A worker assembles a BMW at the German automaker's factory
in San Luis PotosÃ, Mexico on June 6, 2019.
(Photo: Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images)
"For decades, corporations have taken advantage of inadequate trade laws to offshore thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico, where worker wages and conditions have long been suppressed."
BRETT WILKINS
Feb 23, 2024
COMMON DREAMS
Thirty years after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, the largest U.S. autoworkers union on Friday announced the establishment of a solidarity initiative to support industry workers in Mexico "fighting for economic justice and improved working conditions."
United Auto Workers (UAW) said the new project "will provide resources to Mexican workers and independent unions in Mexico, and aims to strengthen cross-border solidarity between U.S. and Mexican workers."
"Under NAFTA, Mexico's automotive workforce has grown sevenfold, while wages, benefits, and working conditions continue to fall behind."
Signed in 1993 and taking effect the following year, NAFTA eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The leaders of the three nations, including then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, promised the pact would create millions of new jobs and lift living standards.
But while U.S. trade with Mexico has more than tripled in the decades since the treaty went into effect, the income gap between the two countries is wider today than when the treaty was signed, while American and multinational corporations have profited tremendously from lower trade barriers and labor costs as production has shifted south of the border.
"Under NAFTA, Mexico's automotive workforce has grown sevenfold, while wages, benefits, and working conditions continue to fall behind," the UAW said on Friday.
Wages for U.S. workers have also suffered as automakers cite the need to remain competitive with their own Mexican operations.
"For decades, corporations have taken advantage of inadequate trade laws to offshore thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico where worker wages and conditions have long been suppressed," the UAW said.
Meanwhile, the union noted that "corporations use the threat of offshoring jobs as a cudgel to beat back worker discontent and organizing efforts in the U.S."
Cross-border solidarity was a key component of last year's six-week UAW strike at the Big Three U.S. automakers. Rank-and-file workers at General Motors' plant in Silao, Guanajuato organized to block corporate efforts to shift production to Mexico as a strikebreaking tactic.
The strike ended with the UAW and the Big Three agreeing to a new contract widely hailed by union members.
(Photo: Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images)
"For decades, corporations have taken advantage of inadequate trade laws to offshore thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico, where worker wages and conditions have long been suppressed."
BRETT WILKINS
Feb 23, 2024
COMMON DREAMS
Thirty years after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, the largest U.S. autoworkers union on Friday announced the establishment of a solidarity initiative to support industry workers in Mexico "fighting for economic justice and improved working conditions."
United Auto Workers (UAW) said the new project "will provide resources to Mexican workers and independent unions in Mexico, and aims to strengthen cross-border solidarity between U.S. and Mexican workers."
"Under NAFTA, Mexico's automotive workforce has grown sevenfold, while wages, benefits, and working conditions continue to fall behind."
Signed in 1993 and taking effect the following year, NAFTA eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The leaders of the three nations, including then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, promised the pact would create millions of new jobs and lift living standards.
But while U.S. trade with Mexico has more than tripled in the decades since the treaty went into effect, the income gap between the two countries is wider today than when the treaty was signed, while American and multinational corporations have profited tremendously from lower trade barriers and labor costs as production has shifted south of the border.
"Under NAFTA, Mexico's automotive workforce has grown sevenfold, while wages, benefits, and working conditions continue to fall behind," the UAW said on Friday.
Wages for U.S. workers have also suffered as automakers cite the need to remain competitive with their own Mexican operations.
"For decades, corporations have taken advantage of inadequate trade laws to offshore thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico where worker wages and conditions have long been suppressed," the UAW said.
Meanwhile, the union noted that "corporations use the threat of offshoring jobs as a cudgel to beat back worker discontent and organizing efforts in the U.S."
Cross-border solidarity was a key component of last year's six-week UAW strike at the Big Three U.S. automakers. Rank-and-file workers at General Motors' plant in Silao, Guanajuato organized to block corporate efforts to shift production to Mexico as a strikebreaking tactic.
The strike ended with the UAW and the Big Three agreeing to a new contract widely hailed by union members.
UAW Commits $40 Million to Organizing EV Battery Workers
"Building a worker-led movement ain't easy but it's the most important thing we can do," said one organizer.
United Auto Workers members march in the Detroit Labor Day Parade
JULIA CONLEY
Feb 21, 2024
COMMON DREAMS
With the electric vehicle battery industry expected to add tens of thousands of jobs in the coming years, the United Auto Workers announced Wednesday its plan to ensure the new workers will benefit from labor protections and fair wages.
The UAW's International Executive Board voted Tuesday to commit $40 million to help support and organize nonunion autoworkers and battery workers, said the union.
The decision reflects that "organizing the unorganized and fighting for a just transition for workers in the emerging EV industry are our union's top priority!" said Chris Brooks, an adviser to UAW president Shawn Fain.
Thanks to a surge in organizing activity, including a six-week "Stand Up Strike" last fall that pushed the "Big Three" automakers to provide employees with improved pay and working conditions, said the UAW, "new standards are being set" as the battery sector begins to expand.
The union announced during the strike that EV workers would be included in its national agreement.
Jobs at electric vehicle battery facilities "will supplement, and in some cases largely replace, existing power-train jobs in the auto industry," said the union. "Through a massive new organizing effort, workers will fight to maintain and raise the standard in the emerging battery industry."
Last month, the UAW announced that more than 10,000 autoworkers at 14 nonunion companies have signed union cards since the union's successful strike that ended last October.
"The UAW is committing serious resources to help autoworkers organize their workplaces," said UAW organizing director Brian Shepherd. "Building a worker-led movement ain't easy but it's the most important thing we can do."
The announcement comes after green groups this week criticized the Biden administration's plans—reported by The New York Times—to relax the pace at which manufacturers must boost EV sales. The UAW delayed its endorsement of President Joe Biden over EV policy.
"Building a worker-led movement ain't easy but it's the most important thing we can do," said one organizer.
United Auto Workers members march in the Detroit Labor Day Parade
on September 4, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan.
(Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
(Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
JULIA CONLEY
Feb 21, 2024
COMMON DREAMS
With the electric vehicle battery industry expected to add tens of thousands of jobs in the coming years, the United Auto Workers announced Wednesday its plan to ensure the new workers will benefit from labor protections and fair wages.
The UAW's International Executive Board voted Tuesday to commit $40 million to help support and organize nonunion autoworkers and battery workers, said the union.
The decision reflects that "organizing the unorganized and fighting for a just transition for workers in the emerging EV industry are our union's top priority!" said Chris Brooks, an adviser to UAW president Shawn Fain.
Thanks to a surge in organizing activity, including a six-week "Stand Up Strike" last fall that pushed the "Big Three" automakers to provide employees with improved pay and working conditions, said the UAW, "new standards are being set" as the battery sector begins to expand.
The union announced during the strike that EV workers would be included in its national agreement.
Jobs at electric vehicle battery facilities "will supplement, and in some cases largely replace, existing power-train jobs in the auto industry," said the union. "Through a massive new organizing effort, workers will fight to maintain and raise the standard in the emerging battery industry."
Last month, the UAW announced that more than 10,000 autoworkers at 14 nonunion companies have signed union cards since the union's successful strike that ended last October.
"The UAW is committing serious resources to help autoworkers organize their workplaces," said UAW organizing director Brian Shepherd. "Building a worker-led movement ain't easy but it's the most important thing we can do."
The announcement comes after green groups this week criticized the Biden administration's plans—reported by The New York Times—to relax the pace at which manufacturers must boost EV sales. The UAW delayed its endorsement of President Joe Biden over EV policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment