Transcript Slide 1

Unions in your minds
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What are Unions
About?
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What is your image of
a union leader?
Voss and Fantasia
“Relational Analysis”
Symbolic:
Material Conditions:
The Place of Unions in the
Public Imagination
The System of Rules Governing
Unions
“Special Interest” or
“Social Justice”
Consumer or Worker
The Balance of Power between
Workers and Employers
Type of Person:
Bureaucrat, Strongman, Militant
Business/Push Button Unionism
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Material
– Negotiation and Enforcement of Long-Term Contracts
– Grievance resolution based on legalistic contract language
– Focus on servicing existing union membership
-- Cooperative relationship with employers
-- Distance from the Rank and File
-- Antiradicalism
Type of Person:
Bureaucrat or Strongman
Symbolic
Unions as “special interests”
Labor and the Cold War
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Funded by USIA USAID
American Institute for Free labor Development in Latin America (AIFLD),
Asia-American Free Labor Institute
African American Labor Center.
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1983 National Endowment for Democracy
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Labor, Business, Republican and Democratic Parties
In the 1980s, roughly half of the AFL-CIO’s
budget came from the state department.
Intervention
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Guatemala 1954
Chile 1973
Central America 1980s
Kissinger-Kirkland
South Africa Buthelezi,
– Attempts to undercut anti apartheid Congress of South
African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the rest of the
liberation movement.
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Solidarity Poland
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Support for conservative, sometimes pro-business unions
Attempts to undercut their more leftist rivals
What happened?
Employee Based Welfare State
 Globalization
 Corporate Counter Attack
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The unsustainability of the private welfare state:
Healthcare cost per vehicle
1,600
1,400
1,200
General Motors
Ford
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
Daimler/ Chrysler
Toyota Made in
Japan
Toyota U.S. Made
Car
Globalization
U.S.--from 1950-1990
 international trade went from 9% to 25%
of U.S. GNP
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Foreign Direct Investment from 5% of
U.S. GDP in 1970 to 30% in 2000
10,000 Pontiac LeMans Early 1990s
3,000 to South Korea for labor and assembly
1,750 to Japan for advanced components
750 to Germany for styling and design
engineering
 400 to Taiwan for “small components”
 250 to Britain for advertising and marketing
services
 50 to Ireland and Barbados for data processing
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Leaving about 3,800 to U.S inputs
Impact of Globalization
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Exit and Threat of Exit
Maytag Galesburg
Heightened competition
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Investors finally got news from Maytag that they can cheer
today: The home appliance maker said it was going to close a
facility in Galesburg Illinois and lay off 1,600 workers, or about 8%
of its total staff.
The announcement sent shares of Maytag soaring by more than
7%. What Wall Street liked is that Maytag is finally moving its
production to a low cost country....
Corporate Counterattack
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Number of Decertification Elections
1969 293
1975 516
1983 922
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Number of Labor Violations
1970 10,000
1975 16,000
1982 32,000
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Number Fired for Union Activity
1970 8,000
1975 11,000
1982 18,000
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Social Movement Unionism
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1. Organize from the bottom up
2. Rely on Corporate Campaigns
3. Willing to look beyond routine NLRB path to
recognition
4. Strong Orientation to Social Justice
5. Creative and Innovative in Style
6. “Self-Expanding” Sees actions as part of a long term
process
What might this mean in practice? You are trying to
organize janitors…