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Last Updated: Jul 10, 2008 - 7:56:07 AM |
Gettelfinger serves as president of the automotive department of the
metalworkers' federation's automotive department and chaired 12th IMF
World Auto Council Meeting.
Gettelfinger highlighted some key problems facing autoworkers and
workers in related industries around the world. The "restructuring of
the global auto industry" in which the recent rise in "gasoline prices
and other energy costs" and increased costs of raw materials have
escalated the struggles facing workers and has increased "political
tensions in both the industrialized and developing worlds, and have
also intensified economic pressures for structural changes in the auto
industry worldwide."
Unity of purpose and action among workers from all countries,
Gettelfinger proposed, is the solution to this crisis.
Gettelfinger emphasized the role of Brazilian workers in bringing to
power President Lula da Silva, founder of the Workers Party and a
former metal worker. He likened Lula's electoral victories with the aid
of the Brazilian labor movement to the efforts of the U.S. labor
movement to help elect "a pro-worker, pro-union president, Sen. Barack
Obama, on Nov. 4, 2008."
"The economic interests of workers and unions from the industrialized
countries are now inextricably tied to the interests of automotive
workers from Brazil and the rest of the newly developed industrialized
world," Gettelfinger argued.
Gettelfinger listed some key avenues to strengthening the hand of
workers globally and locally. "We will either succeed or fail together
in responding to the global restructuring of the auto sector by
building union strength at the workplace, within our respective
national political structures, and by exerting our influence over
international trade and development agreements and policies," he
pointed out.
It might be obvious that global labor solidarity is as important now as
ever, Gettelfinger continued, but "[f]rom Manaus to Moscow, Beijing to
Brussels, South Carolina to South Africa, Wolfsburg to Tokyo and all
points in between, the major auto producers are forcing their employees
to work longer and harder for lower pay and benefits."
The right to organize or join unions is under attack. Health and safety
issues are at a critical point. "We have reached a crisis point in the
industry," he opined. "Today, not tomorrow, we must develop a pathway
to build union strength at the major global auto producers and
suppliers."
While global competition has driven many workers apart in the past
recent global "trends have created greater areas of mutual interest
between our unions." (Gettelfinger did not here address the role of
corporations, the ultra right, or the major media in deliberately
mystifying the nature of global production in order to convince workers
they were at odds with workers in other countries or that they could
not share common interests.)
Gettelfinger cited the exploitation of Chinese workers in the
foreign-owned sector of their country's auto industry. He argued that
labor laws and health and safety regulations need to be enforced there
to protect workers in that industry and to prevent the global auto
makers from North America, Europe, and Asia "forc[ing] down wages and
working standards all over the world."
Because the "automakers are able to drive living standards down to the
lowest common denominator" in a number of developing countries (like
China, Mexico, and Thailand), Gettelfinger added, a victory on wages,
benefits, health and safety protections in those countries is a victory
for all workers everywhere.
"Although we come from different countries and cultures, speak
different languages and have different perspectives on a wide variety
of issues," Gettelfinger stated, "our members increasingly work for the
same employers and are confronted with the same company
business/investment strategies and labor relations practices."
Because of the interlocking ownership and investment patterns of the
world's major auto makers and auto suppliers, Gettelfinger noted, "it
becomes increasingly difficult to talk about GM, Ford, and Chrysler as
American companies; Renault, Daimler, BMW, and VW as European
companies; or Toyota, Honda, and Nissan as Japanese companies."
"In the same sense," he added, "it is no longer meaningful or effective
to talk about GM or Ford unions as American unions."
Because the profit motive and the tactics employers use to increase
profits have moved to a global scale, "[o]ur response, in turn, must be
a global response. Failure to act globally has disastrous
consequences," he noted.
Gettelfinger referred to the recent strike at Detroit-based auto parts
maker American Axle as an example. After a 3-month strike workers at
American Axle signed a contract that included major "take aways" on
wages and benefits.
Gettelfinger indicated that the corporation had workers over a barrel.
It increased production in its Silao, Mexico plant in order to reduce
the impact of the strike in Detroit. Gettelfinger stated that UAW
efforts to open a relationship with the Mexican union that represented
the workers in Silao, who happened to also be negotiating with the
company at the same time, in order to coordinate efforts was
unsuccessful. (He didn't discuss when those efforts began or how they
were conducted.)
The "consequences [of this failure] are undeniable." The lack of
international solidarity caused the Detroit workers to " accept an
inferior agreement" and "the American Axle employees in Mexico received
a much smaller wage increase than they would have if we had succeeded."
In addition to the wages and conditions of workers, global solidarity
encompasses an array of global social issues, Gettelfinger added. "The
living standards of all of our members are affected by the same global
economic trends: economic growth and development, employment and
unemployment rates, income and wealth distribution, energy prices,
environmental concerns, and international trade and investment flows."
Gettelfinger pointed to the further impact of globalization on US
workers. German and Japan-based automakers have taken advantage of
anti-labor laws in parts of the US to open factories with a non-union
labor force. "Nissan, for example, operates non-union plants in
Tennessee and Mississippi, while Honda operates union-free in Ohio.
Toyota has resisted unionization at its manufacturing operations in
Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, West Virginia, and elsewhere.
Hyundai/Kia has just opened a non-union plant in Georgia to go along
with its assembly operation in Alabama. BMW operates union-free in
South Carolina, as does Mercedes Benz in Alabama," he indicated.
Expanded organized efforts and political change are required to turn
the tide on this issue, Gettelfinger said. "The UAW recognizes that it
is ultimately our responsibility to organize these plants, and we are
committed to doing so. But it will not only require US labor law
reform; the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act for starters, but
also a comprehensive international organizing strategy."
Trade policy impacts the living standards of workers directly. "The UAW
will continue to urge Congress and the new administration to adopt a
different approach to international trade policy," Gettelfinger stated,
"one that can address the problems of global development and worker
rights, rather than simply promoting the interests of global capital.
On this point the labor movement has won some temporary victories. The
UAW and the Korea Metalworkers' Union (KMWU) have worked together, for
example, to build opposition to the proposed US-Korea Free Trade
Agreement. The labor movement also successfully opposed the Colombia
free trade agreement which Bush tried to force Congress into accepting.
But battles to oppose free trade agreements that "weaken the power of
unions to advance the interests and rights of their members" are not
over.
Economic growth does not equal a rise in living standards, Gettelfinger
pointed out. "The distribution of income and wealth in the United
States, like many other countries, has gotten more unequal over the
past two decades as globalization has eroded union strength. In short,
industrial workers are not successfully capturing their fair share of
global economic growth."
Income inequality is a key concern of the labor movement, he said.
"American managers and shareholders do quite well under globalization,
but hourly employees are not receiving their fair share of economic
growth."
Due to anti-worker policies of the Bush administration, wages are
stagnant, health care costs are out of control, and retirement is more
precarious than ever in modern times. Now recession threatens workers
again, Gettelfinger emphasized.
A strong labor movement has never been more needed, and the solidarity
of workers globally will be decisive in rebuilding that strength, he
concluded.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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