Shortly after UW-Madison cut its apparel contract with Nike, two former workers from Nike factories in Honduras spoke on campus Saturday about their experiences working for the company.
UW-Madison's decision to cut the contract stemmed from Nike allegedly failing to pay over 1,600 workers severance pay after the sudden closure of two Nike-contracted factories in Honduras.
Nike allegedly owes those workers about $2.2 million, roughly equivalent to three months' wages.
Lowlee Urquia, a former worker at one of the factories, said many employees did not receive adequate medical treatment because Nike refused to pay into Honduras' national health-care system.
As a result, Urquia said, several workers began to organize a union because they felt their rights were being violated.
""The general manager said that he would rather have a factory close than have a labor union in the workplace,"" Urquia said.
Gina Cano, also a former worker at one of the factories, said workers also organized a union because they were tired of violations within the workplace.
Cano said the factory closed Jan. 19, 2009, without any warning to employees.
After it closed, Urquia said the workers were given only about 26 percent of what they had earned at the factory. According to Urquia, Nike says they have no responsibility to provide severance pay and are blaming the missing funds on the subcontractors who were associated with the factory.
""All we ask from Nike is just a tiny smidgen, just a tiny fraction of what we helped them earn monetarily,"" she said.
Cano said she was often forced to work overtime with no compensation.
""We think we are being unfairly discriminated against, because the only thing that we're looking for is just to have what is rightfully owed to us,"" she said. ""We are workers who have actually worked years and years and years for Nike.""
Cano said, however, that she feels progress has been made because Nike used to ignore workers' complaints but has recently begun to cooperate more.
