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Nike Debate

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1. Should Nike be held responsible for working conditions in foreign factories that it does not won, but where sub-contractors make products for Nike?
Nike should be held responsible for the working conditions in foreign factories where subcontractors make products the company sells. Although Nike may be technically removed from responsibility in some areas, it clearly has the obligation to contract with subcontractors that uphold the rights and wages of their workers. The pay and working conditions that the workers of subcontractors receive is a direct result from the contract that has been negotiated by Nike. If Nike had chosen to make improved working conditions a part of the arrangement, or ensured the conditions of those workplaces met some form of human right standards those benefits may have been passed on to the workers. Since the workers are there to produce the products for Nike, the fact that the company does not actually own the facilities is irrelevant. Nike is the beneficiary of the work done in the factory and as a publicly owned firm should be accountable for the way its products are created.
2. What labor standards regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, and the like, should Nike hold foreign factories to: those prevailing in that country, or those prevailing in the United States.
Nike should require all factories regardless of their location to maintain the same standards when it comes to working conditions, overtime, and any other standards. It should be no different if the product was manufactured in the United States. Companies have the fiduciary rights to protect their employees and the rights of those that product their products by subcontractors. Working conditions, wages, and so forth can be improved around the world. Nike has the responsibility to hold suppliers to better conditions. In doing so, Nike may find that it receives

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