From the second installment of the Good Morning America series “Made in China: Your Job, Your Future, Your Fortune“:
The Nike plant in the Guangdong province is by no means a sweatshop. Overtime is limited to a 48-hour workweek, the company brings in a ton of rice a day to feed everyone, and the facilities even include a golf course.
But it is hardly a country club by American standards. While the plant provides housing, it is in massive, sweltering dormitories that sleep eight to a room. And wages are low ” just $31 a week ” less than 15 times less the wage paid at an American factory.
Because labor is so cheap, Nike can produce an affordable sneaker for American consumers, but American industries worry that the workers may not tolerate these conditions for long.