Nike Worker-Executive Pay Plan Defeated

Nike Inc. shareholders on Wednesday rejected a proposal to tie executive compensation more closely to the wages that are paid at the company’s contract factories in Asia.

Chairman Phil Knight, who made $1.7 million in salary alone last year, promised more improvements and independent monitoring of conditions at its Asian factories, where some workers make $20 a month.

“I think what is happening is that Nike has been made the poster boy of the global economy,” Knight told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Memphis, Tenn.

Nike has been repeatedly criticized for the low wages and working conditions in its Asian factories, which the company has taken steps to improve.

Earlier at the meeting, a shareholder, investment manager John Harrington of California, asked Nike to boost its wages in Asia to improve the shoe giant’s image and maintain its stock value.

Nike shares rose 19 cents to close at $38.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.