-Caveat Lector- ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >Focus on the Corporation > >July 29, 1999 > >An Outsiders' View of the One-Sided Class Warfare in the USA > >By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > >"While in theory U.S. law provides for workers to have freedom of >association, the right to join trade unions and participate in collective >bargaining is in practice denied to large segments of the American >workforce in both the public and the private sectors." > >That is the central conclusion of a new report issued by the >Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) ><http://www.icftu.org/english/els/escl99wtousa.html>. > >Sometimes it takes an outsider to put matters in perspective. Those living >in a society may become dulled to its everyday injustices; or key elements >of society may be hidden from the view of many; or people may come to view >their culture as the natural state of things, rather than the particular >result of a certain social arrangement. > >It was this outsider's point of view that enabled Alexis de Tocqueville to >write one of the still-great political sociological critiques of the >United States, Democracy in America. > >And this same perspective enables the ICFTU researchers to plainly, >directly and concisely convey the widespread sabotage of worker rights in >the United States. > >Here's what the report details with piercing clarity: > >* "Employers receive legal protection for extensive interference in the >decision of workers as to whether or not they wish to have union >representation. This includes active campaigning by employers among >employees against union representation as well as participating in >campaigns to eliminate union representation." > >* "Penalties for breaking the law are so limited and ineffective that >there is a high level of corporate lawlessness with respect to labor law. >At least one in 10 union supporters campaigning to form a union is >illegally fired." > >* Employers engage in widespread harassment and intimidation against union >supporters. Often the consultants, detectives and security firms used to >intimidate workers engage in "surveillance of union activists in order to >discredit them. In some cases, court, medical and credit records of union >activists are obtained and the family lives of activists are studied for >possible weaknesses." > >* Many government workers, the report notes, are denied the right to >strike or bargain collectively over hours, wages and other critical >issues. Nearly half of public workers suffer from full or partial denial >of collective bargaining rights. > >Union supporters who suffer from illegal firings, harassment, surveillance >or improper employer electioneering do not have adequate remedies at the >National Labor Relations Board. NLRB procedures, ICFTU correctly states, >"do not provide workers with effective redress in the face of abuses by >employers." NLRB delays and inability to award damages more than job >reinstatement and lost wages (minus earnings during the period between >illegal dismissal and NLRB order) are so severe that many wronged union >supporters simply do not bother filing a case with the NLRB. > >Employers also routinely eviscerate the rights of those workers who are >unionized: > >* "The law gives employers the 'free play of economic forces.' If >employers cannot get what they want through collective bargaining, they >can unilaterally impose their terms, lock out their employees, and >transfer work to another location, or even to another legal entity." The >ICFTU reports refers to Crown Central Petroleum's lockout of 250 Texas >workers as an example. > >* "An increasing number of employers have deliberately provoked strikes to >get rid of trade unions. Unacceptable demands are made of workers and are >often accompanied by arrangements for the recruiting and training of >strike-breakers." > >* Strike-breakers are also used to prevent unions from ever reaching a >first contract. > >* And, in one of the great travesties of the U.S. legal system, while the >law does prohibit the firing of workers for exercising collective >bargaining rights, at the same time it permits employers to lock out and >"permanently replace" those workers. > >The ICFTU report also criticizes the United States for permitting >widespread use of child labor, especially in the agricultural industry and >among migrant workers; and, in a growing number of cases, permitting >prisoners to be compelled to work for pay (for rates as low as 23 cents a >day). > >"A series of far-reaching measures need to be taken in order to establish >genuine respect for core labor standards within the United States, >particularly with regard to trade union rights," the ICFTU report modestly >concludes. > >Because the report was prepared as a submission to the World Trade >Organization, it emphasizes the importance of the United States ratifying >International Labor Organization conventions on core worker rights. > >But something much more fundamental is needed before the systematic >assault on U.S. worker rights is ended. Comprehensive labor law reform is >imperative; even more important is an upsurge in labor organization and >militancy, with workers forcing employers to recognize their rights >irrespective of legal enforcement. > >The awesome challenge, of course, is how to generate that militancy and >organizing burst when U.S. corporations are ruthless enough to fire one in >ten union supporters. > >--- > >Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime >Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based >Multinational Monitor. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The >Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Common Courage Press, >1999, http://www.corporatepredators.org.) > >(c) Copyright 1999 Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > >[Articles on BRC-NEWS may be forwarded and posted on other mailing >lists/discussion forums, as long as proper attribution is given to the >author and originating publication, and the wording is not altered in >any way. >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Subscribe: Email "subscribe brc-news" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >------------------------------------------------------------------- >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >------------------------------------------------------------------------>----------------------------------------------------------- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. 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