SEPTEMBER
Comm ntary
By Rev. Ty Cli r
Sp!cillllD t MkIUE" CiIiu"
Amid the explosive head­
line portraying Operation
PUSH's reque t to meet with
IKE nd the the sub equent
boycott as omething
an logou to "blackmail" and
the cries for "extortion."
"coercion, and "nti­
capi tali m," .onc can easi Iy
10 e the true meaning of what
we at PUSH hope to ac­
compli h in meeting ith
IKE.
Our objective i to estab­
Ii h a fair. reciprocal nd
mutually beneficial
economic relationship be­
tween IKE and the African
American and minority com­
munitie which have helped
ma NIKE the gi nr it is in
the thletic footwear in-
du try.
Counties organizations
before us have used their col­
lective' voice (0 infl uence
corporate beh vior.
Environmental groups
. have put pre sure on the fa t
food indu try to u e n alter­
nate method of p caging
products that doe not h rm
the envi ronment, health
group h ve asked for warn­
i ng me age on tobacco nd
Icohol product telling of
potential harmful effects, and
the Americ n con umer
(through our preference for
foreign made c rs) have pres-
ured the American
automakers to build fuel effi­
cient automobile .
PUSH USES ITS voice to
peak on matters of concern
to the African American and
minority community.
Our current focus i on
removing the "zero" factor in
corporate America which is
evident in companies such as
NIKE, where you find:
ZERO African
American and minorities on
the board of directors and in
key executive position.
. ZERO African
Americans and minority
entrepreurs have contractual
agreement 10 provide legal.
accounting. in' urance, bank­
ing. and other nece sary
pro�'es ional ervlces,
- ZERO doll rs re spent
with African American and
minority adverti ing agen-
o cie • new paper. magazines.
radio and televi ion stations.
WE ARE USING our
voice and our dollars to help
remove these partheid cor­
porate policies.
When PUSH fight for
more busine. s for African
American owned bu ine e
the net re. ult i: more jobs for
African Americans.
Stali tic' have shown that
the majority of job created
in the privat sector originate
from small busine es.
When bank' begin to grow
becau e of larger deposit
they need clerk, data entry
operator, etc. The same ef­
fect occur in law firms. ac­
counting firms, in ur nee
agencies. and in every other
type of busine .'
In addition. when Afric n
Americans have re pre-
sentation on corporate boards
and in key executive po i­
t io n s , we are be tt e r po s i­
tioned to favorably impact
co-rporate policies and direc­
tions.
with reconciliation.
PUSH COO E TO focus
'on the thletic hoe indu try
because of African American
con sum e r P it ern and be-
au e of the growing
popul rity of athletic shoes in
our communities.
We beg n good fai th
negotiation with NIKE and
were lookin forward to the
next round 0 meetings when
NIKE suddenly and unexpec­
tedly accu ed PUSH of being
in collu ion with Reebok.
The call for the boycott wa
initiated after cornmunic -
tions broke· down following
NI �E' refu al to meet any
further.
Our goal and our focus
continues to be African
Ame rican represent tion at
all level in corporate
America including the
procurement nd contracting
for good and ervice. .
We have been .ucccs ful
in ncgotiati ng wi th organiza­
tion uch as Coor • Burger
King Corporation. Ford
Motor Company. Seven-Up •
and Coca-Cola.
The e cornp nie. found
that it doe' make good bu i-
nes. ense to develo
tronger economic relation­
:hip with the A ri�an
American and minority com-
munitie . .
Our hope i th t NIKE will
reach that arne conclu ion
allowing u to call off this
boycott and to continue to
erve our community in other
area.
PUSH liAS A trong hi -
tory of erving the African
American and minority com­
munity and serving a their
voice on , uch diverse matters
as school reform. voter
registration. job placement.
grievance rc olution. worker
displacement. educational
advancement and economic
impowerm nt.
It is under our economic
empowerment efforts that we
work to help level the pi ying
field so that competent and
qu lified minority bu ine es
can more effectively comp te
in the I rger bu 'inc' world.
We negotiate on behalf of
minoirty bu inc c in those
industrie where we have sig­
nificant con umer buying
power.
We fol ow a process
developed hy Dr. Martin
Luther Kin • Jr. and carried
. on by PUSH founder. Rev.
Je sc L. Jac son.
We have alway had
honor ble relation 'hip. e
do our re earch and then we
educate the community and
the company. We then at­
tempt to negotiate fair.
reciprocal and mutually
beneficial economic relation­
Ship.
We only boycott if
.negotiations f il and hould
that happen, e alway end
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Send me The_
. Michigan Citizen
Name
Rev. Tyrone Cr. ider i Ex­
ecutive Director of Operation
PUSH. headquartered in
Chicago. tllinois.
-1
'll����s�� I'
! I S1S· one year i
( J U . si. months
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MAL TODAY TO:
PO BOX 03560 •
U' ,�A.":� P. I (;'2"�
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