Date: Sat, 12 Feb 1994 09:28:09 -0500 From: Revised List Processor (1.7e) Subject: File: "LABOR-L LOG9401" To: don roper X-Envelope-to: roper@NUT.COLORADO.EDU Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN Content-transfer-encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 4 Jan 1994 21:13:50 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: NAFTA MONITOR Cross Posting (160 lines) =20 LABOR-L will on occasion cross post from the "trade.news" conference = at conf.igc.apc.org. Since there are seveal ways to receive the trade.ne= ws LABOR-L will not post all material from that conference. Given the ne= ws of NAFTA and the first 4 days of 1994 LABOR-L has posted this one. - LABOR-L Management - --------------------- cross posting from trade.news -----------------= -- =46rom: Kai Mander Newsgroups: trade.news Date: 04 Jan 94 08:54 PST Subject: NAFTA MONITOR 1-4-94 To: Recipients of conference "trade.news" Sender: owner-pen-l@ecst.csuchico.edu =20 NAFTA MONITOR VOLUME I, NUMBER 2 Tuesday, January 4, 1994 =20 Headlines: NAFTA GOES INTO EFFECT REBELLION IN SOUTHERN MEXICO LINKED TO NAFTA GE WILL REHIRE 6 OF 11 FIRED MEXICAN UNION ACTIVISTS UAW WILL BE "WAITING" FOR 15,000 JOBS PROMISED UNDER NAFTA CANADIAN RETAILERS FAVOR BORDER TAX HIKE ________________________________________________________ NAFTA GOES INTO EFFECT =20 The North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect January 1, immediately eliminating tariffs on about half of U.S. exports to Mexico and 75 percent of U.S. imports from Mexico. Many barriers between Canada and Mexico were also lifted. Most Canada-U.S. trade is already duty-free under the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Among the U.S. exports to be stripped of tariffs immediately are computers, airplanes, X-ray equipment, telephones and many agricultural goods. Among the items Mexico can now ship duty-free to the United States are an assortment of car parts, electronic goods= , furniture, televisions, radios, toys and tequila. By the year 2004, = less than 1 percent of the trade between the countries will be subject to tariffs. =20 In a Friday editorial, Mexico's government-owned EL NACIONAL newspaper said NAFTA represents the beginning of "an era whose perspectives are not only very promising but also somewhat unpredictable, above all in its first months and years. With the elimination of tariffs, nobody knows with precision how the flows of business and investment will behave," it said. =20 Canadian Trade Minister Roy MacLaren will visit Mexico and Chile this week to discuss NAFTA and the possibility of Chile joining the trade pact. "I look forward to discussing Chile's possible accession= to the NAFTA during my stay in Santiago," MacLaren said in a statement. "Both of our countries can enhance their economic growth and competitiveness by further liberalizing trade." =20 Sources: Joseph B. Frazier, "Mexico-NAFTA," AP, December 28, 1993; Jeff Franks, "Long-Established Trade Barriers to Tumble," REUTER, December 31, 1993; "Canada to Discuss Chilean Membership of NAFTA," REUTER, December 31, 1993. ________________________________________________________ REBELLION IN SOUTHERN MEXICO LINKED TO NAFTA =20 Hundreds of Indian guerrillas battled police in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas to protest implementation of NAFTA and the widely reported abuses of Indian peasants by powerful, wealthy landowners in the region. At least 56 people, including 22 police and 24 rebels= , were reported killed during two days of fighting. =20 The rebels reportedly took control of four cities and perhaps six villages. A leader of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation said the revolt was timed to coincide with the implementation of NAFTA and that it was launched to protest the growing economic inequalities in Mexico. The group declared war on the Mexican government and denounced the Salinas administration as "illegitimate." A rebel commander declared: "We will control the entire country, including the capital." Mexico had not experienced an armed uprising since the 1970s. =20 Source: Tod Robberson, "55 Killed in Fighting in Southern Mexico," WASHINGTON POST, January 3, 1993; Tim Golden, Mexican Troops Battling Rebels; Toll at Least 56," NEW YORK TIMES, January 3, 1994. ________________________________________________________ GE WILL REHIRE 6 OF 11 FIRED MEXICAN UNION ACTIVISTS =20 General Electric Co. announced it will reinstate six of the 11 Mexica= n labor organizers it fired last month. The United Electrical, Radio and Mac= hine Workers of America (UE) and the Teamsters union had strongly proteste= d the firings, which came just days after Congressional approval of NAF= TA and only weeks after the workers had met with UE members in Juarez. The workers were involved in an organizing campaign for the Authentic Labor Front, Mexico's only independent labor group. In announcing th= e rehirings, GE reportedly told U.S. labor officials the six workers ha= d mistakenly been fired for insubordination. =20 Union leaders have also accused Honeywell Inc. of firing 20 workers t= rying to organize a factory in Chihuahua. The company, which says the firi= ngs are unrelated to union activity, has not responded to the protests. = U.S. labor leaders welcomed the GE rehirings, but called on GE and Honeywe= ll to reinstate all fired workers. UE General Secretary-Treasurer Amy Newe= ll said the firings violated the labor rights language of NAFTA. "Presi= dent Clinton and Congress assured the American people that labor and human rights would be respected on both sides of the border," she said. "T= hese gross violations of Mexican workers' rights deserve the attention of = both President Clinton and Congress. We demand an investigation." =20 Sources: Tim Shorrock, "6 Fired Union Activists Rehired by GE in Mexi= co," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, December 27, 1993; Anthony Spinelli, "GE Plans t= o Recall Workers," CONNECTICUT POST, December 25, 1993; "U.S. Union Protests Help Win Reinstatement of Mexican Workers Fired by General Electric," UE LABOR NEWS. ________________________________________________________ UAW WILL BE "WAITING" FOR 15,000 JOBS PROMISED UNDER NAFTA =20 Prior to NAFTA's passage, President Clinton and auto manufacturers claimed the trade pact would enable the Big Three automakers to export 60,000 cars to Mexico and create 15,000 new auto-related jobs. Despite those assurances, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union remained steadfastly opposed to NAFTA. But now that NAFTA has passed the UAW will be checking the accuracy of those claims. "We're going to be waiting and looking with bated breath for those 15,000 good-paying jobs," said UAW President Owen F. Bieber. "By God, I'll tell you this, we're going to keep tabs of how many (cars) = are sold there, and we're going to remind people of this." =20 Already, top executives of the Big Three have cast doubt on the likelihood of those forecasts coming true. "The 60,000 number -- I have to tell you, I have not ever discussed that number, nor do I know the origin of it," said Robert J. Eaton, chair of Chrysler Corp. Bieber points out that the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, the Big Three's trade association, often cited the figur= e. =20 Source: James Bennet, "U.A.W. Wants Trade Payoff in Jobs," NEW YORK TIMES, January 1, 1994. ________________________________________________________ CANADIAN RETAILERS FAVOR BORDER TAX HIKE =20 Many Canadian retailers are urging their provincial governments to impose taxes on goods purchased in the U.S. by Canadian citizens making cross-border shopping trips. "International trade agreements are fundamental to our basic principles," said Bill Draper= , president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Draper urged the Manitoba government to impose a sales tax on cross border shoppers "because it was hurting some of our merchants." Manitoba imposed a 7 percent provincial sales tax on merchandise purchased in the United States beginning last July. New Brunswick and Quebec imposed sales taxes of 11 and 8 percent on items bought in New England states. =20 Source: Pat Doyle, "In Canada's Provinces, It's Unfree Trade Pact," MINNEAPOLIS STAR & TRIBUNE, December 20, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Resource: =20 "Worker Rights News," is a quarterly publication covering internation= al labor rights. Included in the fall 1993 issue are several articles d= escribing current labor organizing events in Mexico. International Labor Right= s Education and Research Fund, 100 Maryland Avenue, NE, Box 74, Washington, D.C. 20002. Tel: (202) 544-7198 Fax: (202) 543-5999 Email: laborrights@igc.apc.org. Subscription: $15/individual, $25/organization. ________________________________________________________ Editor: Kai Mander The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) 1313 Fifth Street SE, Suite #303, Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA Telephone:(612)379-5980 Fax:(612)379-5982 E-Mail:kmander@igc.apc.org ________________________________________________________ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 6 Jan 1994 10:05:36 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: labornet@IGC.APC.ORG Subject: CHIAPAS DECLARATION =20 /* Written 8:41 am Jan 6, 1994 by labornotes@igc.apc.org in igc:la= br.newsline */ /* ---------- "CHIAPAS DECLARATION" ---------- */ DECLARATION REGARDING THE SITUATION IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO =20 To the community in general that supports the struggle to better the conditions of workers and immigrants in El Paso, Texas: we want to share our position concerning the armed struggle that is being carried out in our neighboring country of Mexico. =20 It is true we do not support violence but neither do we approve repressions against the Mexican people or against any other country. Violence causes death and trauma in the people who suffer it. We firmly believe that the army must repeal attacks or foreign invasions but not massacre the population. =20 In the case of Chiapas we have read the proclamation of the insurrection groups and we believe that their demands are valid and just. These demands should have been met a long time ago by the Mexican Government. They are human demands that could be heard in all parts of the country not only in the rural indigenous communities of Chiapas. To respond to these just claims with silence and disregard is to force those suffering to use any means available to them. =20 Every oppressed people tries to escape from a precarious situation in the manner they believe is necessary. They search for ways to struggle according to the reality and conditions that life imposes on them. Whether it be the most appropriate means of struggle is a question that can only be answered by those involved. Other countries must respect the right of these people to self- determination and allow them to decide their own future. =20 We as organizations of El Paso have struggled as workers and immigrants looking for alternatives that would better the quality of life for all people trying to satisfy their basic needs through education, labor organization and social programs. We understand the people of Mexico who are struggling today against 500 years of oppression and injustice. This struggle should be free of any foreign intervention in order for it to be truly valid and just. =20 DECLARATION REGARDING THE UPRISING IN CHIAPAS =20 January 1, 1994, the indigenous rural peasants of the State of Chiapas, worn out by the extreme poverty and the institutional violence that they have suffered for years, declared war against the Mexican Government, header today by Carlos Salinas de Gortari. In the following days the large and well-equipped Mexican army began to destroy, regardless of the means, the indigenous campesino uprising, resulting in many deaths, especially poor indigenous peasants and women and children. =20 Concerned about these events, we, the signatories of this document, make public the following demands. =20 1. The Mexican Army must stop indiscriminant bombing of the rural population in Chiapas and they must respect human life. =20 2. Human rights of the poor indigenous people of Chiapas must be respected and violations of human rights must be observed by nongovernmental organizations of Mexico, United States and Canada. =20 3. The Mexican Government must stop all repression against organizations and persons that have taken a critical stance toward the present government and its policies. =20 4. Foreign governments must not intervene. =20 * Las Americas Refugee Asylum Project * Union de Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos (UTAF) * La Mujer Obrera * Southwest Organizing Project * Border Right Coalition * Centro de Mujeres de La Esperanza * Sr. Jaime Gonzalez * Reverendo Justo Worth * Michael Wyatt =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 6 Jan 1994 16:26:33 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Stephen F. Diamond" Subject: Re: CHIAPAS DECLARATION In-Reply-To: <9401061807.AA01056@minerva.cis.yale.edu> =20 It is my understanding that the state of Chiapas has been for some ti= me ruled almost under martial law. It seems to me that the El Paso grou= p and others should consider a demand to have the Mexican Army withdraw ent= irely =66rom the the state of Chiapas. Further, has there been any express= ion of solidarity with the people of Chiapas from the Mexican labor movement= ? =20 Steve Diamond Yale Law School sfdylaw@minerva.cis.yale.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:24:17 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Jack Hammond Subject: Decline of US unionism: seeking references =20 For a syllabus in sociology of work, I am looking for a reference on the decline of unionism in the US in the last twenty years which evaluates the significance of industrial restructuring (geographical and sectoral), the war on labor by government and capital, and the failure of the union structure to organize new sectors. =20 Ideally I would like a single article which covers all these explanations (and possibly others) and has an extensive bibliography. However, I would appreciate any good references. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 18:30:35 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: Decline of US unionism: seeking references In-Reply-To: Message of Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:24:17 EST from =20 Kim Moody's book is useful. I can't recall the exact title but it's s= omething like "All for One? The decline of American Unionism." =20 Sean Purdy, Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 8 Jan 1994 10:16:53 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Tony Turrittin, sociology" Subject: Re: Decline of US unionism: seeking references In-Reply-To: Message of Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:24:17 EST from =20 If anyone can supply a reference in response to Jack Hammond, please post it to the listserv as I'm sure this topic interests many. Thank= s. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 8 Jan 1994 10:34:49 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Bradley Nash Subject: Re: Decline of US unionism: seeking references In-Reply-To: <9401081526.AA24308@leo.vsla.edu>; from "Tony Turrittin= , sociology" at Jan 8, 94 10:16 am =20 According to Tony Turrittin, sociology: > > If anyone can supply a reference in response to Jack Hammond, pleas= e > post it to the listserv as I'm sure this topic interests many. Tha= nks. > =20 My dissertation is in the area of union decline in the US and Great Britain. Perhaps one of the best articles that I have come across summarizing the various factors involved in union decline is J. Gregg Robinson's "American Unions in Decline: Problems and Prospects". He covers theories/explanations from the sociology literature as well as the industrial relations literature. It is in the journal Critical Sociology 15 (1):33-56, 1988.... =20 Bradley Nash Jr. bnash@leo.vsla.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 8 Jan 1994 11:42:07 -0500 Reply-To: "Andrew P. Morriss" Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Andrew P. Morriss" Subject: Re: Decline of US unionism: seeking references =20 Henry Farber (at Princeton Econ Dept) has done some interesting empir= ical work to untangle the various factors involved, in particular the infl= uence of right to work laws in the US. I don't have the cite at home, but y= ou could get it from the article in the Handbook of Labor Economics on unions, which in itself would be useful. =20 Andy Morriss Asst. Prof. of Law and Economics Case Western =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 9 Jan 1994 16:28:42 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Union Decline Query =20 Recently, Jack hammond posted a query about the recent decline of unions on the Labor-L List. I reposted it on H-labor. I am combining responses from both lists in this post. Below, you will find: [1] Hammond's original request [2] Sean Purdy [3] "Andrew P. Morriss" [4] Bradley Nash [5] and finally my contribution +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++= + Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:24:17 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Subject: Decline of US unionism: seeking references =20 For a syllabus in sociology of work, I am looking for a reference on the decline of unionism in the US in the last twenty years which evaluates the significance of industrial restructuring (geographical and sectoral), the war on labor by government and capital, and the failure of the union structure to organize new sectors. =20 Ideally I would like a single article which covers all these explanations (and possibly others) and has an extensive bibliography. However, I would appreciate any good references. =20 +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++= + [2] Sean Purdy Kim Moody's book is useful. I can't recall the exact title but it's s= o like "All for One? The decline of American Unionism." =20 Sean Purdy, Queen's University =20 +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++= + =20 [3] "Andrew P. Morriss" =20 Henry Farber (at Princeton Econ Dept) has done some interesting empir= i work to untangle the various factors involved, in particular the infl= u of right to work laws in the US. I don't have the cite at home, but y= o could get it from the article in the Handbook of Labor Economics on unions, which in itself would be useful. =20 Andy Morriss Asst. Prof. of Law and Economics Case Western =20 +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++= + [4] Bradley Nash In-Reply-To: <9401081526.AA24308@leo.vsla.edu>; from "Tony Turrittin= , sociology" at Jan 8, 94 10:16 am =20 According to Tony Turrittin, sociology: > > If anyone can supply a reference in response to Jack Hammond, pleas= e > post it to the listserv as I'm sure this topic interests many. Tha= n > =20 My dissertation is in the area of union decline in the US and Great Britain. Perhaps one of the best articles that I have come across summarizing the various factors involved in union decline is J. Gregg Robinson's "American Unions in Decline: Problems and Prospects". He covers theories/explanations from the sociology literature as well as the industrial relations literature. It is in the journal Critical Sociology 15 (1):33-56, 1988.... =20 Bradley Nash Jr. bnash@leo.vsla.edu =20 +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ [5] Seth Wigderson SethW@Maine.Maine.edu These are some interesting responses, some of them are new to me. There are some standard works which Jack may already know about, but here they are. =20 1) Michael Goldfield. The Decline of Organized Labor in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967. This should come closest to answering the original request. =20 2)Thomas Geoghegan. Which Side Are You On: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back. N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991. A= n excellent and popular work by a labor lawyer. =20 3) Richard Feldman and Michael Betzold, eds. End of the Line: Autoworkers and the American Dream: An Oral History. N.Y.: Weidenfel= d and Nicolson,1988. A very interesting work which examines work and unions through a series of valuable interviews. =20 4) Ben Hamper. Rivethead: Tales From the Assembly Line. N.Y.: Time-Warner, 1992. Kick out the jams and make sure that your student= s read at least one real factory rat. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 9 Jan 1994 23:00:14 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Decline of US unionism: seeking references In-Reply-To: <199401072034.AA09507@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 Probably the most comprehensive volume addressing the plight of the American labour movement during the past few decades is G. Strauss, D= . Gallagher and J. Fiorito, eds., 1991, The State of the Unions, Madiso= n Wisconsin, Industrial Relations Research Association. Among the contributors are David Brody, Jack Barbash, Sol Barkin, Tom Kochan, M= ike Piore, Doug Fraser and Richard Hyman. =20 With regard to the recommendation to read Hank Farber's stuff. Beware that Farber is a neoclassical economist who seems to think that union membership has declined because "the demand for union services" has declined. Given the milieu of intense suppression of potential union activists by American business that proposition seems to me to be abs= urd beyond belief. =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =20 On Fri, 7 Jan 1994, Jack Hammond wrote: =20 > For a syllabus in sociology of work, I am looking for a > reference on the decline of unionism in the US in the last twenty > years which evaluates the significance of industrial restructuring > (geographical and sectoral), the war on labor by government and > capital, and the failure of the union structure to organize new > sectors. > > Ideally I would like a single article which covers all these > explanations (and possibly others) and has an extensive bibliograph= y. > However, I would appreciate any good references. > =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 08:02:03 -0500 Reply-To: "Andrew P. Morriss" Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Andrew P. Morriss" Subject: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism =20 > Roy Adams writes: > >With regard to the recommendation to read Hank Farber's stuff. Bewar= e >that Farber is a neoclassical economist who seems to think that unio= n >membership has declined because "the demand for union services" has >declined. Given the milieu of intense suppression of potential union >activists by American business that proposition seems to me to be ab= surd >beyond belief. > > I must admit, I too am an economist, and even have taken courses from Farber. However Prof. Adams comment, reproduced above, has 2 importan= t flaws -- 1) the "intense suppression of potential union activists" is= in no way inconsistent with the decline in the demand for union membersh= ip (or to be neoclassical about it union services) -- both can happen at the same time. Given the incredibly long period over which union membership has declined in the US, I find it hard to believe that the suppression of potential union activists explains everything so as to exclude other causes. =20 2) What makes Farber's work so interesting is that he actually does e= mpirical analysis -- he tries to untangle, quite successfully, some of the cau= ses of union decline. He has offered an empirically testable analysis and= then tested it. That's a pretty good reason to pay attention to his result= s. =20 Finally, if one were to catalog the stupid things done by union leade= rships over the past 40 years, one would see many reasons why workers are le= ss interested in union membership -- civil rights? Vietnam? Adding the substitution of state guarantees for traditional union benefits, and Farber's theories become more plausible. =20 Andy Morriss Asst. Prof. of Law and Economics CWRU =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 18:15:24 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: bnissen Subject: RE: Decline of US unionism: seeking references =20 Charles Craypo has written a chapter entitled "The Decline in Union B= argaining PPower" which covers a fair amount of what you're after in a book I = edited entitled U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accommodation and Conflict (= Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990). Two other chapters, "American Labor at the Crossroads: Political Resurgence or Continued Decline?" by Peter Seyb= old and "The Historical Context of Postwar Industrial Relations" by Ronal= d Filipelli, also cover some of this. Maybe these will be of some help= . Bruce Nissen Indiana University Northwest e-mail bnissen@UCS.indiana.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 18:45:00 EDT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: MICHAEL DOYLE Subject: RE: Decline of US unionism: seeking references =20 I would suggest two books which cover a great deal of the top= ics you ask for - realizing that there are many more available that are a= lso informative I recommend Patricia Cayo Sexton's work [The War on Labo= r and the Left: Understanding America's Unique Conservatism] (Westview Press, 1991), and, of course Michael Goldfield's [The Decline of Orga= nized Labor In The United States] (University of Chicago Press, 1987) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Michael V. Doyle BITNET: MDOYLE@SNYESCVA.BITNET 82 County Rd 70 INTERNET:MDOYLE@sescva.esc.edu Stillwater, NY 12170 518 583-1082 (home) ------------------------------------------------------------------ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 08:04:52 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: ECOPAULZ@UBVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Decline of US unionism: seeking references =20 Another very good reference is Michael Goldfield, "The Causes of U.S.= Trade Union Decline and Their Future Prospects:, RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECON= OMY, Volume 7, 1984, pp. 81-159. =20 Paul Zarembka, ECOPAULZ@UBVMS.BITNET =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 09:00:52 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism In-Reply-To: <199401101306.AA18531@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =20 On Mon, 10 Jan 1994, Andrew P. Morriss wrote: =20 > > > Roy Adams writes: > > > >With regard to the recommendation to read Hank Farber's stuff. Bew= are > >that Farber is a neoclassical economist who seems to think that un= ion > >membership has declined because "the demand for union services" ha= s > >declined. Given the milieu of intense suppression of potential uni= on > >activists by American business that proposition seems to me to be = absurd > >beyond belief. > > > > > I must admit, I too am an economist, and even have taken courses fr= om > Farber. However Prof. Adams comment, reproduced above, has 2 import= ant > flaws -- 1) the "intense suppression of potential union activists" = is in > no way inconsistent with the decline in the demand for union member= ship > (or to be neoclassical about it union services) -- both can happen > at the same time. Given the incredibly long period over which union > membership has declined in the US, I find it hard to believe that t= he > suppression of potential union activists explains everything so as = to > exclude other causes. > > 2) What makes Farber's work so interesting is that he actually does= empirical > analysis -- he tries to untangle, quite successfully, some of the c= auses > of union decline. He has offered an empirically testable analysis a= nd then > tested it. That's a pretty good reason to pay attention to his resu= lts. > > Finally, if one were to catalog the stupid things done by union lea= derships > over the past 40 years, one would see many reasons why workers are = less > interested in union membership -- civil rights? Vietnam? Adding the > substitution of state guarantees for traditional union benefits, an= d > Farber's theories become more plausible. > > Andy Morriss > Asst. Prof. of Law and Economics > CWRU > Well, when caught out publicly expressing flawed ideas I suppose ther= e is nothing to do but admit it. Andy Morris is right: there is nothing inconsistent in the simultaneous decline in expressed demand for democratic participation and the increase in suppression of those who indicate a preference to participate. The real problem is that Farber implicitly suggests that American workers have freely and independen= tly decided that they prefer to have their conditions of work unilaterall= y imposed upon them rather than participating in the decision-making pr= ocess. With his reference to the policies of some unions on issues such as Vietnam, Morriss seems to agree. Let me restate the proposition that = I should have stated more accurately in the first place: The assertion = that workers prefer to have their employers impose conditions on them rath= er than participate in their creation is an absurd and harmful notion wh= ich research, of which Farber's is exemplary, tends to perpetuate. Indeed= the widespread unconscious acceptance of that idea is probably the main reason why fewer than 20% of American workers have a means to partici= pate in the making of decisions critical to their personal welfare, wherea= s the norm across the Liberal Democratic world is 70-90%. As an avid democrat, I do, indeed, consider the notion to be "evil" and research which lends credence to it irresponsible. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 10:20:00 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: gilson@PX1.STFX.CA Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism In-Reply-To: Your message of "Tue, 11 Jan 94 09:00:52 EST." =20 Very eloquently expressed Roy..... Not only are you right, but I think it time to swing the debate fully in favour of reviewing the most effective means/institutions which provide for industrial democracy. ...sick to the back teeth of those who argue that social policy should ape or even reflect theories of some long since dead economist (apology to Keynes for the plagaristic intent there). =20 Oh yeah, on the question of trade union decline, Goldfield rules.. =20 Clive Gilson =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 17:05:12 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: labornet@IGC.APC.ORG Subject: Public Employees in Two Worlds =20 /* Written 4:29 pm Jan 11, 1994 by ocaw@igc.apc.org in igc:labr.new= sline */ /* ---------- "Public Employees in Two Worlds" ---------- */ January 10, 1994 =20 PUBLIC EMPLOYEES IN U.S. LIVE IN TWO WORLDS =20 =20 More than one-third of all state and local government employees in the U.S. are denied the basic right to a collective voice in the workplace, a new study by the AFL-CIO Public Employee Dept. (PED) shows. =20 The new study, "Public Employees Bargain For Excellence: A Compendium of State Public Sector Labor Relations Laws," reveals that 5.7 million of the country's 15.5 million state and local government workers are not protected by collective bargaining rights. =20 "Public sector collective bargaining in the states and political subdivisions is protected by 83 different state statutes--but, only 37 states and two-thirds of all state and local government employees are affected by these laws," PED President Al Bilik said. =20 State and local government employees remain the poor cousins in protected rights among the ranks of workers because they aren't protected by federal bargaining laws. Private employers have been required by law to collectively bargain with workers for nearly 60 years. Federal workers received limited protections under the Federal Labor Relations Act in 1978. Postal employees won the right to bargain in 1970 following an illegal strike. However, to this day state and local public workers are left to the whims of their state legislatures when it comes to basic working rights. =20 As of 1993, 23 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws granting full collective bargaining rights to all public employees. Nearly 9 million public sector workers live in these states and are covered. =20 Thirteen states have passed laws offering some public work- ers some protections. of the 2.5 million public workers in these states, only 750,000 are covered by the protection of state laws. =20 Fourteen states have not passed any bargaining legislation at all. About 4 million public employees work in these states where they are denied the basic right to a collective voice. =20 Overall, nearly 60 percent of state and local public employees who are guaranteed the right to bargain by state law are covered by a contract, while only 8 percent of the public employees who don't have state bargaining laws are protected by a contract. =20 What's more upsetting is the likelihood that things won't get much better for unprotected public workers anytime soon. New Mexico extended its protections to all state and local public workers in late 1992--the first state in a decade to improve legal protections for workers. This is especially worrisome as state and local politicians desperate to make their spending habits look good target public sector workers as scapegoats in times of fiscal austerity. =20 Despite the barriers to union protections, state and local public employee unions have done remarkably well. While private sector union membership has declined steadily over the last 18 years, public sector union representation has remained constant-- despite the fact that fewer American workers are employed in the public sector than they were 20 years ago. =20 "It is remarkable under the circumstances that 36.7 percent of all public employees were union members in 1992, and a total of 43.2 percent were represented by unions under collective bargaining contracts," Bilik said. =20 The states that protect ali public employees are: Alaska, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. =20 The states with protections for some public sector workers are: Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming. =20 The states which offer no protections for public sector workers whatsoever: Alabama, Arizona Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, virginia and West virginia. =20 To request a copy of "Public Employees Bargain for Excellence," write the Public Employee Dept., AFL-CIO, 815 16th st., NW, suite 308, Washington, D.C. 20006, or call (202) 393- 2820. =20 =20 Reprinted from 1/10/94 Press Associates, Inc. 806 15th St., NW, ste.632 Washington, D.C. 20005 202/638-0444 =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 16:21:57 GMT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: apm5@PO.CWRU.EDU Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism =20 Roy Adams writes: =20 Let me restate the proposition that I > should have stated more accurately in the first place: The assertio= n that > workers prefer to have their employers impose conditions on them ra= ther > than participate in their creation is an absurd and harmful notion = which > research, of which Farber's is exemplary, tends to perpetuate. Inde= ed the > widespread unconscious acceptance of that idea is probably the main > reason why fewer than 20% of American workers have a means to parti= cipate > in the making of decisions critical to their personal welfare, wher= eas > the norm across the Liberal Democratic world is 70-90%. As an avid > democrat, I do, indeed, consider the notion to be "evil" and resear= ch > which lends credence to it irresponsible. =20 The issue is not whether workers prefer to have their employers impose conditions or not -- the issue in a union representation elect= ion is whether I, the voting worker, think I will be better off with my job = covered by a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a particular union= or not. One plus of having a CBA is that I may (depending on the union) have = some input into the conditions at the workplace. There are lots of things = which might make me think a union would be a bad thing for me too -- maybe= I am a highly skilled worker and the bargaining unit includes low skilled = workers as well (see Farber and Saks, "Why Workers Want Unions" 88 JPE 349 (1= 980)) or perhaps I am just a person who doesn't like unions for religious o= r political reasons (more likely in the South, for example.) Sure, ther= e are lots of influences which inhibit union growth in the NLRA, in right t= o work laws, etc. But those do not mean that individuals do not make decisio= ns to reject unions for valid reasons; just that fewer would do so if th= e political or legal barriers to union growth were reduced. =20 One can argue with Farber's empirical techniques (although he is an excellent econometrician and so it is difficult for me to see how) bu= t to reject his (or others') work on unions simply because he is an econom= ist is short sighted. All else equal, most workers probably would prefer = to control their working conditions; all else is not equal in real life = -- there are flawed unions and flawed employers and which one to trust i= s not an obvious decision. =20 Finally, research is irresponsible when it is bad. Farber's union wor= k is not bad -- it is very good. He documents real differences in union membership across states and across representation elections and expl= ains why they occur. There are some objective standards in research and Fa= rber's work meets them. What would be irresponsible would be to ignore that = type of work. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 21:03:09 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Subscription Request =20 =46rom: "Sam Williamson" Organization: Miami University School of Business Date: 12 Jan 1994 14:08:23 EST Subject: LABOR-L@YORKVM1.BITNET Reply-to: shwillia@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu =20 Sorry to bug you on this, but can you tell me how to sign up for LABOR-L@YORKVM1.BITNET? Thanks. =20 Samuel H. Williamson Executive Director The Cliometric Society Miami University Oxford, OH 45056 USA (513) 529-2851 Office (513) 529-6992 FAX Try our gopher at: clionet.cas.muohio.edu =20 =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 20:32:33 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism In-Reply-To: <9401121621.AA09240@thor.INS.CWRU.Edu> =20 =46rom apm5@po.cwru.edu Wed Jan 12 20:23:57 1994 Date: 12 Jan 1994 16:21:57 GMT =46rom: apm5@po.cwru.edu To: adamsr@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca, LABOR-L@YORKVM1.BITNET Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism =20 Andy Morriss writes: =20 The issue is not whether workers prefer to have their employers impose conditions or not -- the issue in a union representation elect= ion is whether I, the voting worker, think I will be better off with my job = covered by a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a particular union= or not. One plus of having a CBA is that I may (depending on the union) have = some input into the conditions at the workplace. There are lots of things = which might make me think a union would be a bad thing for me too -- maybe= I am a highly skilled worker and the bargaining unit includes low skilled = workers as well (see Farber and Saks, "Why Workers Want Unions" 88 JPE 349 (1= 980)) or perhaps I am just a person who doesn't like unions for religious o= r political reasons (more likely in the South, for example.) Sure, ther= e are lots of influences which inhibit union growth in the NLRA, in right t= o work laws, etc. But those do not mean that individuals do not make decisio= ns to reject unions for valid reasons; just that fewer would do so if th= e political or legal barriers to union growth were reduced. =20 One can argue with Farber's empirical techniques (although he is an excellent econometrician and so it is difficult for me to see how) bu= t to reject his (or others') work on unions simply because he is an econom= ist is short sighted. All else equal, most workers probably would prefer = to control their working conditions; all else is not equal in real life = -- there are flawed unions and flawed employers and which one to trust i= s not an obvious decision. =20 Finally, research is irresponsible when it is bad. Farber's union wor= k is not bad -- it is very good. He documents real differences in union membership across states and across representation elections and expl= ains why they occur. There are some objective standards in research and Fa= rber's work meets them. What would be irresponsible would be to ignore that = type of work. =20 I emphatically disagree. In any nation that aspires to be classified = as democratic all citizens must have not only a right but also a means t= o participate in the making of decisions critical to their welfare. That is, it seems to me, the most fundamental attribute of any democracy. Outside of North America, through some combination of collective bargaining, works councils and participation on boards of directors, the great majority of working people are represented by agents of their own choosing in the establishment of the conditions under which they work. In a democracy, the only legitimate choice is between means of representation. Industrial autocracy has no place in such a society. =20 America formally embraced that philosophy in the 1930s. However, after World War II the champions of industrial autocracy launched an ideological and physical assault on that creed. Ideologically they formulated the specious proposition that workers should be able to choose to forgo their industrial citizenship. Once that idea became accepted, intimidation, threats and appeals to loyalty ensured that the right choice would be made. Just like hostages who, after being terrorized, come to identify with their captors, so have many North American workers sadly chosen to give up their right to participate in order to be "loyal" to their employer masters. =20 To see how distorted are current images of the political dynamics operative in North American industry, one needs to perform a thought experiment. Imagine a "nonunion" employer gathering the employees together and, truly and in good faith, making an announcement that she/he, in order to comply with the spirit of public policy to encourage the practice of collective bargaining, would be pleased to meet with representatives chosen by the employees in order to work out mutually acceptable conditions of work. Would the employees say: no thanks, we prefer that you continue to establish conditions for us? Of course, not. And that is precisely the social dynamic that the Wagner Act was intended to set up. =20 What happens when employer policy approaches that represented in the thought experiment? There are a few relevant Canadian cases. Federal government employees were permitted to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining in the 1960s. They didn't have to. They could have allowed the government to continue unilaterally to establish conditions of work. Within a very short period almost all of them took up the offer to nominate agents to represent their interests. More relevant, perhaps, to the U.S., is the municipal experience in Canada. Municipal employees are regulated by a legal framework very similar to the U.S. NLRA. By and large Canadian municipal managers have not actively opposed unionization. As a result, during the past 30-40 years unionism in the municipal sector has grown at very rapid rates. Today the large majority of municipal employees are covered by collective agreements. =20 I am not concerned here with Farber's technique. I am concerned about the ideology implicit in his work. The published record suggests that he and Morriss are casualties of the ideological warfare pursued by the paladins of the ancient regime, the autocrats, the present day offspring of Louis the Sun King. Like an ugly phoenix arisen from the ashes, autocracy is on the march in the United States today and I am very fearful about the consequences. =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 21:08:30 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Union Decline and labor Law =20 Lea Vaughn has sent this very interesting legal comment on the twin list discussion of union decline. =20 +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ =46rom: Lea Vaughn Subject: Union Decline References =20 I noticed that all of the books/references you received were based in economics or one of the social sciences. As a former labor lawyer wh= o represented unions, and now a professor of labor law, I think that on= e of the reasons for the decline of unions has been the National Labor Relations Act, and its poor enforcement mechanisms. If you are willi= ng to consider the actual language of the statute and its enforcement as pa= rt of the "war" by government on unions, this fits within the parameters of= your search. Additionally, many would argue that the abrogation of the at= will employment doctrine, and an increasing willingness of state courts to= read just cause into the employment relationship, on either tort or contra= ct grounds, also makes unions potentially less attractive. In summary, = I argue that although there are economic and social reasons for the dec= line of unions, these are aided and abetted by the legal structure which w= as originally developed to support unions. If you would like to consult= some of the latest legal scholarship in the area, I suggest: =20 Paul Weiler, Governing the Workplace (Harvard University Press, 1990) In the course of discussing the way in which workers should shape the major workplace decisions, he discusses the failings of the Natio= nal Labor Relations Act and the Board. =20 The next two are excerpted in the casebook I use: =20 Paul Weiler, Promises to Keep: Securing Workers' Rights to Self-Organization Under the NLRA, 96 Harvard Law Review 1769 (1983) "My thesis, however, is that the decline in union success in representation campaigns is in large part attributable to deficiences= in the law: evidence suggests that the current certification procedure d= oes not effectively insulate employees from the kinds of coercive antiuni= on employer tactics that the NLRA was supposed to eliminate." The autho= r carries this out, in part, by comparing U.S. and Canadian approaches = to union certification. =20 Julius Getman, Ruminations on Union Organizing in the Private Sector,= 53 Univ. of Chicago Law Review 45 (1986) This article suggests that the lack of labor law reform is not the o= nly cause of union decline, and that revitalization of the organizing pro= cess is also needed. =20 There are two on-line legal research data bases which carry law revie= w materials: LEXIS and WESTLAW. There's a lot of stuff to wade through= . =20 And, although the following is not legal, I use it in teaching my lab= or law class to show students the ways in which unions have attempted to counter the employer's right to permanently replace strikers: =20 Charles Perry, Union Corporate Campaigns (Wharton School, 1987) =20 Hope this information is of use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------= --------- Lea B. Vaughn, Professor of Law University of Washington School of Law 732 Condon Hall JB-20 Seattle, Washington 98195 (206) 543-4927 E-mail Address: lvaughn@u.washington.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------= --------- =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 23:36:24 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Sam Lanfranco, LABOR-L Manager" Subject: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) =20 I have deleted the following 4 user ids. If you know them send them t= his and tell them that their old userid is bouncing mail so they will hav= e to resubscribe to LABOR-L if they want back on. - Sam Lanfranco - =20 Miguel Angel Velazquez Cantu Mark Schweitzer IEHI7@EBCCUAB1.BITNET Roberto Burguet killebre@UCSU.COLORADO.EDU Mathew Killebrew Is anyone capturing all of the postings on union membership dec= line with the intention of organizing them into one clean and cohere= nt (or at least sequential with headers trimmed) file? If so, plea= se send me (lanfran@vm1.yorku.ca) private mail and I will arrange = for the resulting file to be placed in the system for retrieval. =20 Sam Lanfranco =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 10:56:06 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: S_FLAHERTY@ACAD.FANDM.EDU Subject: Re: Your subscription to list LABOR-L =20 "SET LABOR-L REPRO" =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 11:02:50 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Stephane Renaud =20 set labor-l repro =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 11:58:53 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Karen Bentham Subject: Re: your mail In-Reply-To: <94Jan13.110621est.8531@ugw.utcc.utoronto.ca> from "Ste= phane Renaud" at Jan 13, 94 11:02:50 am =20 > > set labor-l repro > =20 What does this mean? And, should I wish to discontinue my subscription or transfer it to another account, what is the command? =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 13:52:29 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: S_FLAHERTY@ACAD.FANDM.EDU =20 ind =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 14:35:00 EDT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: MICHAEL DOYLE Subject: RE: Subscription Request =20 The VAX system that Empire State College uses directs me to s= end the following (verbatim): =20 Bitnet%"listser@yorkvm1.Bitnet" =20 then for subject: subscribe LABOR-L =20 thats it - no other body of message necessary, and reply should follo= w. =20 Hope it works on your protocol. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Michael V. Doyle BITNET: MDOYLE@SNYESCVA.BITNET 82 County Rd 70 INTERNET:MDOYLE@sescva.esc.edu Stillwater, NY 12170 518 583-1082 (home) ------------------------------------------------------------------ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 16:48:58 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Jack Hammond Subject: Re: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 12 Jan 1994 23:36:24 EST from =20 yes. I am still getting replies and when they stop I will accumulate= them all. I also posted it on Progressive Sociologists Network so I have r= eplies =66rom both. =20 Do you know what h-labor is? Someone apparently cross-pos= ted it the re and sent me some replies from it. I don't know if more replies h= ave come that way. =20 I am also curious about the fact that a number of repli= es =66rom different people have their own return addresses in the messag= e but the return address sethw@maine.bitnet in the heading. Do you know w= hy this is? =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 16:54:28 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Jack Hammond Subject: Re: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 13 Jan 1994 16:48:58 EST from =20 by mistake I sent a message intended for Sam Lanfranco to the whole l= ist. My apologies, but everyone can look forward to the accumulated list o= f references on union decline =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 14:24:32 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law =20 The problem right now is not with the passage of pro-labor legislation, - the socially responsible laws to protect those of us covered under the NLRA. The problem is "ORGANIZED LABOR" is not now receiving, nor has it been receiving fair and unbiased judici= al treatment. James B. Attleson [Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law, University of Mass Press, 1983] makes the case that the people who are appointed to make the legal decisions [NLRB and/or fed court system] are,in fact, pre-disposed to decide the issue - not on its merits - but on the "received wisdom" of the appointees. Guess who gets the short stick. =20 =20 =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Michael V. Doyle BITNET: MDOYLE@SNYESCVA.BITNET 82 County Rd 70 INTERNET:MDOYLE@sescva.esc.edu Stillwater, NY 12170 518 583-1082 (home) ------------------------------------------------------------------ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 17:02:00 EDT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: MICHAEL DOYLE Subject: Re: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) =20 I have been getting weird posts - as if the list were anchored here - here as in my mailbox. H-LABOR knows you, the problem is you & H-LA= BOR are not formally intoduced. stmp sethw@maine.bitnet - I'm sure you bo= th have much in common./ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 17:16:37 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Gregory Kealey Subject: Re: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) In-Reply-To: <9401132209.AB05982@unb.ca> =20 H-Labor is nertwork of labour historians. Seth is the person in charg= e. =20 On Thu, 13 Jan 1994, Jack Hammond wrote: =20 > yes. I am still getting replies and when they stop I will accumula= te them > all. I also posted it on Progressive Sociologists Network so I have= replies > from both. > > Do you know what h-labor is? Someone apparently cross-p= osted it + the > re and sent me some replies from it. I don't know if more replies= have > come that way. > > I am also curious about the fact that a number of rep= lies > from different people have their own return addresses in the messag= e but > the return address sethw@maine.bitnet in the heading. Do you know= why this > is? =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 18:40:52 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: gilson@PX1.STFX.CA Subject: Re: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 13 Jan 94 16:48:58 EST." =20 Jack, it's Seth who runs the H-Labor (labor history) List - that's wh= y the address is appearing in your header! You have answered your own question - 'virtually' that is... =20 Clive =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 19:06:17 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: Re: (a) LABOR-L housekeeping (b) Labor decline (short) In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 13 Jan 1994 16:48:58 EST from =20 Jack, the reason the messages have Seth in the Reply To: file is that= he is taking his mail, from his H-Labor list, and sending it here. The m= achine here looks at the FROM field and sees Seth. That is why we warn peopl= e to check the header if they want to respond to the original sender, or t= he list, since different systems are set to different faulty and forwarded pos= tings are even more complex. Ciao, Sam Lanfranco =20 =2E..................................................................= .. : Prof. Sam Lanfranco | * Distributed Knowledge Project (DKProj) : : CERLAC/240 York Lanes | * York Centre for Health Studies (YCHS) : : York University | * Centre for Resch on Lat. Amer. & Carib. : : 4700 Keele Street |...........................................: : North York, Ontario | email: lanfran at vm1.yorku.ca : : CANADA M3J 1P3 | FAX: (416) 736-5737 for CERLAC : : CERLAC (416) 736-5237 | FAX: (416) 736-5103 for ECONOMICS : : ECON (416) 736-5218 | FAX: (416) 736-5986 for YCHS : :.......................|...........................................: =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 12:15:59 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: bnissen Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law =20 Lea Vaughn argues that labor law in the U.S., and the way it has been enforced/interpreted, has a lot to do with the decline of unionism in the U.S. I think that is true, although it is difficult to separate = the various influences. =20 Earlier I had mentioned Charles Craypo's "The Decline in Union Bargai= ning Power", (an institutionalist economic perspective), Peter Seybold's "= American Labor at the Crossroads: Political Resurgence or Continued Decline?",= (a highly political interpretation of organized labor's decline), and Ro= nald Filipelli's "The Historical Context of Postwar Industrial Relations" (historicalperspective putting the decline into the longer sweep of = U.S. history), alll =66rom a book I edited entitled U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accom= modation and Conflict (Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990). I think each of these= does a very good job from the economic, political, and historical perspect= ives. =20 Also in that book is another essay from a legal perspective that I al= so think is top notch. Paul Rainsberger's "The Constraints of Public Policy: = Legal Perspectives on the Decline of the Labor Movement Since World War II"= is the third chapter. All of these chapters have a bibliography and/or = "further readings" section at the end. =20 I suppose since I edited the book my praise of these articles sounds = self- serving; but it is my honest judgement that they are all excellent. =20 Bruce Nissen Division of Labor Studies Indiana University Northwest BNISSEN@UCS.INDIANA.EDU =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 12:55:49 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: Study Trip to Russia =20 The Labor Studies Program at Eastern Michigan University, in cooperation with the Office of Academic Programs Abroad, will be offering a Summer Study in Moscow program from May 18 to June 18, 1994. The program will carry up to four hours of academic credit in economics for undergraduates. Graduate credit can be arranged. =20 We will offer seminars on recent economic, political, and social developments--with lectures by well-known Russian academics and professionals. There will be a full schedule of tourist visits, as well as visits to factories and farms. No knowledge of Russian language is required. =20 Total package cost--all inclusive-- is $2795 from East Coast USA. (possible changes as air fare and exchange rate change) =20 If you or people with whom you interact would like more information, please contact Academic Programs Abroad at 800- 777-3541 or me at the email address above. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 14:17:43 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SMUCKER@VAX2.CONCORDIA.CA Subject: Renewal =20 "Set labor-l repro" =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 14:51:55 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Stephen F. Diamond" Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <9401141717.AA06491@minerva.cis.yale.edu> =20 Has anyone in this debate over U.S. union decline pointed to actual material changes in the structure of capitalism - downsizing, technological change and internationalization, all in a period of transition from state-led extensive accumulation in the post-depressi= on interwar period to a period of intensive accumulation where capital c= an more easily and flexibly displace labor? It seems as if discussion i= s centering on significant, but to my view, derivative issues - i.e. politics and law. Perhaps some of the sources mentioned do indeed ex= plore the structural questions. I began such an exploration in my chapter = in Political Economy of North American Free Trade (St. Martin's Press, 1= 993, edited by Grinspun and Cameron) which, naturalmente, I recommend hear= tily to Labor list subscribers. =20 Steve Diamond Yale Law School =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 16:42:52 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: gilson@PX1.STFX.CA Subject: Re: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 14 Jan 94 14:51:55 -0400." =20 Stephen.... you mean the odd shift in the balance of class forces?? I don't think that this has gone entirely unnoticed.... After reviewi= ng the 'institutional stuff', Goldfield's analysis moves in the directio= n you suggest... I agree with you. An avenue worthy of further inspecti= on. =20 Clive Gilson =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 17:15:55 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Chris Tomlins on the Law Turn =20 I am transmitting the following post by Christopher Tomlins which is a very valuable and useful contribution. I also wanted to explain that as moderator of H-Labor I have been reposting material from Labor-L and when something comes into the H-Labor e-mailbox [as this post did] I just post it to both lists. I think this is a very interesting and useful discussion, but I did want to explain the situation and apologize to those double subscribers who keep getting the same message twice. Fraternally, Seth Wigderson, University of Maine-Augusta =20 +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 17:03:02 CST =46rom: "christopher tomlins" Subject: H-Labor Discussion: Union decline and related matters =20 Please Post =46rom: Chris Tomlins, American Bar Foundation > >I have been following the union decline discussion with much interes= t, >particularly the recent development of a "law turn" in the contribut= ions. >I'd like to offer this reflection which is both stimulated by the >discussion and offers further materials that those interested in the= law >turn may want to pursue, and which tries to speak to the nature of t= he "law >turn" per se. > >The law turn seems to me to reflect a trajectory in evidence in labo= r >history at large, to the extent that one can now point to a group of= people >who are all actively working in different aspects of what is beginni= ng to >be termed "labor law history." Key contributions in the development= of this >tendency have already been mentioned, e.g. Jim Atleson, Values and >Assumptions in American Labor Law (1983). People should also look a= t the >earlier well-known articles by Karl Klare, "Judicial Deradicalizatio= n of the >Wagner Act," 62 Minn Law Rev 265 (1978), and "Labor Law as Ideology,= " 4 Ind >Rel.s Law Jo. 450 (1981) [The latter is a contribution to a debate w= hich >also features work by Staughton Lynd, "Government Without Rights," a= nd >comments by Mel Dubofsky and Duncan Kennedy, all in the same issue.]= More >recently, excellent articles, mostly appearing in law reviews, have = been >written by Atleson, Ken Casebeer and Joel Rogers. See, in particula= r, the >latter's "Divide and Conquer: Further Reflections on the Distinctive >Character of American Labor Laws in Wisc. Law Rev (1990). > >More recent work has come in the form of books. These have tended t= o >concentrate on the shaping of the legal environment for collective >organization and bargaining up to and through the New Deal, and (in = some >cases) the consequences of this. Those coming to mind, in no partic= ular >order, are: Anthony Woodiwiss, Rights V. Conspiracy: A Sociological = Essay >on the History of Labour Law in the US (1990); Willy Forbath, Law an= d the >Shaping of the American Labor Movement (1991) [this is a revision of= a long >1989 Harvard Law Rev essay]; Karen Orren, Belated Feudalism: Labor, = the Law and >Liberal Development in the United States (1991); Victoria Hattam, La= bor >Visions and State Power: The Origins of Business Unionism in the Uni= ted >States (1992). A very recent addition is William Ross, A Muted Fury= : >Populists, Progressives and Labor Unions Confront the Courts, 1890-1= 937 >(1994) [this author/title ref. may be inaccurate in some slight resp= ects: I >am citing it from memory]. Dan Ernst will soon publish his history = of the >American Anti-Boycott Association, and has written a number of very = good >articles on the pre-New Deal period. For cites see the bibliography >mentioned below. Likewise, Ruth O'Brien has a good piece "Business >Unionism versus Responsible Unionism: Common Law Confusion, the Amer= ican >State, and the Formation of Pre-New Deal Labor Policy," in 18 Law & = Social >Inquiry 255 (1993). A few years earlier than these I published The = State and >the Unions: Labor Relations, Law, and the Organized Labor Movement i= n >America, 1880-1960 (1985). Law & Social Inquiry is also carrying a = group >review of Hattam, Forbath and Orren, with responses, in an up-coming= issue >[v.19, #1] > >People familiar with this work will know that it has begun trending = away from t he initial tendency >to identify "labor law" as collective bargaining law, pushing toward >writing histories of the law of the employment relationship, and it = has >also begun pushing back from the 20th century. See Robert Steinfeld= , The >Invention of Free Labor: The Employment Relation in English and Amer= ican >Law and Culture, 1350-1870 (1991); Marc Linder, The Employment Relat= ionship >in Anglo-American Law: A Historical Perspective (1989). My own Law,= Labor >and Ideology in the Early American Republic (1993) is also in this v= ein. >For a sampler of the range of ongoing activity, together with a 40 p= . >bibliography that includes most of the stuff cited above, see Tomlin= s and >King ed.s, Labor Law in America: Historical and Critical Essays (199= 2). >There's more in the works, both from people whose names may not be f= amiliar >to historians (eg Ken Casebeer, Craig Becker and Lea VanderVelde, al= l legal >academics), and those who are (eg Amy Stanley). 1994 will see books= from >Montgomery (just out) and Dubofsky (soon out) that reflect the influ= ence of >this genre. Brody's and Lichtenstein's essays in the recent >Harris/Lichtenstein collection on Industrial Democracy both canvass = labor >law/industrial jurisprudence in the context of union decline (which = is where >we started). In other words it's catching on all over the place. >I guess the point of all this is to underline that (a) there >is a real history and historiography of labor law in process, (b) th= at >interested historians need to tap into this, not rely for their >definitions and understandings of labor law on present-minded legal >academics like Weiler whose agendas and writing are in essence ahist= orical, >and whose resort to history is generally both perfunctory and whiggi= sh [in >the sense that history is what you use to establish a kind of necess= itarian >track that leads one into the present and then blends into the backg= round >to be replaced by non-historical analysis of "reform." See eg Gould= 's >recent book on labor law reform. I'm not attacking Weiler or Gould = here, >and we should all read their work. But we should not rely on them f= or >properly historical explanations of the legal phenomena they write a= bout]; and (b) that it is an historiography which is rapidly spilling beyond= the specifics of collective bargaining into all the relationships in whic= h "labor" is constituted. Stay tuned. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 17:25:52 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: Health-Finance Sublist =20 == Posting Supplied by == =46rom: MARRM@CLEMSON.BITNET Subject: Financial Economics Network =20 Financial Economics Network =20 Becuase of a demand for an intelligent discussion of Clinton's health care plan and its financing, we will have a sublist titled AFA-HEALTH-FINANCE within the next two weeks. We expect this list to be especially good becuase of the number of experts in finance which are on our master list. =20 The Financial Economics Network is a network for scholars and related individuals in investment banks, banks, companies, government agencies, international agencies, and firms engaged in economic research related to finance and financial markets. We currently have over 1200 subscribers. =20 Additional channels on other subjects will be developed as needed. =20 We are also developing a channel of the Network devoted exclusivel= y to individual investors. Any individual with an interest in investments is encouraged to apply. Sublists that will be created include: AFA-CORPORATE, AFA-INVESTMENTS, AFA-INTERNATIONAL, AFA-BANKING, AFA-dERIVATIVES, AFA-SMALL-INVESTOR, AFA-LAW-ECONOMIC= S, AND AFA-REAL-ESTATE. =20 The list is restricted. Please contact Professor Wayne Marr at marrm@clemson.clemson.edu to subscribe. Professor Marr can also be reached at 803-656-0796 (voice) or 803-653-5516 (fax). =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 18:27:40 EST Reply-To: EBERWNR@ELMER1.BOBST.NYU.EDU Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Robert Eberwein =20 Set labor-l repro =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 13:21:07 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Doug Henwood Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <199401142000.AA07439@panix.com> =20 Has anyone mentioned the bullheadedness, cowardice, hideboundness, mossbackishness, timoressness, fundamental conservatism, cold warring= , antiradicalism, and generally pigheaded white maleness of so much of = the US labor movement leadership? =20 Doug =20 Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] Left Business Observer 212-874-4020 =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 15:43:07 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <199401151825.AA03547@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 Doug Henwood writes: =20 Has anyone mentioned the bullheadedness, cowardice, hideboundness, mossbackishness, timoressness, fundamental conservatism, cold warring= , antiradicalism, and generally pigheaded white maleness of so much of = the US labor movement leadership? =20 Sounds like the old game of "blame the victim" to me! =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 16:44:23 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: Send COMMANDS to LISTSERV@vm1.yorku.ca =20 In recent weeks there has been an increase in the frequency of errors= in sending commands to change status on the LABOR-L. Subscribers should = _IN ALL CASES_ send COMMANDS to listserv@vm1.yorku.ca (or listserv@yorkvm= 1). The should send POSTINGS to labor-l@vm1.yorku.ca (or labor-l@yorkvm1)= . =20 In most cases if you send a one-line message HELP to any listserv, th= at listserv will return you a set of instructions. For additional help t= ry contacting the sysop for your local node. To determine what your sett= ings are for listserv LABOR-L send the following QUERY LABOR-L to the LIS= TSERV (i.e., to LISTSERV@VM1.YORKU.CA). That will tell you what your subscr= iption is now set to (MAIL, NOMAIL, etc.). To set an option you send TO LIST= SERV a single line of body text such as SET LABOR-L NOMAIL, SET LABOR-L MA= IL, etc. Sam Lanfranco, LABOR-L ListManager =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 20:51:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Andrew P. Morriss" Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Andrew P. Morriss" Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law =20 > >Doug Henwood writes: > >Has anyone mentioned the bullheadedness, cowardice, hideboundness, >mossbackishness, timoressness, fundamental conservatism, cold warrin= g, >antiradicalism, and generally pigheaded white maleness of so much of= the >US labor movement leadership? =20 Roy Adams responds: > >Sounds like the old game of "blame the victim" to me! > =20 Surely you cannot deny that unions in the US have followed strategies which are at least partially responsible for their own decline. The "victims" aren't getting blamed -- they're the workers -- the idiots who run unions are getting blamed! =20 Andy Morriss CWRU =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 12:28:46 +0200 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Nelson Lichtenstein Subject: Re: Lichtenstein from Finland In-Reply-To: <199401141958.VAA28811@kruuna.Helsinki.FI> from "Stephe= n F. Diamond" at Jan 14, 94 02:51:55 pm =20 Steve: =20 How goes it. We are in Finland for the year watching the collapse of a welfare state. We can talk more if this message works. =20 Nelson Lichtenstein =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 14:52:17 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Stephen F. Diamond" Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <9401151823.AA11018@minerva.cis.yale.edu> =20 On Sat, 15 Jan 1994, Doug Henwood wrote: =20 > Has anyone mentioned the bullheadedness, cowardice, hideboundness, > mossbackishness, timoressness, fundamental conservatism, cold warri= ng, > antiradicalism, and generally pigheaded white maleness of so much o= f the > US labor movement leadership? > > Doug > > Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] > Left Business Observer > 212-874-4020 =20 Big deal, welcome to the real world brother. Has anyone ever mention= ed the sterility and sectarian nature of the American left? Get back to business Doug! =20 Steve Diamond Yale Law School =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 19:18:22 CST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Neil N. Bernstein" Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 12 Jan 1994 20:32:33 -0500 from =20 Is Ray Adams aware that in the United States workers do not have a free choice of union representation? The AFL-CIO has divided up the working environment and assigns each bargaining unit to one and only one unit. Thus, there are many people who would like to be represented by a union, but who either do not like the particular union to whom they have been assigned or who have been assigned to a union that is not interested in organizing them. =20 That is one of the many reasons why the level of union represen- tation in our country is so low. =20 Neil N. Bernstein Phone: 314/935-6408 Professor of Law Fax: 304/935-6493 Washington University E Mail: c53004nb@wuvmd.wustl.edu St. Louis, MO 63130 =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 21:09:34 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: The Vermont RR: Labor Troubles (165 lines) =20 --------------- < reposted with format adjusted > ------------- Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 16:56:22 -0500 (EST) =46rom: doug hord =20 Below is the initial leaflet put out by the coalition called Workers United for Justice on the Central Vermont RR. =20 ---Leaflet from Workers United for Justice on the Central Vermont RR-= -- =20 A FATAL CURE =20 Takeover will destroy family-supporting jobs on Central Vermont Railroad. Rail bosses intend to exploit legal loophole and use publi= c money to pull off the deal. =20 Everyone knows the problem: Canadian National and Grand trunk Central want to sell off the Central Vermont Railroad. That has sent tremors= of uncertainty and fear through the four northeastern states where Centr= al Vermont now runs. It could potentially mean the loss of some 181 job= s and the interruption of service for businesses in the area. =20 So a group of Central Vermont managers, led by CV general manager Christopher Burger, are offering a "cure" for the problem that sounds very attractive. They want to buy the railroad through an "employee stock ownership plan," which has a worker-friendly ring. The CV management would operate the rail line as a new outfit called CV Newc= o. =20 Burger and other CV officials are touting the takeover as a "job-savi= ng" move which will retain local control for the railroad. They paint th= ere plan as the only realistic option, even though at least two other railroads, Massachusetts Central and Providence Worcester are also bidding on Central Vermont. =20 To make the $17.1 million