Jordan's critics say it must be the shoes

 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Michael Jordan earns millions, and wants many millions more, for playing basketball.
 Across the Pacific, in factories where Nike, the company he helped make famous, manufactures its shoes, the workers often earn pennies for an hour's work.
 The monthly wage of the average Nike worker in Indonesia is roughly equal to the U.S. price of a pair of Air Jordans ($115).
 Critics have complained for years that Nike is exploiting poor countries for big profit. Pickets are not uncommon. They showed up last week outside the Nike tent at the NCAA track and field championships.
 Now, the issue is in the news again, thanks to Kathie Lee Gifford's recent exposure to the world of sweatshop manufacturing.
 Gifford became involved in the issue when she was accused of tolerating the use of sweatshops to produce the clothing line that bears her name. She expressed shock at the report and since has announced her intention to lead a campaign against sweatshop abuses.
 Gifford said last week she intends to talk to Jordan to try to enlist him in her fight against sweatshops. Jordan, of course, is the No. 1 endorser of Nike products. He has his name on a line of clothing and Air Jordan shoes.
 So on Thursday, a day after his Chicago Bulls opened the NBA finals with a victory, Jordan found himself questioned about his association with Nike and its manufacturing practices.
 "I heard that Kathie Lee has kind of put me and other people in her fight or whatever," Jordan said. "But I think that's Nike's decision to do what they can to make sure everything is correctly done. I don't know the complete situation. Why should I? I'm trying to do my job. Hopefully, Nike will do the right thing, whatever that might be."
 Nike says it's already doing the right thing. Company spokesman Donna Gibbs said Nike considers itself a leader in improving working conditions in the countries where it makes its products.
 Joel Joseph, chairman of the Made In USA Foundation, said Nike is the chief culprit among the many manufacturers, including other shoe companies, who take advantage of poverty-stricken lands to make gigantic profits.
 "The other ones are bad, too," Joseph said. "I think Nike is particularly bad because wherever we pull up the rug and find child labor, Nike is there. I know children are employed at the Nike plant in Indonesia. I know children are employed making Nike soccer balls in Pakistan."
 Nike insists it does not purposely hire child workers. The company said it requires subcontractors to agree to a memorandum of understanding that prohibits child labor and requires compliance with minimum wage laws.
 In Indonesia, the minimum wage is $56 per month, or about 25 cents an hour based on a 55-hour work week. Nike says that while some of its employees may be paid the minimum wage, the average salary it pays its Indonesian workers is $117 per month, or 53 cents an hour.
 Far from being an exploiter, Nike sees itself as helping struggling countries emerge in the industrialized world.
 "We have thousands of people in lines for the jobs that we have," Nike chairman and chief executive officer Phil Knight said in an interview last month, "and they're the best shoe factories in the world, the best conditions."