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KICK SWEATSHOPS OUT OF FOOTBALL

NO SWEAT | 16.06.2002 17:16

SATURDAY June 15th 2pm No Sweat activists give Nike the red card at its flagship store in Oxford Circus for its use of sweatshop labour in its factories around the world. Police arrest one protestor for walking on the road.

'A little less conversation and a little more action' is the words of the Elvis song Nike uses in its £90 million advertising campaign for the World Cup. And that's exactly what the No Sweat! activists protesting outside NikeTown in Oxford Circus on Saturday June 15th were demanding: a little less conversation and a little more action by Nike on a code of conduct in it's contracted factories around the world.
While most people were in the pub celebrating England's victory over Denmark in the World Cup, about 50 protestors were giving the red card to Nike and it's lack of action on giving it's millions of workers worldwide decent living and working conditions. With the Elvis soundtrack backing us up, we exposed Nike to passersby, explaining the conditions that Nike workers slave under. For example, children as young as 8 or 9 years old in India and Pakistan are forced to put together footballs for the world cup. These children are paid 18p for a ball that is marketed for £64. That is superexploitation.
Tha's slave labour. Instead of being at the peak of their fitness, teenage workers will be old within a few years, their bodies and health destroyed by the conditions that they work under. Like Ronaldo and Beckham, they've sold their youth to Nike, but they won't retire to a life of lucrative crisp advers ot tv commentating. They are disposeable commodities to these companies; once they are worn out they'll be sacked to be replaced by another set of desperately poor people.
At 3pm, the protestors decided to show a bit of action and take Oxford Circus for an impromptu game of footie. Wicked! The cops were taken completely off guard and had to run to catch up (maybe a little less donuts and a little more exercise). We took Oxford Street and headed down to Hyde Park to continue our match.
But the cops panicked and started trying to shove us back on the pavement. They were being very agressive to a very peaceful demonstration. As we neared Marble Arch, three cops jumped on one of the protestors as he walked on the road. Then they tried to forcibly disperse the rest of us, saying 'Now you've had your little protest, so go home.' Condescension - a step too far.
We didn't go home. We sat in the park planning our next action and providing legal support for our capitive comrade.
Get involved in the No Sweat! campaign. There are actions happening all over the UK, so get in touch and we can let you know what is happening. Or better yet, set up an action in your own area!
END SLAVE LABOUR! END CHILD LABOUR!

NO SWEAT
- e-mail: nosweat_london@hotmail.com
- Homepage: www.nosweat-uk.org

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

to get involved:see http://www.nosweat.org.uk

16.06.2002 20:47

To get involved in the No Sweat campaign, wherever you are in the country, just take a look at the daily updated, dynamic, No Sweat website at  http://www.nosweat.org.uk

The latest contributions are:

Anita Roddick: an effective opponent of sweatshops?
Leeds NUT appeal for Dita Sari (Indonesian militant union leader) gets off to good start
Oxford Uni Students Union to investigate Uni's branded merchandise
Women in Florence : ESF Women's Mobilisation
Trade Justice Movement lobby parliament : Wednesday 19th June 2002, Westminster
Oxford TUC backs anti-sweatshop campaign
Campaign for World Cup labour rights : Child labour is allegedly used in making some footballs

all at  http://www.nosweat.org.uk
along with a load of resources, leaflets to download, factsheets, weblinks on sweatshop labour and other anti-sweatshop campaigns, news items, debate on strategy, issues and tactics, and and and....

To join the No Sweat email list (light traffic) send an email to
mailto: majordomo@leftlists.org.uk with the instruction
subscribe nosweat
as the body of your message.

Contact No Sweat, PO Box 36707, London SW9 8YA
07904 431 959 mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk

Leeds: mailto: leeds@nosweat.org.uk
Leicester: 07771 533055 mailto: leicester@nosweat.org.uk
London - East: mailto: elondon@nosweat.org.uk
London - North: mailto: nlondon@nosweat.org.uk
London - South and West: mailto: slondon@nosweat.org.uk
Manchester: 07951 741640 mailto: manchester@nosweat.org.uk
Newcastle: 07931 564544 and 07812 378297 mailto: newcastlenosweat@hotmail.com
Northampton: 07790 054217 mailto: northampton@nosweat.org.uk
Nottingham: 07786 184230 mailto: nottingham@nosweat.org.uk
Oxford: mailto: oxford@nosweat.org.uk
Sheffield: mailto: sheffield@nosweat.org.uk
Southampton: mailto: southampton@nosweat.org.uk
York: mailto: york@nosweat.org.uk

Is your town not listed?
Could you be a local contact?
If so, email us! at mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk
--

Not Sweating
mail e-mail: admin@nosweat.org.uk
- Homepage: http://www.nosweatuk.org


Get involved:http://www.nosweat.org.uk

16.06.2002 21:21

To get involved, or for tips on how to campaign against sweatshop (and other) capitalists (campaign pack available soon online, if you want it now send a quid in cash or stamps to the No Sweat address (PO Box 36707, London SW9 5YA)),

just take a look at our website, which is dynamic (anyone can post or leave comments) and updated daily!

Full of news, debate, discussion on targets and tactics and resources to download (factsheets, leaflets, stickers, photos, etc.), it's at  http://www.nosweat.org.uk

The most recent postings are:

Anita Roddick: an effective opponent of sweatshops?
Leeds NUT appeal for Dita gets off to good start
Oxford Uni Students Union to investigate Uni's branded merchandise
Women in Florence : help mobilise women's groups for the ESF
Trade Justice Movement lobby parliament
Urban 75: top five to boycott
Campaign for World Cup labour rights
PCS trade union votes to support No Sweat
East END Sweatshops: we campaign with the GMB union against sweatshop factories in the East End
...and loads of reports on our activities on the high street and elsewhere


Get in touch with No Sweat! E-mail us at mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk
and why not join our (light traffic) e-mail list to be kept informed? Just send a blank e-mail to mailto: majordomo@leftlists.org.uk [no nasty Yahoo! or Microsoft advertising...] with the instruction
subscribe nosweat
as the body of your message

Local contacts are currently as follows:

Leeds: mailto: leeds@nosweat.org.uk
Leicester: 07771 533055 mailto: leicester@nosweat.org.uk
London (East): 07904 431959 mailto: elondon@nosweat.org.uk
London (North): 07904 431959 mailto: nlondon@nosweat.org.uk
London (South and West): 07904 431959 mailto: slondon@nosweat.org.uk
Manchester: 07951 741640 mailto: manchester@nosweat.org.uk
Newcastle: 07931 564544 and 07812 378297 mailto: newcastlenosweat@hotmail.com
Northampton: 07790 054217 mailto: northampton@nosweat.org.uk
Nottingham: 07786 184230 mailto: nottingham@nosweat.org.uk
Oxford: mailto: oxford@nosweat.org.uk
Sheffield: mailto: sheffield@nosweat.org.uk
Southampton: mailto: southampton@nosweat.org.uk
York: mailto: york@nosweat.org.uk

Area not listed? Want to start a local group? Help and more info from mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk or 07904 431959
--
No Sweat, campaigning against sweatshops in the UK and worldwide
Po Box 36707, London, SW9 5YA. mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk Tel 07904 431959

You can join No Sweat by sending £2 (cheques and POs to "No Sweat", please) to the address above. This entitles you to No Sweat mailings and votes at our meetings and conferences.

Send us some stamps for a load of our latest stickers and plaster your local buses, trains, tube and high street (particuarly outside Nike, Gap, Disney stores, for example).....

Cheeky Money
mail e-mail: admin@nosweat.org.uk
- Homepage: http://www.nosweat.org.uk


a little more fact-checking

17.06.2002 10:18

you only weaken your argument by making inaccurate statements – beckham doesn't do nike commercial work, he's contracted to adidas. you have my full support on the principle of the protest, though.

TJ


Ummm..

17.06.2002 14:39

The world cup is being heavily sponsored by Adidas. Not Nike. Note that the balls are all manufactured by Adidas...

So, like, yeah, stuff sucks.

chris

chris


re fact checking

17.06.2002 17:09

yes, the article is a bit stupid getting a fact like that wrong, but no sweat is a broad campaign, its free for any members (and any one else) to do a protest and publicise it - therefore the responsibility (in this case at least) lies with the person who wrote the article itself, and not with the campaign as a whole.

to get involved (and help make sure the facts are right next - and every - time) mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk

bloody hot and sweating
mail e-mail: wiganwigan@yahoo.com
- Homepage: http://www.nosweat.org.uk


Why in the UK?

17.06.2002 23:53

I'm sure everyone would agree that producing goods under the coditions you describe are terrible. However, surely the obvious thing is to demonstrate outside the factories themselves?

Paul Edwards


Examples

18.06.2002 00:07

I'm sure that no one is disputing your claims, but could you give some examples of the countries involved, the companies that are producing and shipping the goods and the the companies in Europe that are are distributing and selling the products?

Paul Edwards


in the uk because

18.06.2002 18:14

why in the uk? because that's where we are.

why not "outside the factories"? well in most cases, these factories aren't in the uk. but the firms who commission these factories to produce products for them ARE, as are their high street outlets. so that's the next best thing.

there are sweatshop factories in the uk. e.g. in the east end of london. we campaign with the gmb (for example) union to unionise those factories to enable the workers there to improve their own working conditions themselves.
"naming and shaming" is part of this.

we want to build an anti-sweated labour campaign not just in the uk. but across the world. if you want to help us, whereever you are, mailto: admin@nosweat.org.uk and we'll see how we can work together!

matth

matth
mail e-mail: wiganwigan@yahoo.com
- Homepage: http://www.nosweat.org.uk


facts, info, details

18.06.2002 18:22

spend half an hour or so searching through our website at  http://www.nosweat.org.uk and you'll find all the info and facts you want. search the guardian or the bbc websites under the word "sweatshop" and you'll find stuff there too........

math


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