takeover happen, CV management is using the state of Vermont to provide loan guarantees. That would be a significant commitment by the state. It would expose the state to financial risk, and also tie up funds that could be used to promote genuine job-creating activity. (This would not be CV's first dip int= o the public trough. In 1988, CV received $1.1 million from the state = of Vermont to help purchase the Connecticut River railroad line.) But despite all the rhetoric about saving jobs, employee ownership, and public benefit, the proposed "cure" will devestate workers and rip of= f taxpayers. =20 Instead of actually saving jobs, Central Vermont has made clear that = it intends to exploit a loophole in federal law (See box and back page t= o, in effect, fire the entire existing workforce. =20 If allowed to use this loophole, CV Newco will *Eliminate 46 jobs *Get rid of the curent workforce and hire a new set of employees. *Dump existing union contracts. =20 While CV Newco claims it is willing to "have discussions with labor, = " to "have discussions" is quite different from actually honoring exist= ing goodfaith agreements with the workers. =20 In contrast, all the other legal contracts and financial obligations = of Central Vermont would be honored by CV Newco. Only the agreements wi= th workers get tossed overboard. (The CV executives have refused so far= to even share their so-called ESOP plan with the workers. That shows CV= 's true attitude toward its workers) =20 *Cut wages by about 20%. These cuts would downgrade family-supportin= g jobs into work that pays just a bit above the poverty level. *Evade job-security protections required by federal law when a railro= ad takeover occurs. =20 Quite obviously, the CV Newco plan has nothing to do with helping workers. To begin with, workers were entirely excluded from the plan for "employee ownership, " which was conceived in complete secrecy. = The CV Newco plan for employee ownership is phony in terms of providing r= eal power or ownership to rail workers. =20 But this pseudo-ESOP does two things for the bosses: 1)It is a non-railroad entity, allowing it to take over the CV without assuming obligation to the workers 2) The bogus ESOP structure provides high t= ax breaks to the managers who really run things. =20 That is typical of this deal. All of the benefits of the proposed management buy-out go to management: They gain a profitable rail line= at a good price, they retain a cozy relationship with the parent company Canadian National, and they enrich their bottom line by discarding th= e old, loyal employees cheaply and hiring a new non-union workforce at = low wages. =20 Meanwhile, workers and the public are both big losers. Jobs are destroyed and downgraded, and tax revenues are reduced. And if state loan guarantees are granted, Vermonters are treated to "corporate welfare " being abused to weaken the economic base of the state and region. =20 If the proposed CV Newsco takeover of Central Vermont is supposed to offer a cure for uncertainty bout the rail line's future, it is a fat= al cure for workers and the public. =20 10901 LOOPHOLE USED TO DESTROY JOBS AND UNIONS =20 In the 1980's, it somehow became acceptable for corporate leaders to boost profits though shrewd takeovers instead of sound managemnt to boost productivity. The formula for quick profits: as corporations merged, workers got purged. =20 It was during the 1980's that railroad executives discovered that the= y could use a loophole in the Interstate Commerce Act called Section 10901. Section 10901 was inteded to encourage the continuation of service and jobs on very small, marginal rail lines being abandoned b= y big rail corporations. Section 10901 permits the buyers of certain small lines to avoid assuming the existiong labor contract. But to prevent abuse, Section 10901 requires that the new buyer not be an existing railroad. =20 However , over the last decade, procorporate menbers of the Interstat= e Commmerce Commission, appointed by Reagan and Bush, changed the interpretation. They permitted railroads to set up non-rail subsidiaries, dummy corporations , and employees stock ownership plan= s to evade the requirement. The dummy corporation would then be permit= ted to toss out the union contracts and existing workforce without giving them mandated job protections. The result: family-supporting jobs destroyed, loyal workers displaced, and communities harmed. =20 HOW WISCONSIN WORKERS WON LABOR PROTECTIONS ON TAKEOVER =20 The situation faced by Central Vermont workers is a frightening one f= or them and their families. Through no fault of their own, they are suddenly on the verge of losing their jobs because Canadian National = and Central Vermont are using a legal loophole to wipe out their union contracts and job protections. =20 But the situation is far from hopeless. The outcome depends on how h= ard the workers are wiling to fight. Under almost identical conditions, union members in Wisconsin stopped a big rail corporation from using = the Section 10901 loophole to eliminate their jobs and rights to labor protection. They have shown vulnerable workers can rally the public = and elected officials to their side against corporate arrogance, and come away with a victory. =20 Here's the Wisconsin story: Wisconsin Central is the nation's largest Class II railroad and is actually bigger than many Class I railroads, and has been highly profitable. =20 Wisconsin Central decided to take over two smaller lines in northern Wisconsin, the Green Bay & Western and the Fox River Valley Railroad. To get around the obligation to honor union contracts and provide job security, Wisconsin Central set up a new non-railroad holding company called Fox Valley Western. =20 Wixconsin Central and its lawyers then claimed that it was exempt fro= m the obligations to workers, thanks to Section 10901. Since the Interstate Commerce Commission--appointed by Reagan and Bush--was lik= ely to side with Wisconsin Central, the outlook appeared grim. =20 But the workers stopped worrying and started working. They met with other unions, bult support with public officials, gathered 40,000 signatures on petitions, and focused an intense beam of heat on the I= CC. The outcome: the ICC ruled that the Fox Valley Western workers would = be entitled to six years of labor protection . =20 The lesson: fighting back pays off. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 21:21:50 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: Message of Sun, 16 Jan 1994 14:52:17 -0400 from =20 I actually liked Doug's comments. Those who believe in a democratic, = militant labour movement need to continually point out the weaknesses and trea= chery of much of the labour leadership. The whole social contract debacle h= ere in Ontario was a clear example of the sell-out policies of the union bra= ss. Full of piss and vinegar at a rhetorical level while doing all they c= ould to channel the struggle into innocuous paths and dealing behind their me= mbers backs. Sid Ryan, leader of CUPE, had the gall to mention at a 10,000 = strong demo that the movement needed to avoid the problems of the Great Mine= rs Strike in Britain in 84-85 (i.e. solidarity from other unions) while doing n= othing to build any solidarity and squashing any attempts by rank and filers= to escalate the struggle through job actions. Now they've reserved their= fire for the NDP, deflecting attention away from the utter failure and betraya= l of their own actions. =20 Having spent many years in and around the labour movement, I could th= ink of a few more epithets to throw at the likes of Sid Ryan and Fred Upshaw= . =20 Sean Purdy, Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 22:37:44 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism In-Reply-To: <199401170123.AA07413@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 Neil Bernstein writes: =20 Is Ray Adams aware that in the United States workers do not have a free choice of union representation? The AFL-CIO has divided up the working environment and assigns each bargaining unit to one and only one unit. Thus, there are many people who would like to be represented by a union, but who either do not like the particular union to whom they have been assigned or who have been assigned to a union that is not interested in organizing them. =20 That is one of the many reasons why the level of union represen- tation in our country is so low. =20 Professor Bernstein, =20 Surely, as a professor of law you know that under the US National Labor Relations Act a labor organization is defined as "any organization of any kind or...employee representation committ= ee or plan, in which employees participate and which exist for the purpo= se, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning...condition= s of work." The Act makes no mention of the AFL-CIO and its internal organizing policies. A close reading of the Act and the debate leadin= g up to its adoption makes it clear that the US Congress intended that any group of employees should be able either to join an existing organiza= tion or establish a new one and that the employer had a "duty" to recogniz= e and negotiate in good faith with that organization if it were obvious that it represented the wishes of a majority of the employees involve= d. Not only did the Act enable employees to set up labor organizations, = it encouraged them to do so. The language of the Act also condemned in v= ery strong language any attempt by employers to use their position of authority to influence employees against self-organization. Over time= , however, the clear vision of a free and unfettered group of employees selecting representatives to sit down with the employer to arrive at mutually acceptable conditions of work has been grotesquely distorted= as the result of a vastly successful ideological/semantic campaign. Your comment is, it seems to me, one indicator of the success of that campaign. It is also indicative of attitudes and perceptions that nee= d to change if American democracy is to survive and be brought up to the modest standards of other nations that aspire to the status of democratic. =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 22:38:49 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Jack Hammond Subject: Wrapup on union decline with references (17K) =20 Several days ago I put the following message up on PSN and LABOR-L: For a syllabus in sociology of work, I am looking for a reference on the decline of unionism in the US in the last twenty years which evaluates the significance of industrial restructuring (geographical and sectoral), the war on labor by government and capital, and the failure of the union structure to organize new sectors. =20 Ideally I would like a single article which covers all these explanations (and possibly others) and has an extensive bibliography. However, I would appreciate any good references. =20 The result was the Internet at its best. I got three replies before I signed off and over a dozen during the next several days. Someone posted it to H-Labor and sent me the take from there. And just to keep me from getting sentimental about the Internet, there were even a couple of mini-flame wars, one in which someone warned me off of someone else's suggestion, and another in the last couple of days after I thought the discussion was running down. =20 Following the list of references, I include a few high points =66rom discussions, freely excerpted and without the authors' permission (I don't know which ones were sent to me privately and which were already sent out on one or another mailing list). Some of them strayed a bit from the original question, but where I leave citations with the discussion rather than include them on the list, that is merely to show that they were posted for their relevance to a particular topic within the larger issue. =20 Anyway, here is what the net dragged in, with a few things of my own. =20 James B. Attleson, Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law, University of Mass Press, 1983 =20 Stephen F. Diamond, chapter in Political Economy of North American Free Trade (St. Martin's Press, 1993, edited by Grinspun and Cameron) =20 Richard Edwards, Rights at Work: Employment Relations in the Post-Union Era. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1993. =20 Henry S. Farber, Worker Preferences for Union Representation. Pp. 171-205 in New Approaches to Labor Unions. Edited by Joseph D. Reid, Jr. Research in Labor Economics, Supplement 2, 1983. =20 Farber and Saks, "Why Workers Want Unions" 88 JPE 349 (1980) =20 Richard Feldman and Michael Betzold, eds. End of the Line: Autoworkers and the American Dream: An Oral History. N.Y.: Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1988. =20 Richard B. Freeman and James L. Medoff, What Do Unions Do? New York: Basic Books, 1984. =20 Thomas Geohegan. Which Side Are You On: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back. N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991. =20 Julius Getman, Ruminations on Union Organizing in the Private Sector, 53 Univ. of Chicago Law Review 45 (1986) =20 Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. =20 Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor: NLRB Union Certification Election Results. Politics and Society 11 (1982) 167- 209. =20 Michael Goldfield, "The Causes of U.S. Trade Union Decline and Their Future Prospects" Research in Political Economy, Vol 7, 1984. =20 Ben Hamper, Rivethead: Tales From the Assembly Line. N.Y.: Time-Warner, 1992. =20 Ethel B. Jones, Private Sector Union Decline and Structural Employment Change, 1970-1988. Journal of Labor Research Vol. XIII No. 3 (Summer, 1992): 257-270. =20 Tom Karier, Beyond Competition. The economics of mopolies and mergers =20 Kimeldorf, Howard, and Judith Stepan-Norris. 1992. Historical Studies of Labor Movements in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology. 18:495-517. =20 Kim Moody, An Injury to All. London: Verso =20 Bruce Nissen, ed., U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accommodation and Conflict (Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990). Chapters by Charles Craypo, "The Decline in Union Bargaining Power"; Peter Seybold, "American Labor at the Crossroads: Political Resurgence or Continued Decline?" and Ronald Filipelli, "The Historical Context of Postwar Industrial Relations" =20 Charles Perry, Union Corporate Campaigns (Wharton School, 1987) =20 Joseph D. Reid, Jr., New Approaches to Labor Unions. Research in Labor Economics, Supplement 2, 1983. =20 Robinson, J. G. American Unions In Decline: Problems and Prospects. Critical Sociology Vol.15, No. 1, 33-56. =20 Patricia Cayo Sexton, The War on Labor and the Left: Understanding America's Unique Conservatism. Westview Press, 1991 =20 G. Strauss, D. Gallagher and J. Fiorito, eds., 1991, The State of the Unions, Madison, Wisconsin, Industrial Relations Research Association. =20 Leo Troy, The Rise and Fall of American Trade Unions: The Labor Movement from FDR to RR. Pp. 75-109 in Unions in Transition: Entering the Second Century, Edited by Seymour Martin Lipset. San Francisco: ICS Press, 1986. =20 Paul Weiler, Governing the Workplace (Harvard University Press, 1990) =20 Paul Weiler, Promises to Keep: Securing Workers' Rights to Self-Organization Under the NLRA, 96 Harvard Law Review 1769 (1983) =20 Rob Wrenn, The Decline of American Labor. Socialist Review 82/83 (July-October, 1985), 89-117. =20 The envelope, please: A lot of these things appear to be worth reading. For my purpose, however, an undergraduate sociology class, some are too long (i.e. books), others too econometric, others too limited (cover only one of the explanations for union decline), others too rosy-eyed (in two ways: unionism will recover either because it has to, being essential in a democracy, or if only the unions would get serious about organizing new sectors). The one that fits the bill is Troy, The Rise and Fall of American Trade Unions, a tough-minded article in what appears, on quick perusing, to be a pretty softheaded book. =20 Thanks to Roy Adams, Phil Agre, Michael V. Doyle, Chris Evensen, Michael J Handel, Art Jipson, D. LINDEKUGEL, Peter Meiksins, Andrew P. Morriss, Bradley Nash, Bruce Nissen, Lea B. Vaughn, Seth Wigderson, Paul Zarembka, and one or two people whose messages, alas, I didn't save because they duplicated what someone else had already sent. =20 =46rom: "Vincent J. Roscigno" =20 There is a little organization going on, primarily among poor blacks. That doesn't translate into success, however, at least not as of yet. At most, 13% of a given county population is organized, while a substantial portion is unemployed and in poverty. As such, even if a strike or walkout in a given plant were to occur, employers would quickly fire the employees and dip into their vast storehouse of labor down here [North Carolina] - I've been listening lately to black females working in chicken processing who have been relating to me the firing of workers that employers simply think may be trouble makers as well as firing workers who get injured (e.g. carpal tunnal syndrome) before those workers put in a workers comp. claim. At the same time, there are politicians like Helms here who make any incling of worker organization profane in the eyes of the general public. =20 =================================================================== =================================================================== ====== =20 =46rom: "Andrew P. Morriss" =20 Henry Farber (at Princeton Econ Dept) has done some interesting empirical work to untangle the various factors involved, in particular the influence of right to work laws in the US. =20 =================================================================== =================================================================== ====== =20 =46rom: Roy Adams =20 Beware that Farber is a neoclassical economist who seems to think that union membership has declined because "the demand for union services" has declined. Given the milieu of intense suppression of potential union activists by American business that proposition seems to me to be absurd beyond belief. =20 =================================================================== =================================================================== ====== =20 =46rom: Lea Vaughn =20 many would argue that the abrogation of the at will employment doctrine, and an increasing willingness of state courts to read just cause into the employment relationship, on either tort or contract grounds, also makes unions potentially less attractive. =20 [I wrote Lea Vaughn to say I was surprised to hear that the at will doctrine had been abrogated because I thought that other than union contracts and antidiscrimination legislation, most