at the May 1997 Convention of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
Sukaesih made shoes for Nike in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 1989 to 1993. In 1993 she was fired for attempting to seek better working conditions and livable wages.
Last summer she toured the United States speaking about Nikes sweatshop practices and their workers struggles to unionize. She attempted to get a hearing about working conditions with Nike’s CEO Phil Knight but was denied access to Nike’s Beavertown, Oregon ‘campus’.
While visiting one of Nike’s shoe stores Sukaesih was shocked at the cost of the shoes she made for $2.60 a day.
"I would never be able to buy a pair of these. If I wanted to buy a pair, it would cost two or three months of my pay. Forget about eating."
She will be the special guest speaker at the convention, and with the help of the Canadian Autoworkers (CAW) Social Justice fund she will be touring Alberta cities to speak about Nike.
Currently Nike is corporate sponsor of the NHL Inner city Hockey program in Edmonton Public and Catholic schools. CUPE Local 474, Edmonton Public School Custodial Workers and the AFL launched a protest against Nike’s sponsorship, but the school board refused to hold a public hearing on the matter, or to criticize Nike for it’s use of sweatshops, child labour and for union busting by its sub contractors.
Nike specializes in using offshore sweatshops and moving factories to Right to Work States. While offering millions of dollars to sports celebrities to advertise its shoes, it pays its workers as little as .26 an hour in factories in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
Nike campaigns demanding independent monitoring of its factories, recognition of workers union and human rights have spread across Alberta in the past six months, from Fort McMurray to Calgary.
As well as Cicih, Trim Bissel from the Campaign for Labour Rights (CLR) and Jeff Ballinger of Press for Change will be accompanying her. CLR and Press for Change are American sponsors and organizers of the tour. After Alberta Cicih will be going to Toronto and Vancouver as part of her Canada wide tour.
INDONESIAN NIKE WORKER TO SPEAK AT ALBERTA FEDERATION OF LABOUR CONVENTION is the work and sole property of Eugene W. Plawiuk.
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