Anna Del Savio – When a trio of Indonesian factory workers visited Nike's downtown Portland store May 27, they recognized parts of shoes that they cut or stitched. The three women work for factories that produce Nike shoes.
Dedeh Nurhasanah examined a pair of Nike sneakers that cost more than her monthly salary of three million rupiah, or $184 (US). Through a translator, she told advocates and reporters who joined the store visit that seeing the shoes in the store made her feel both proud and sad.
Leni Oktira Sari recognized the material she cuts out for the tongue of the shoe – more than 220 pairs per hour.
Dinar Swandini showed attendees the Nike swoosh that she sews onto sneakers – and smiled when she saw "Made in Indonesia" on the label inside the shoe.
Besides the Nike store at Portland's Pioneer Place mall, the garment workers visited Nike's Beaverton headquarters and the heavily Nike-branded University of Oregon in Eugene. The visits were meant to publicize their call for Nike to improve wages and working conditions for the workers who make their products.
The workers met with Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson on May 29 and filed a complaint about unpaid wages, the Oregonian reported.
The workers traveled to New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., after the Oregon stops.
Swandini, a member of the union Garteks, Oktira Sari from the union GSBI, and Nurhasanah from SPN were selected by their unions to represent thousands of Indonesian garment workers on a U.S. tour.
Their unions and other garment worker unions in Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have joined with activist groups Global Labor Justice and Asia Floor Wage Alliance for a campaign targeting fashion brands.
"I came to America to campaign for the rights of workers in Indonesia who were not paid by Nike during COVID-19," Nurhasanah said in a video recorded in front of the historic "Portland" sign outside the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. "Our hope of coming here is to reclaim the rights taken away by Nike at the time of COVID-19," Nurhasanah said in the video, which was translated and shared by Asia Floor Wage Alliance.
On May 27, the garment workers spent less than 15 minutes in the Nike store, with mall security watching from outside the store. Store employees stayed far from the garment workers as they perused the shoe displays, but managers asked the group to leave after they approached the retail workers to talk about their work and their demands to Nike.
Outside Pioneer Place, they spoke through a translator to passersby. Activists from Global Labor Justice, Portland Jobs with Justice, and other groups invited shoppers to take a quiz about Nike production.
In Indonesia, 273,000 workers make Nike products, with a typical wage of just $1 per hour. Another 57,000 workers in Cambodia make Nike products for around $1.18 per hour. Workers are not directly employed by Nike but work for factories that contract with the sportswear company. Nike reported $51.4 billion in revenue in 2024.
The workers taught passersby an Indonesian chant: "Hidup Buruh," or "Long live the workers."
Source: https://nwlaborpress.org/2025/06/garment-workers-confront-nike-over-wages