workers could be fired at will. She replied:] =20 What I meant was this: The employment at will doctrine means that an employee can be fired for any reason, good, bad, immoral, etc. In the last twenty years, courts have been chipping away at that doctrine on two fronts: tort/public policy and contract. For example, in some states, the state court will deem it a wrongful discharge in violation of public policy where an employee is discharged for refusing to violate a statute or reports some form of wrongdoing. On the contract side, some courts have been willing to imply a just cause term in employment as a result of emplyee manuals, or the employer's statements. In some states, it is probably possible to say that the doctrine no longer exists. I was overstating it a bit to say that the doctrine has been abrogated (I just did what I always tell my kids to do and looked up the word in the dictionary: abolish is too strong yet.) Most of the movement has been in state court actions. It has created quite a hubbub among practicing attorneys. Those who practice plaintiff's side employment law (this at will stuff) recently split off from the more traditional American Bar Association Labor section, which was composed of lawyers representing employers and unions. =20 Additionally, the National Congerence of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has recently proposed a Uniform Employment Termination Statute. This statute proposes that as a matter of state law, all employees would work under a statutory definition of just cause. For example, it would bar terminations without good cause except in the case of employees with relatively short service and those who have an agreement for a specific time period. "Good cause" is defined to include a "reasonable basis" in light of a number of factors. The commission is committed to trying to get states to adopt the statute. Montana already has such a statute: Wrong Discharge From Employment Act, Mont. Code Annotated Sec. 39-2-902 (1987). That statute provides: =20 A discharge is wrongful only if: =20 (1) it was in retaliation for teh employee's refusal to violate public policy or for reporting a violation of public policy; =20 (2) the dischrage was not for good cause and the employee had completed the employer's probabtionary period of employment; or =20 =20 (3) the employer violated the express provisions of its own written personnel policy. =20 Mont. Code Ann. Sec. 39-2-904. There have been sporadic calls within Congress for some kind of national legislation. =20 Unions have had mixed reactions to this legislation, and court developments. To the extent that a collective bargaining agreement with a just cause provision is an incentive to join a union, the existence of state statutes or court decisions which provides this right to all employees undermines union organizing. =20 There are now a lot of articles in the legal literature about this. Cornelius Peck, one of my colleagues who has just retired, wrote an article entitled: "Penetrating Doctrinal Comouflage: Understanding the Development of the Law of Wrongful Discharge," 66 Wash. Law Rev. 719 (1991) which builds on an earlier article he wrote entitled "Unjust Discharges From Employment: A Necessary Change in the Law," 40 Ohio St. Law Journal 1 (1970). There, he predicted that by the end of this century, American courts would no longer recognize the employment-at-will doctrine. He also recommends, as "an excellent summary of national developments" a symposium issue entitled "Employment Rights," 67 Nebraska Law Rev. 1-210 (1988) with articles by Clyde Summers, William Gould IV, Theodore St. Antoine and Jack Stieber, all of whom have been leaders in this field. St. Antoine (who was my labor law professor) was on the Uniform Laws Commission. =20 And, when you couple all of this with the growth of anti-discrimination legislation, etc., the employer's freedom is getting pretty constrained. Employment law is a relatively new subject, and in the last five years law schools have just started teaching it. There are about three casebooks out that you might want to check for teaching materials. =20 =================================================================== =================================================================== ====== =20 =46rom: "christopher tomlins" =20 "Labor law history:" People should also look at the earlier well-known articles by Karl Klare, "Judicial Deradicalization of the Wagner Act," 62 Minn Law Rev 265 (1978), and "Labor Law as Ideology," 4 Ind Rel.s Law Jo. 450 (1981) [in the same issue, Staughton Lynd, "Government Without Rights," and comments by Mel Dubofsky and Duncan Kennedy]. Joel Rogers, "Divide and Conquer: Further Reflections on the Distinctive Character of American Labor Laws in Wisc. Law Rev (1990). =20 Books on the shaping of the legal environment for collective organization and bargaining up to and through the New Deal include Anthony Woodiwiss, Rights V. Conspiracy: A Sociological Essay on the History of Labour Law in the US (1990); Willy Forbath, Law and the Shaping of the American Labor Movement (1991) [this is a revision of a long 1989 Harvard Law Rev essay]; Karen Orren, Belated Feudalism: Labor, the Law and Liberal Development in the United States (1991); Victoria Hattam, Labor Visions and State Power: The Origins of Business Unionism in the United States (1992); William Ross, A Muted Fury: Populists, Progressives and Labor Unions Confront the Courts, 1890-1937 (1994) [this author/title ref. may be inaccurate in some slight respects: I am citing it from memory]. Dan Ernst will soon publish his history of the American Anti-Boycott Association, and has written a number of very good articles on the pre-New Deal period. For cites see the bibliography mentioned below. Likewise, Ruth O'Brien has a good piece "Business Unionism versus Responsible Unionism: Common Law Confusion, the American State, and the Formation of Pre-New Deal Labor Policy," in 18 Law & Social Inquiry 255 (1993). I published The State and the Unions: Labor Relations, Law, and the Organized Labor Movement in America, 1880-1960 (1985). Law & Social Inquiry is also carrying a group review of Hattam, Forbath and Orren, with responses, in an up-coming issue [v.19, #1] =20 This work has begun trending away from the initial tendency to identify "labor law" as collective bargaining law, pushing toward writing histories of the law of the employment relationship, and it has also begun pushing back from the 20th century. See Robert Steinfeld, The Invention of Free Labor: The Employment Relation in English and American Law and Culture, 1350-1870 (1991); Marc Linder, The Employment Relationship in Anglo-American Law: A Historical Perspective (1989); my own Law, Labor and Ideology in the Early American Republic (1993). For a sampler of the range of ongoing activity, together with a 40 p. bibliography that includes most of the stuff cited above, see Tomlins and King ed.s, Labor Law in America: Historical and Critical Essays (1992). 1994 will see books =66rom Montgomery (just out) and Dubofsky (soon out) that reflect the influence of this genre. Brody's and Lichtenstein's essays in the recent Harris/Lichtenstein collection on Industrial Democracy both canvass labor law/industrial jurisprudence in the context of union decline (which is where we started). In other words it's catching on all over the place. I guess the point of all this is to underline that (a) there is a real history and historiography of labor law in process, (b) that interested historians need to tap into this, not rely for their definitions and understandings of labor law on present-minded legal academics like Weiler whose agendas and writing are in essence ahistorical, and whose resort to history is generally both perfunctory and whiggish [in the sense that history is what you use to establish a kind of necessitarian track that leads one into the present and then blends into the background to be replaced by non-historical analysis of "reform." See eg Gould's recent book on labor law reform. I'm not attacking Weiler or Gould here, and we should all read their work. But we should not rely on them for properly historical explanations of the legal phenomena they write about]; and (b) that it is an historiography which is rapidly spilling beyond the specifics of collective bargaining into all the relationships in which "labor" is constituted. Stay tuned. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 09:25:34 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Karen Bentham Subject: Re: Union Decline In-Reply-To: <94Jan16.230930est.8538@ugw.utcc.utoronto.ca> from "Jac= k Hammond" at Jan 16, 94 10:38:49 pm =20 Jack, I missed your first message calling for sources but received your wrapup. I agree that Troy's article is quite encompassing but disagree with his conclusions re the main factors contributing to union decline. Also, I am not sure if you are interested in a comparative perspective but if so, you should consult an article by Gary Chaison and Joseph Rose,"Continental Divide: The Direction and Fate of North American Unions," in Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Sockell, Lewin and Lipsky, eds. JAI Press, 1991. This article covers all the bases re explanatory factors (market shifts, public policy, employer resistance, union organizing efforts, public opinion and national values) succinctly. And, it offers an extensive list of references for more detailed investigation. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 09:15:50 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: ECOPAULZ@UBVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism =20 Here at the State University of New York at Buffalo, graduate student= employees organized and are represented by an AFL-CIO union--GSEU/CWA--even tho= ugh another AFL-CIO union UUP/NYSUT represents faculty and professional s= taff. The AFL-CIO doesn't oppose that type of organizing where there is a m= ove =66rom non-representation to representation (i.e., the AFL-CIO did no= t require the GSEU to be a NYSUT union or part of UUP). =20 What is true is that after a representation election, the AFL-CIO opp= oses another AFL-CIO union attempting to take over. =20 Paul Zarembka, ECOPAULZ@UBVMSB.BITNET =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 13:34:29 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law =20 I agree with Sean et al that there are a whole lot of epithets which we might and should be throwing, but what then? I mean, if Legionaire's Disease [god forbid] struck at Bar Harbor and eliminated the entire AFL-CIO leadership, what would happen - would a thankful workingclass heave a great sigh of relief and rise up again to the struggle? So, I think it is worthwhile to be looking elsewhere for the source o= f the problems than just bad leaders. I still believe that analyses of the class struggle must begin with the classes. I argue in my dissertation that the Reuther leadership of the UAW was not accidenta= l but that something like it was ineviatble given the industrial organization of autoworkers and the cold war victory within the union movement. But I certainly would not want to slight the structuralists. Certainly the ability of Reuther et al to deliver was a function, in part, of the economic position of the auto monopolies. Fraternally, ----------------------------------------- / Seth Wigderson // Voice (207) 621-3258) / / University of Maine-Augusta // Internet SETHW@MAINE.MAINE.EDU / / Augusta, ME 04330 --------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- // "Better fewer, but better" / =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 16:01:13 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: MSTERN@BENTLEY.BITNET Subject: Re: Union Decline and labor Law =20 Re: Roy Adams response to Doug Henwood To suggest that a consideration of institutional labor and the organi= zed working population's less redeeming features in blaming the victim is= just the kind of thinking that has made it difficult for the labor movemen= t to retake the high ground of aggressive organizing and reframe its ident= ity in light of the transformation of 1) the economy, 2) the workforce, 3) t= he global political situation, among other phenomenon. Unfortunately, i= t is quite accurate to suggest that much of labor's leadership and many wo= rkers facilitated the transformation of an active labor movement to a more = passive "interest group." Many union insurgants acknowledge this, and it is = crucial to do so in order to move forward. M. Stern, History Department, Bentley College =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 19:12:11 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Doug Henwood Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <199401152044.AA13411@panix.com> =20 No it's not blame the victim; it's blame the so-called leaders of the so-called victims. Have you scrutinized the AFL-CIO leadership? Have = you ever listened to a speech by Ed Cleary or Van Arsdale the Younger? Ha= ve you ever heard Victor Gotbaum say what a great guy Felix Rohatyn is? =20 Doug =20 Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] Left Business Observer 212-874-4020 =20 =20 On Sat, 15 Jan 1994, Roy Adams wrote: =20 > Doug Henwood writes: > > Has anyone mentioned the bullheadedness, cowardice, hideboundness, > mossbackishness, timoressness, fundamental conservatism, cold warri= ng, > antiradicalism, and generally pigheaded white maleness of so much o= f the > US labor movement leadership? > > Sounds like the old game of "blame the victim" to me! > =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 19:29:38 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Doug Henwood Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <199401161955.AA06067@panix.com> =20 Welcome to the real world? What kind of answer is that. As I think Horkheimer said, cynicism is the worst form of conformity. The point = is to change the real world, isn't it? Is that sectarian? Which sect does i= t characterize? =20 I help pay Owen Bieber's salary, and it hurts. =20 Doug =20 Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] Left Business Observer 212-874-4020 =20 =20 =20 =20 On Sun, 16 Jan 1994, Stephen F. Diamond wrote: =20 > On Sat, 15 Jan 1994, Doug Henwood wrote: > > > Has anyone mentioned the bullheadedness, cowardice, hideboundness= , > > mossbackishness, timoressness, fundamental conservatism, cold war= ring, > > antiradicalism, and generally pigheaded white maleness of so much= of the > > US labor movement leadership? > > > > Doug > > > > Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] > > Left Business Observer > > 212-874-4020 > > Big deal, welcome to the real world brother. Has anyone ever menti= oned > the sterility and sectarian nature of the American left? Get back = to > business Doug! > > Steve Diamond > Yale Law School =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 19:42:02 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Stephen F. Diamond" Subject: RE: Henwood In-Reply-To: <9401180023.AA07456@minerva.cis.yale.edu> =20 Hey, Doug, don't blame Vic, after all Felix gave his kid a job! =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 19:35:26 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: Message of Mon, 17 Jan 1994 13:34:29 EST from =20 Scholars from Lenin, Webbs, Michels onwards have identified a distinc= t social layer comprised of the union bureucracy. They stand in a contradictor= y relationship between the workers and the bosses: on the one hand, the= y obviously have to respond atsome level to the concerns of workers; on= the other they also have to appear and act responsible to the bossess. Th= us they attempt to managethe employment relationship in as stable a manner as possible. In some situations they talk tought to the bosses, in other= s to the workers. The main point is they are committed institutionally to the = present set-up: anything which rocks this boat is considered a threat. =20 Historically, union bureacrats have demonstrated that if it comes to = the crunch they would rather support stability instead of anything which challe= nges the framework of social relations in capitalism. Yes, they might disagree= with this and that, but not fundamentally with the system, excepting of co= urse self-styled revolutionary unionists which is a different problem. =20 I'm not arguing that the only thing we should do is criticize the bur= eucrats. Neither am I saying that workers are necessarily more radical than th= eir leaders. But when workers have shown a capacity to challenge the orth= odoxies of labour relations - in my opinion this means democratic, rank and f= ile unionism with a militant strategy - the union leaders will do anythin= g they can to defeat it or coopt it. =20 Of course, we have to do more than just criticize the leaders, but if= we're going to have influence over the strategy and tactics of struggle the= n part of our responsibility is to criticize the dead end strategies of labo= ur leaders. In the case, I mentioned (the Social Contract) there were se= veral rank and file groups formed in Toronto to oppose the NDP government's= austerity programme. In Sudbury workers began work to rules. It was clear that = many public sector workers were very angry. What did the leaders do? Remai= ned at the table even though it was clear the government was not backing down; d= id their utmost to discredit any challenges to their timid strategy; failed to= allow the rank and file to have decision making powers (only to the extent = that they are legally bound to); half-heartedly built solidarity among other wo= rkers; and refused to escalate the campaign against the government through j= ob actions. I'm not arguing that a general strike should have been calle= d on Day One, but that the backroom lobbying of MPP's and the ineffectual = strategy of the leaders was not enough. More could have been done. =20 It is perfectly legitimate to put forward an alternative strategy. Ch= anges in class structure, apathy among workers and so on may explain certain f= ailures but we can point to many examples where the reason a strike or campai= gn failed is because of the dead end strategy of bureaucrats more concer= ned with stability and their own position than with winning a strike, let al= one changing society. =20 Sean Purdy, Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 21:43:02 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: gilson@PX1.STFX.CA Subject: Re: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: Your message of "Mon, 17 Jan 94 19:35:26 EST." =20 Sean - on the iron law of oligarchy, integration and incorporation of union leaders, you missed the bit about "Managers of discontent" - ya gotta get the C. Wright Mills stuff in there.... And if we want to