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Author Topic: A Transatlantic "Superunion"?
robbie_dee
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posted 19 April 2007 01:27 PM      Profile for robbie_dee     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
You've heard of musical supergroups. Now, the United Steelworkers is hoping to create a superunion.

The USW signed an agreement yesterday signaling its intent to merge with two international unions in order to create the world's largest union, representing more than 3.4 million active and retired members.

"The time for global unionism has arrived," said Leo Gerard, president of the Downtown-based United Steelworkers. "We need cross-border organizing strategies to protect workers against the mobility of capital that knows no borders."

The two international unions -- Amicus, which represents about 1 million active British workers, and the 800,000-member Transport & General Workers Union representing active British and Irish workers -- already had voted to merge on May 1.

The agreement signed yesterday in Ottawa, Canada, allows for the formation of a merger exploration committee, with the goal of merging all three unions within a year.

Union leaders hope the merger will help revitalize a labor movement that has struggled with falling membership in the United States and the United Kingdom.

"It seems we are no longer capable of fully dealing with and negotiating with those global companies unless we, ourselves, are organized globally," said Derek Simpson, general secretary for Amicus.

The move might be one of many in labor history in which unions have re-aligned themselves to follow changing business practices, said Nelson Lichtenstein, director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

"The structure of labor unions has to, in some ways, follow the structure of capital," he said, noting that in the 1930s labor reorganized from craft unions to industrial unions following changes in the automobile and manufacturing industries during the industrial revolution.


Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


You can also check out the United Steelworkers' press release.


From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
unionist
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posted 19 April 2007 01:55 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Another grand scheme - like the "merger" of USW, IAM, UAW a few years back that never happened. I wish I could believe that such projects were driven by principle rather than opportunity and distress.
From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
500_Apples
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posted 19 April 2007 01:59 PM      Profile for 500_Apples   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Do you, as someone manifestly familiar with the state of organized labour, think that such a merger would be beneficial if it actually took place?
From: Montreal, Quebec | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged
trippie
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posted 19 April 2007 10:25 PM      Profile for trippie        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
this is the only logical thing to do.... but works have to be vigalent.... Unoin leadership are protecting themselves left right and center and are working hand in glove with managment..


I think it would be a better idea if the workers formed an international workers party.... With the sole aim of creating a socialist economy ....


From: essex county | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged
Steppenwolf Allende
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posted 19 April 2007 10:51 PM      Profile for Steppenwolf Allende     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Do you, as someone manifestly familiar with the state of organized labour, think that such a merger would be beneficial if it actually took place?

Although the question wasn't directly for me, I'll be happy to butt in with an answer.

Like many things, as the old adage goes, it's all in the details.

How this new organization will be structured and how it will run, what priorities it will have and what democratic process will be involved in determining those priorities have all yet to be determined.

This is a new thing, for sure. While I share some of the Unionist's apprehension about this, I'm not ready to just write it off as another US-union-style group-up flop.

One thing I'm pretty sure of is that, given the general nature and legacy of European unions, this new international union will, at least to a large degree, have to operate much more like an actual international labour group than the bogus so-called "international" unions that currently exist between the US and Canada.

The truth is in Canada, we don't really have many actual international unions, even though many groups use that term in their names. Rather, we simply have US-based unions with a bunch of Canadian members hurled into the mix--often leading to them being treated with less concern and respect by the mostly US-based leaderships.

That's one of the main motivators behind the historic moves by working people in this country to either demand greater autonomy or independence within those unions, or breaking away entirely and forming fully and exclusively Canadian organizations.

The Steelworkers, to be fair, are probably one of the few US-based unions to take an international model somewhat more seriously, with its Canadian section enjoying constitutionally mandated independence, yet still maintaining an affiliated structure. The International Longshoremen and Warehousemen (not the ILA) have a similar structure.

SO I guess we'll have to see how things pan out with this new effort.


