WSJ: UAW Sets New Tactic to Organize at Foreign Car Makers

[marmar]

By MATTHEW DOLAN And NEAL E. BOUDETTE


DETROIT—The United Auto Workers outlined a new push to recruit U.S. workers at one or more foreign auto makers and will bolster the effort by training and sending activists abroad to organize rallies and protests in support of the union campaign.

On Tuesday, UAW leaders meeting here described plans to reach out to foreign unions and consumers in what would be their first major campaign since failed efforts in the last decade at Nissan Motor Co. and auto-parts supplier Denso Corp. They hope to be more successful by reaching out to foreign unions at the auto makers' overseas plants and bringing pressure from prayer vigils, fasts or protests at dealerships.


If the international coalitions prove successful, they would represent a step toward the globalization of organized labor. Over the past 20 years, many industries have globalized, shifting millions of factory jobs from high-wage countries to low-cost markets. Labor, meanwhile, has fragmented by national borders, laws and languages.

The effort is a dramatic change for a union that has repeatedly stumbled in efforts to organize U.S. plants of foreign auto makers. The UAW remained almost wholly dependent on the Detroit auto makers and their suppliers. But its past contract successes helped push General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC into bankruptcy court two years ago. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704461304576216781493268262.html

[Taverner]

1. Workers of the World Unite!

[socialist_n_TN]

3. Great minds think alike.......

:) Let's work to keep this kicked.

[socialist_n_TN]

2. GREAT news............

At least Labor is starting to do some out of the box thinking. Labor is MUCH stronger overseas than it is here and we DO need and international labor movement. I might as well say it here: WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! It's our only hope.

[former9thward]

4. I read this article earlier today.

I just don't see how it would work. The organizers would be people whose culture and primary language would be different that the workers. I wonder what the response would be to that? Also the organizers would have 'no skin in the game'. If the battle was lost they would just go back home while the workers could face reprisals.

[socialist_n_TN]

5. Wasn't the article talking about influencing the COMPANIES

with the union membership solidarity in their home countries? I'm sure the organizers for the plants here would be UAW organizers from THIS country.

I actually could see where it would help though. Say the Nissan factory here in Smyrna gets a visit by a union worker from Japan ALONG WITH a UAW organizer. They talk to the workers and the Japanese worker tells the locals about how much better the conditions are in the union plants. It could have a positive effect.

I would think it would work even better though with the German auto plants that have opened up here in Tennessee. They have a MUCH stronger labor presence in Germany.

It's worth a shot anyway. Not much else has worked.

[madrchsod]

6. where is that card check? ...oh i`m sorry...

must`t upset the people that pays the bills.....

[applegrove]

7. Good!