retain SOME sense of,optimist, don't forget that if there is an iron law of oligarchy, it can only exist because there is a corresponding iron law of democracy which re-builds the 'bridges' after each successive erosion. It ain't over till its over..... =20 BTW, bonus point for cybersurfers.... who is plagarised (close enuf anyway) by the re-building bridges reference? =20 God I love this. =20 Clive Gilson =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 21:03:35 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law =20 I certainly agree with Sean in his criticism of current union leaders= h but I have seen a great many alternative strategies put forward, each excellent and thoughtful and insightful and some of them have done some good, but not much. What I am suggesting is that, as scholars, we need to identify those structures within the working class which gave acted to block the kind of response in the last 15 years which history has taught us to expect. And while we can point to weaknesse= s in the US or Canadian workers leaders, what of the Mexican, or French= , or Polish workers movements? I well understand the dangers of blamin= g the victim. Nevertheless, I think that an analysis for the 1990's must include placing sexism and racism at the center of our thought. In 1938, Trotsky wrote that the crisis of our epoch was the crisis of leadership. But Marx, in 1866, wrote that the force of workers' numbers, "is broken by disunion." He concluded that unionists "must convince the world at large that their efforts, far from being narrow and selfish, aim at the emancipation of the downtrodden millions." =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 22:49:35 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: RE: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: Message of Mon, 17 Jan 1994 21:03:35 EST from =20 The argument that workers need to overcome divisions along artificial= lines of race, gender etc. is crucial. But how do we do it? My reading of t= he historical experience is that people change through struggle. Concret= ely, that means learning throughe experience and arguments that their enemy is = not black workers on their picket line but their bosses. Reactionary idea= s can be swept away quickly through the experience of struggle. =20 Incidentally, the Trotsky quote on the crisis of humanity being the c= risis of revolutionary leadership was a mistake when uttered by Trotsky to a a= few thousand revolurionaries in 1938. Taken up by some of his followers i= n the post-war period it was a joke. Today, it is salient. =20 =20 Sean Purdy, Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 13:02:30 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: norma jo baker Subject: can. grad programs in labour studies =20 A colleague of mine is looking for information on Canadian graduate programmes (M. A.) in Labour Studies in British Columbia. =20 Please send any information on available programmes (and personal exp= eriences would also be welcome) to njbaker@vm1.yorku.ca =20 thanks! norma jo baker =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 06:24:28 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Ted Werntz Subject: Movies or Videos on a Pullman Theme =20 With the 100th Anniversary of the 1894 Pullman Strike coming up t= his June 26, it would be useful to have a list of movies and videos that = cover ground relating to this upheaval that rocked a good part of the North American continent. Three such films are: =20 Jack Santino, "Miles of Smiles: Years of Struggle," 59 min, color, 19= 82, Benchmark Films, 145 Scarborough Rd., Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. Se= e book of same title by same author. =20 "Palace Cars and Paradise: The Pullman Model Town," 28 min., color, = 1983. Available from the Illinois Labor History Society, 28 E. Jackson Boul= evard, Chicago Ill, 60604. =20 "The Last Pullman Car" 53 min., color, 1984, available from New Day F= ilms, 22 Riverview Drive, Wayne, NJ 07470. See also "The Last Pullman Car: A Study Guide" (Chicago: Dartemquin Films, Ltd., 1985). =20 These three films, made in the mid 1980's, are discussed in a su= perb article by Janice Reiff and Susan Hirsch, "Pullman and Its Pulbic: I= mage and Aim in Making and Interpreting History" which appeared in The Public = Historian, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Fall 1989) page 99-112. =20 Additions to the above list would be appreciated. Please post r= eplies to LABOR-L since others would probably be interested. =20 Thank you, Ted Werntz =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 09:21:48 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <199401172255.AA08504@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 With apparently a good deal of sympathy from other M. Stern writes: =20 To suggest that a consideration of institutional labor and the organi= zed working population's less redeeming features in blaming the victim is= just the kind of thinking that has made it difficult for the labor movemen= t to retake the high ground of aggressive organizing and reframe its ident= ity in light of the transformation of 1) the economy, 2) the workforce, 3) t= he global political situation, among other phenomenon. Unfortunately, i= t is quite accurate to suggest that much of labor's leadership and many wo= rkers facilitated the transformation of an active labor movement to a more = passive "interest group." Many union insurgants acknowledge this, and it is = crucial to do so in order to move forward. =20 *************** =20 In an otherwise perfect world there are lots of suggestions for improvement that might be made to the trade unions. However, in the world that currently confronts us, publicly dumping on the unions= is, it seems to me, bad judgement at best and treachery at worst. In Canada and the US our systems of economic governance are vestiges of a more primitive and savage age when small self selected groups subordinated the majority to their will. There is only so much energy available for the struggle against the resurgence of industrial autocracy. It should be focused on the forces leading that resurgence not on the unions. For all their imperfections, the unions are the main line of defence against it. =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 10:33:18 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Walter Daum Subject: Re: Union decline =20 Roy Adams insists that "ppublicly dumping on the unions" is "bad judg= ment at best and treachery at worst." =20 It seems clear that those accused so seriously have been dumping not = on the unions but on the leadership thereof, which is a different matter (al= though not in the minds of said leadership). =20 The unions are indeed "the main line of defense" against "industrial autocracy," or at least they could be. The top leadership's failure t= o carry out such a defense is treachery, not just bad judgment. =20 Those in the unions or among their supporters who don't wage a fight = against the leaders' passivity and sabotage are the ones guilty of bad judgme= nt at best. And the fight had better be public so workers can see and join = it. =20 Walter Daum =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 08:59:16 MST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: ### KINALSKI ### Subject: Re: Lichtenstein from Finland In-Reply-To: <9401161624.AA19215@relay.hp.com>; from "Nelson Lichten= stein" at Jan 16, 94 12:28 (noon) =20 > > Steve: > > How goes it. We are in Finland for the year watching the > collapse of a welfare state. We can talk more if this message works= . > > Nelson Lichtenstein > =20 Can you elaborate little more on that ? It sound interesting. Does Finland still has problems ? I know that problems started after the collapse of trade with Soviet Union. I did not know that these problems were associated with welfare. =20 Thanks, =20 _____________________________________________________________________= __________ Michael Kinalski e-mail: kinalski@hpbs2660.boi= .hp.com Hewlett-Packard phone: work: (208) 396-6173 fax: work: (208) 396-3319 _____________________________________________________________________= __________ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 11:16:20 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 19 Jan 1994 09:21:48 -0500 from =20 The question Roy is how we fight the "forces leading the resurgence."= Nobody has suggested that we attack unions - they are the only defense of wo= rkers against capitalism in the workplace. But it's perfectly legitimate to= put forward alternative strategies for fighting the corporate agenda. If = this means calling into question the strategy and tactics of labour leaders then= so be it. =20 There seems to be a sentiment among many posters on this question tha= t there is no room for subjective decision making and choice, that restructur= ing, global transformations in the economy are inevitable and all we can d= o is seek to offset them a little.This is exactly the strategy of Leo Gera= rd leader of the Steelworkers union in Canada. This is defeatist and ine= ffective. Of course, we have to take into account material changes. But are the= y so overpowering that we can't fight them? We have a huge record of histo= rical experience that suggests otherwise. Concessions, timid backroom lobby= ing, illusions in the NDP etc. are exactly what is impeding the struggle t= o turn back the corporate agenda. We should look to the recent miners s= trike in the US, the recent miners struggle in Britain, the 100,000 strong dem= o in Ottawa last may, the Miracle Mart strikers in Ontario and so on. In a= ll these struggles, despite the union leaders, they've been able to make gains= through good "old-fashioned" class struggle politics. =20 Sean Purdy Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 14:19:33 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Stephen F. Diamond" Subject: Re: Lichtenstein from Finland In-Reply-To: <9401191610.AA11386@minerva.cis.yale.edu> =20 On Wed, 19 Jan 1994, ### KINALSKI ### wrote: =20 > > > > Steve: > > > > How goes it. We are in Finland for the year watching the > > collapse of a welfare state. We can talk more if this message wor= ks. > > > > Nelson Lichtenstein > > > > Can you elaborate little more on that ? It sound interesting. > Does Finland still has problems ? I know that problems started aft= er > the collapse of trade with Soviet Union. I did not know that these > problems were associated with welfare. > > Thanks, > > ___________________________________________________________________= ___________ _ > Michael Kinalski e-mail: kinalski@hpbs2660.b= oi.hp.com > Hewlett-Packard phone: work: (208) 396-6173 > fax: work: (208) 396-3319 > ___________________________________________________________________= ___________ _ =20 Nelson, It is not clear to me what your email address is - I got the = above two notes over the Labor-L Canadian based network. My direct email i= s sfdylaw@minerva.cis.yale.edu Let me know what yours is, best, Steve =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 16:19:38 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Unemployment Rates =20 Can anyone help with this query? =20 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 11:04:41 -0600 (CST) =46rom: Richard Huddleston To: pol-econ@shsu.edu Subject: The real unemployment rate? =20 =20 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "employed persons are th= ose who did any work at all for pay or profit or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family business or farm.." The official government-reported employment rate thus includes persons who are onl= y employed part-time. =20 I am looking for research on following questions: =20 1. How do alternative definitions of what a "job" is or what an "employed person" is affect employment rates? =20 2. Is there any data available on the numbers of full-time and part-time workers, either at the national level or at the state level= ? =20 3. Are there estimates of the numbers of full-time versus part-time workers by industry? =20 Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Please respond directly to the author. =20 Richard Huddleston The Arkansas Institute Rhuddles@comp.uark.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 09:48:53 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Howard Fullerton (Bureau of Labor Statistics)" Subject: Re: Unemployment Rates =20 > > Can anyone help with this query? > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 11:04:41 -0600 (CST) > From: Richard Huddleston > To: pol-econ@shsu.edu > Subject: The real unemployment rate? > > > According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "employed persons are = those > who did any work at all for pay or profit or worked 15 hours or mor= e > without pay in a family business or farm.." The official > government-reported employment rate thus includes persons who are o= nly > employed part-time. > > I am looking for research on following questions: > > 1. How do alternative definitions of what a "job" is or what an > "employed person" is affect employment rates? > Alternative definitions exist--BLS provides alternative unemployment rates each month. These range around 6 percentage points. Roughly 3 below to 3 or 4 above. =20 > 2. Is there any data available on the numbers of full-time and > part-time workers, either at the national level or at the state lev= el? > Yes, especially at the national level. The full, published source with discussions of the definitions of the household survey (Current Population Survey) and the payroll (Current Employment Survey) survey are in Employment and Earnings, published monthly by BLS. If you are at a federal depositary library school, you will have those. =20 > 3. Are there estimates of the numbers of full-time versus part-time > workers by industry? > This might pose some problems about statistical significance. I am answering this from home--the Washington area electric and natural gas distribution systems are severely stressed by the cold wave--so Friday, I suggest you call John Stinson, a senior economist in BLS' Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics and pose your questions to him. His phone number is 202.606.6373. If he is not in, ask for his supervisor, Gloria Green. =20 > Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Please respo= nd > directly to the author. > > Richard Huddleston > The Arkansas Institute > Rhuddles@comp.uark.edu =20 =20 *----------------------------------------------------------* |Howard N Fullerton, Jr HNF@NIHCU BITNET| |Office of Employment Projections 202.606.5711 VOICE| |Bureau of Labor Statistics HNF@CU.NIH.GOV INTERNET| |Washington, DC 20212-0001 202.606.5745 FAX| *----------------------------------------------------------* | Statements are not the opinions of the Bureau of Labor | | Statistics or of the U.S. Department of Labor | *----------------------------------------------------------* =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 11:12:48 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Florence Steele Subject: Re: Lichtenstein from Finland =20 NELSON-- I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. =20 =20 *********************************************************************= *** "The white man knows how to make everything but he does not know how = to distribute it." Chief Sitting Bull *********************************************************************= *** Florence Steele fs@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 10:11:07 +0000 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "J. Wade Hannon" Subject: Re: Evil economists & Decline of US unionism =20 >Is Ray Adams aware that in the United States workers do not have a >free choice of union representation? The AFL-CIO has divided up the >working environment and assigns each bargaining unit to one and only >one unit. Thus, there are many people who would like to be >represented by a union, but who either do not like the particular >union to whom they have been assigned or who have been assigned to >a union that is not interested in organizing them. > >That is one of the many reasons why the level of union represen- >tation in our country is so low. > >Neil N. Bernstein Phone: 314/935-6408 >Professor of Law Fax: 304/935-6493 >Washington University E Mail: c53004nb@wuvmd.wustl.edu >St. Louis, MO 63130 =20 I'm not sure what Prof. Bernstein is referring to, but as a former un= ion organizer and currently a union member, local officer and activist, I= am not aware of unions being "assigned" to represent a worksite to repre= sent. Any union can work to organize an unorganized worksite. I used to wor= k for the Service Employees International Union, Local 96 and we represente= d a wide variety of worksites, some of which could have been organized by several different unions. For example, healthcare, where at least a d= ozen unions (probably many more) have units throughout the U.S. Also, an individual can join more than one union. Only one union (or a formal coalition of more than one union) can be the certified bargaining age= nt for a worksite. =20 In Sloidarity, =20 wade ----------------------------------------------------------------- J. Wade Hannon, Ed.D., N.C.C. /Asst. Prof., Counselor Education Progr= am/210 F.L.C/ North Dakota State University/Fargo, ND 58105/(701) 237-7204 [fax- (= 701) 237-7416] e-mail - hannon@plains.nodak.edu "Not the end of the Earth, but you can see it from here..." =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 20:51:15 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Union Decline and labor Law In-Reply-To: <199401191639.AA23454@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 During the recent labour law reform episode in Ontario major elements of the business community spent big bucks on a mega advertising campaign designed to scare the Ontario citizenry into believing that if a very mild reform bill was passed, Ontario business would, as one, pack up and move south. The newspapers colluded to ensure that, contrary to their public commitment to objectivity, stories favourable to reform were not reported or were buried in a spot where very few would notice. =20 I had a part time student at the time who was also a reporter. He interviewed me about labour-management cooperation in Europe - not exactly a radical theme - but the paper refused to run it because it might suggest to the readers that there was something potentially positive about the expansion of labour representation. The central objective of those activities was to ensure that the great majority of Ontario companies maintained their illegitimate unilateral authority over the workforce. In a democratic nation that behaviour is disgraceful, egregious, heinous - I cannot