From: goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here | Registered: Aug 2006  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 19 April 2007 11:53 PM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I see Indian steel giant Essar is buying Algoma Steel in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario for $1.5B. Essar is spending another $1.6B on Minnesota Steel along with its substantial iron ore reserves. Algoma is the steel mill that the NDP bailed out of trouble in the 1990's. I remember the local Liberals in the Sault saying to Algoma Steel workers in the newspapers then, "Sink or swim!"
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
Steppenwolf Allende
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posted 20 April 2007 12:09 AM      Profile for Steppenwolf Allende     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Algoma is the steel mill that the NDP bailed out of trouble in the 1990's. I remember the local Liberals in the Sault saying to Algoma Steel workers in the newspapers then, "Sink or swim!"

Actually, in addition to the NDP, the Steelworkers themselves played a key role in turning the company around after they bought a chunck of it and ran it, at least partly as a worker co-op. Those who say socialistic economic aren't entrepreneurial are idiots.

Sadly, the huge capital investment requirements needed to modernize the plant were not available to the workers (that's one of the curses of any form of capitalism: suck the bulk of the wealth out of the economy and away from the workers who create it, so they can't have access to it).

It's too bad they had to sell. Now with Algoma under the control of Essar, and Stelco under the control of what-its-name firm owned by the Chinese government, we will soon be seeing what kind of down-sizing, etc. will go on in the next couple years.


From: goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here | Registered: Aug 2006  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 20 April 2007 12:47 AM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Steppenwolf Allende:

Actually, in addition to the NDP, the Steelworkers themselves played a key role in turning the company around after they bought a chunck of it and ran it, at least partly as a worker co-op. Those who say socialistic economic aren't entrepreneurial are idiots.


They accepted a number of concessions at the same time. Retired steel workers got stiffed with reduced pensions and lowered wages. It's a fairly modern mill now with the addition of the direct strip complex and some other refurbishing over the years. They had to payout $200 million to Wall Street investors. They wanted $400 million. Meanwhile, Canadian pension funds continue to be invested in the U.S. Nobody wonders why anymore with so many foreign takeovers


From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
robbie_dee
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posted 20 April 2007 06:40 AM      Profile for robbie_dee     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by unionist:
Another grand scheme - like the "merger" of USW, IAM, UAW a few years back that never happened. I wish I could believe that such projects were driven by principle rather than opportunity and distress.

Well, in my opinion I think the great USW-IAM-UAW industrial union merger that wasn't was indeed motivated by principle, although I think the some of the latter elements were what scuttled it. That being said, I've heard rumblings at least two of the three participants in that deal may yet be getting together in the future.

quote:
Originally posted by 500_Apples:
Do you, as someone manifestly familiar with the state of organized labour, think that such a merger would be beneficial if it actually took place?

Yes. I would be interested in hearing unionist's take, though?


From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
unionist
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posted 20 April 2007 08:36 AM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Excuses: our bargaining team is working all weekend. I'd really like to sit down and reflect more seriously on international mergers, but it's a serious question and I want to do it justice (as opposed to my usual quickie flippant posts!). I'll get back to this when I can...
From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
robbie_dee
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posted 30 May 2008 10:19 AM      Profile for robbie_dee     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The latest news:

Bill Toland, "USW, Brits near creation of 'super' union," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 28, 2008.

quote:
The long-discussed merger between Pittsburgh's United Steelworkers and Britain's Unite, creating the first transatlantic "super" union, is being called an important step in labor's global strategy, allowing workers to better negotiate with the sophisticated multinational corporations that employ them.

The self-proclaimed counterforce to corporate globalization may soon target mergers with labor groups in the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Together, the two unions already represent workers in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and are in talks to take on the Australian Workers Union.

The merger, the two unions say, will differ from the loose alliances that USW has been building since the 1990s, as steel production moved out of America and into lower-cost labor markets. While the two unions will still operate independently, when need be, they will join at the top of the organization for membership drives and negotiations with common employers.

"There are really no American companies any longer," said Wayne Ranick, USW spokesman. The big companies that we think of as being American, "all of them are multinational," often with a presence overseas.

"Right now, there is no countervailing force to global capital," Mr. Ranick said.

Officials from USW and Unite, with more than 2 million members in transportation, energy and other sectors, met last week in London and, according to published reports, put the "finishing touches" on a merger that had been discussed from the moment Unite was formed a year ago through an alliance of the Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union, both from the U.K. The merger terms have been endorsed by Unite officials, and USW will discuss the plan at its annual conference in July.



From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
KenS
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posted 30 May 2008 07:02 PM      Profile for KenS     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I don't have any idea what it is reasonable to expect from this. More then that, my hunch is tha no one[s] can.

International is better is a great principle. But I can't picture what that translates into on the ground.

It could be just bigger, or more cumbersome, or just a federation of unions still seperate in all but name.

One concrete benefit I can see is combined training programs- which COULD happen just through an association for that purpose... but in practice would not.

One favourable thing is that both unions are strong and not facing internal probems. The USW and CAW are very similar in being much bigger than their original core industry memberships. And both face big problems just trying to trad water in the original industries. But Steel manages to face the same problems without the crisis air that has surrounded the CAW for years.

And Steel has always been as international as you can reasonably expect. But don't expect anything European out of the TGWU.

My inclination is to want it to happen so we can see what it brings and what possibilities show themselves. It's not like the status quo is great, or that there is some Trojan Horse that is part of the bargain.


From: Minasville, NS | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 30 May 2008 10:53 PM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
How about a larger pool of strike funds to draw from in a wobble? Solidarnosc!
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
Mercy
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posted 31 May 2008 07:04 AM      Profile for Mercy     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Steppenwolf Allende:
Sadly, the huge capital investment requirements needed to modernize the plant were not available to the workers (that's one of the curses of any form of capitalism: suck the bulk of the wealth out of the economy and away from the workers who create it, so they can't have access to it).
This is particularly bizarre when you see the deferred wages of workers used to, say, buy BCE or invest in a private hospital.

From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Feb 2007  |  IP: Logged
robbie_dee
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Babbler # 195

posted 06 July 2008 09:26 AM      Profile for robbie_dee     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
The United Steelworkers signed a merger agreement on Wednesday with the largest labor organization in Britain and Ireland to create what union leaders said would be the world’s first global union.

The new union, to be called Workers Uniting, will represent more than 2.8 million workers in the steel, paper, oil, health care and transportation industries. Officials said the union plans to hold trans-Atlantic negotiations with companies including the oil conglomerate BP, and ArcelorMittal, the giant steel maker.

“This union is crucial for challenging the growing power of global capital,” said Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers, which represents 850,000 workers in the United States and Canada.

Under the merger agreement, the steelworkers and its trans-Atlantic partner, Unite the Union, will maintain their individual identities but will work to meld their activities and organizations. The new union will have a joint steering committee and an executive director to coordinate trans-Atlantic activities, although each union will continue to have its own president at least for a few years.

Unite the Union was formed last year when two of Britain’s largest unions, Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union, merged, creating an organization with two million members and workers in more than a dozen industries.

Leaders of Unite the Union and the United Steelworkers, who signed the merger agreement at the steelworkers’ convention in Las Vegas on Wednesday, made it clear they hoped that other unions would merge with them to form a larger, more powerful organization.

“Our mission is to advance the interests of millions of workers throughout the world who are being shamefully exploited,” said Derek Simpson, general secretary of Unite’s Amicus division.

In the past year, the two unions have discussed strategies for saving manufacturing jobs in the United States, Canada, Britain and Ireland, and joint collective bargaining with employers in the paper, chemical and titanium industries. The new union plans to set up operations in Colombia to help protect union members there from violence, in Liberia to aid rubber workers, and in India to help impoverished shipbuilding workers, officials said.

The union’s founding constitution calls on its members to “build global union activism, recognizing that uniting as workers across international boundaries is the only way to challenge the injustices of globalization.”


Steven Greenhouse, "Steelworkers Merge with British Union," New York Times, July 3, 2008.

Website: Workers Uniting


From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Kdrunkin1
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posted 21 July 2008 07:10 PM      Profile for Kdrunkin1     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Seems kinda like the Walmartization of a union to me. I thought that big business was a bad thing but great big unions are not especially if the union heads are not from this nation.?
From: SE Sask | Registered: Oct 2007  |  IP: Logged

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