7-09-08, 9:08 am

Describing the economic interests of workers in the industrialized countries and those of workers in developing countries as 'inextricably tied,' United Auto Workers (UAW President Ron Gettelfinger presented a keynote address to the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) in Sao Paulo, Brazil last month.

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.