find words strong enough. What was the reaction of those who responded so vigorously against the policies of a social democratic government caught in a financial crisis? I don't recall any demonstrations of 100,000 in front of the offices of the Globe and Mail or of the various business associations that plastered the province with garbage. =20 There is only so much energy to go around. It is a lot easier to direct it at errant friends who might be persuaded to listen than at those who would rather be skiing or skating or watching tv rather than have their peace disturbed by being shown unfamiliar and unpleasant images of contemporary reality. But it is the latter whose behaviour is the more critical. Commonly employers say that "if employees are satisfied with the status quo there is no reason to change it." I know lots of "average citizens" who find that proposal to be perfectly sound; I even know several unionists and more than a few well-meaning intellectuals who cannot see it's flawed logic. That's the real enemy and it is a very hard nut to crack. I completely agree with you Sean that we must not accept the inevitability of anything. But it will take a hell of a lot of focused energy to turn around the ideological juggernaut = of subordination by choice and I cannot think of a better way to preserve and foster it than to encourage dissent within the family of democrats. =20 =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 10:22:23 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: SAVE THIS MESSAGE: ListManager =20 This is a short message from me (Sam Lanfranco) the ListManager for t= his LABOR-L listserv. The recent "burst" of activity on the decline in un= ion activity in the US was, as one poster put it, "internet at its finest= ". That was meant in the sense of a dynamic, on-going seminar which pres= ented ideas, responses, and references. That is all to the good. =20 On the other hand, the "burst" caused a problem which I, as listmanag= er could see from here. A number of people unsubscribed from the list, a= nd my impression is that, to use a classroom analogy, yes it was an inte= resting "seminar" but it was not the seminar they wanted and they were in the= wrong "classroom". I am taking a few lines to discuss this because it point= s to a problem (or issue) which those of us who use the networks will have t= o come to terms with as we search out ways to use the nets to their fullest,= not just for ourselves but for the common good. =20 The problem, using another analogy, is like subscribing to one of the= local newspapers. We don't expect it to have all the depth we would like in= our areas of interest, and we may feel it has too much depth in other are= as such as sport or fashion, but we live with the mix and the newspaper survi= ves by keeping a mix that attracts subscribers better than it alienates them= . The LABOR-L listserv is like a newspaper (it distributes) but its "charac= ter", (i.e., its mix of sports and fashion) will vary from time to time. Tw= o of the strengths of a LISTSERV are a) user control of content, and b) fl= exible range of focus. However, as focus shifts, or concentrates for a time,= a human response is to unsubscribe, especially if one is lurking, i.e.,= using the list as an information source. [I should add that "lurking" on a = list is honorable. If lurking on newspapers were not honorable, only those wh= o sent letters to the editor would be subscribers!] =20 There are three solutions to the dilemma of scope, focus, and subscri= ption. The unacceptable one is to set rules for either content or the varyin= g levels of content. This works in straight information provision. Material co= mes in, we organize it as a newsletter, the newsletter is posted. LABOR-L hop= es to have such a service down the road, but as an additional service and (= most likely) at an access site as opposed to doing mass distribution. The = second approach is both technical and labor intensive, that being to structu= re the "bursts" moving them to a supplementary list with cross-posted report= s to the main list. This new list would be setup on the spot, subscribers woul= d opt to be on/off (default==OFF), it would cross post, and die at the end = of the burst, leaving behind a structured archive based on the content of th= e episode. =20 =46rom our work on the impact of these technologies on social process= , we think this second approach will gain favour over time. For now, so long as = the nets are not an integral part of curriculum and research, the resources ar= e not there to do this. This leaves us with a third option. And I would ask= you to remember this part of the message and save, at least, my email addres= s (below). =20 If the list traffic is generating concern in you as a subscriber, let= me hear about it. If you feel you should unsubscribe, let me know your feelin= gs and why. This is not to try to persuade you to stay on, it is "market res= earch" if you will, to see what demands are not being met and what we can do= about it. It tells me, as an educator and a researcher, that needs are not = being met. I have observed that the UNSUBscribes recently have come from groups = more than =66rom individuals. Some groups come on the list in response to a pre= vious "burst" of interest in their area, and leave when the focus drifts. T= his would be of no consequence if we were just an information provider, a good = suplement to books, radio, tv, etc. It would be of market penetration importanc= e if we were a for-profit activity where numbers of subscribers counted for d= ollars in the till. =20 It is of consequence here because we are trying to build new forms of= community across time and space and across those lines of affiliation that defi= ne our "location and role" in social process. So, when you have a feeling ab= out the drift and content, and how it maps against your needs as an academic = (student or teacher), as a researcher or policy maker, or as a community or sh= op floor worker in the trenches, let ME, the ListManager, here from you. This = is more than just a service to you. It is more than just a source of informat= ion for my research on computer mediated technologies and social proceess. It= is also part of building a preferred future. So, as they say on commercial ra= dio, keep those letters coming (when appropriate here: we don't need audience r= atings) when you have feelings about the list itself. Send them to SAM LANFRA= NCO at < lanfran@vm1.yorku.ca > - end of message from ListManager - =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 23:01:36 +0200 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Eileen Boris Subject: Re: SAVE THIS MESSAGE: ListManager In-Reply-To: <199401211604.SAA27082@kruuna.Helsinki.FI> from "Sam La= nfranco" at Jan 21, 94 10:22:23 am =20 I, for one, signed onto the list because of the discussion on union decline and because of Chris Tomlins' posting which was also sent to H-Labor. Does anyone have thoughts on the gendered and racial nature = of this decline--on how gender and racial hierarchies have been built in= to the industrial relations system? There is a growing literature on gen= der and labor standards, for example, that seems unconnected to labor history or to labor law history but connected to feminist jurispruden= ce and women's history. Replicating in our scholarship the gender divis= ion of labor is unfortunate. =20 Eileen Boris for this year, Renvall Institute Helsinki Finland but usually at Howa= rd University, Washington DC Eileen.Boris@Helsinki.Fi =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 17:56:54 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: labornet@IGC.APC.ORG Subject: Overworked And Out OF Work =20 /* Written 4:53 pm Jan 20, 1994 by labortech@igc.apc.org in igc:lab= r.newsline */ /* ---------- "Overworked And Out OF Work" ---------- */ =20 /* Written 4:18 pm Jan 20, 1994 by pnews in igc:p.news */ /* ---------- "OVERWORKED AND OUT OF WORK" ---------- */ =46rom: Hank Roth Subject: OVERWORKED AND OUT OF WORK =20 /* Written 6:24 pm Jan 5, 1994 by dspratt@peg.UUCP in igc:intl.eco= nomics */ /* ---------- "OVERWORKED AND OUT OF WORK" ---------- */ **************************************************************** =46rom `FrontLine' newspaper, September 1993 **************************************************************** =20 THE OVER-WORKED AND THE OUT-OF-WORK =20 In Australia there has been a rise in the number of weekly hours worked in the last ten years, whilst one million people are out of work. BELINDA PROBERT looks at the changing nature of Australian work patterns. =20 A few years ago I was involved in a small research project looking at the growth of what has, somewhat romantically, been called `telecommuting': the practice of working from home using computer and telecommunications technologies. One of the most striking conclusions was not that this was the future of work -- on the contrary, it is far less widespread than most imagine -- but that this is what many people strongly believe will be the future of work. The images vary in detail, but flow =66rom the idea of individuals being linked to everything and everywhere with the aid of computers and modems, just as able to write reports, enter data or sell advertising space from their homes as from a conventional workplace. =20 In its more elaborate versions these images implied a welcome reintegration of working life and home life, especially family life -- elements which had been violently separated with the rise of the industrial system. =20 These images of telecommuting are imbued with the feeling that this is a new and less onerous way of working; a way of working which cuts down stress, travel and working hours. And many people have welcomed these changes as a way of redistributing domestic work from women to men. =20 Behind much of this somewhat idealistic thinking about the future of work lies the most potent image of all, that of all-powerful computer technologies which have the ability to increase individual productivity to an unprecedented degree. In fact, the spread of personal computers, modems, mobile phones is, for many, more likely to create a sense of overwork rather than leisure. =20 Polarization =20 `The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure', by Juliet Schor, contains some very surprising facts, the central one being that the average employed person in the United States today works 163 hours more a year than they would have 20 years ago -- an extra month. And these extra hours are found in all industries and among all kinds of workers. Schor claims that in the 1980s over a million manufacturing jobs were lost, while overtime worked in manufacturing increased by 50 per cent. =20 For American men there is a disturbing polarization developing between those who are working longer hours and the even greater number who are working no hours. The long working hours are a function of several things, including: increased moonlighting, which becomes necessary as good jobs disappear and are replaced by casual, low paid ones; employers' increasing use of overtime instead of putting on more workers (its cheaper that way); and less paid time off as conditions of employment have deteriorated. =20 The polarization of earnings in the United States and Britain results in employment growth being confined to high income jobs and even more so to low income jobs, at the expense of middle income jobs. There are similar trends in Australia, with a consistent rise in the number of weekly hours actually worked over recent years, from an average 36.7 in 1980 to 40.5 in 1990, with a very large increase in the numbers working more than 49 hours, rising from 19 per cent to 25 per cent in 1991. There appears to be a growing polarization in the distribution not just of wages but of work itself, with some working harder and more unable to work at all. =20 For women the picture is somewhat different, with a steadily increasing proportion of women having jobs, albeit many of them part-time. There is evidence that the proportion of working women with full-time jobs is no greater than it was 25 years ago. =20 But men's share of domestic labour has failed to increase as their partners take up paid work. Women with part-time jobs tend to do almost as much unpaid domestic work as women who are full-time housewives, so part-time work and marriage appear to be the worst kind of combination for creating overwork, even though it is the combination which is widely regarded as particularly suitable for women with children. For women, part-time work is the key to overwork, and it is also the central mechanism keeping women in low pay and low status employment. =20 There is also the contrast between the increasing `busyness' of the new class of professionals and semiprofessionals, and the enforced idleness of the old industrial working class. The productive and necessary labour which was historically a claim to dignity and respect for the industrial working class has disappeared, mostly transferred elsewhere following a new international division of labour whereby a great deal of manufacturing can be carried out more cheaply and more efficiently in the slums of cities of Asia and South America or in the industrialising countries on the rim of the Pacific. =20 Full employment =20 How are we to think what a return to full employment means? Firstly, it must be recognized that full employment needs to be redefined. The traditional pattern of full-time employment from the ages of 18 to 65, with a 40 hour week and four weeks' annual leave, was only ever offered to men, and only made possible when armies of women were available to do all the socially necessary unpaid work. If there is one thing we can be sure of, it is that women are more likely to be in the paid workforce themselves. Fewer and fewer women are going to be available to staff the voluntary social services, to run the school canteen, or to take care of older relatives. =20 And it is not just the social implications but the environmental ones that need to be considered. Those women carrying the `double burden' have little time for sorting their garbage into glass, plastic, paper and compost components for recycling. Whatever our underlying commitment, we are highly likely to reach for the disposable nappies or the takeaway meal in the polystyrene box. Secondly, the broader picture may present a wider range of strategies for promoting equity. So, I'm for full employment, and by that I mean that I reject the notion that we should start to plan for a permanent class of unemployed persons. But I'm for a different kind of full employment, one that involves the redistribution of both paid and unpaid work. =20 Now, there are powerful forces working against change. =20 First, there are employers. It is primarily employers who determine the number of hours on offer, and for their male employees these tend to be long. With a male workforce, employers tend to respond to increased demand by offering overtime, not by putting on part-timers. Overtime is a cheap way of getting flexibility, even with penalty rates. The offering of part-time work is, by contrast, the norm in feminised areas of work. Overtime and part-time work are fundamentally gendered constructions. For those selling their labour, they confront a market in which there appears to be demand for full-time work or short-day part-time work -- for eight hours or four hours -- when many people might conceivably prefer six. =20 Second, there is the problem of low wages. How can those on low wages be expected to work anything but long hours, especially as there are more and more people on low wages? =20 Third, there are the unions, with their masculinist bias and understandably defensive posture in the face of rapid change and real threats to living standards. =20 And fourth, there are men. Working overtime or very long managerial hours may undermine their family life, but it also constitutes their masculinity. There are few signs of men choosing to work shorter hours and, when they do, it tends to be in ways that do not lead to an increase in their share of unpaid work. In other words, men have pushed for a nine day fortnight, rather than a six or seven hour day, hoping to increase their leisure time rather than their availability for unpaid domestic work. =20 These obstacles to redistributing paid and unpaid work and free time are very real. They are not simply the product of old fashioned ideas, they reflect conflict between unequal social groups. =20 New opportunities =20 Alongside these obstacles there are also very real pressures for change and new opportunities. =20 First, part-time work is on the increase, and full time work is decreasing. This must surely help to concentrate the minds of many unions and many men. =20 Second, there is significant evidence that many men are willing to trade off future wage increases against a reduction in working hours, if only the labour market could be persuaded to offer them this choice. =20 Third, there are massive changes taking place in the broader industrial relations framework which threaten the working conditions of the low paid, and women workers in particular, but which also create very real new opportunities. This is perhaps particularly the case in the service sector where working hours increasingly do not fit the standard eight hour model. =20 Fourth, women are pushing hard for changes in employment opportunities. Women want to work and to be recognized for their skills in the paid workforce. But they do not seem to want to give up their caring roles, and they want time off for their children, for example. This has led to significant breakthroughs, such as the provision of permanent part-time work in the public service. =20 Fifth, in as much as shorter working hours are made available across a wider range of industries and occupations, then they will become increasingly more attractive to men. =20 There is a very real danger as the Australian economy picks up out of this recession employers will respond, not by putting on new employees, but by offering yet more overtime to their existing male workforce, and offering yet more casualized, short-term employment to women. =20 We can develop concrete proposals aimed at redistributing paid work in a range of different ways appropriate to different industries, from banning overtime to promoting flexitime, and =66rom pushing for the right to a six hour day to establishing yearly banks of hours as the basis of negotiation. =20 The object of encouraging women to articulate their gender interests in the domestic division of labour is not to make men drudges too; it is more positive than that. Doing caring work is good for you, and for all of us. The dependence of the young, the old, the sick is a humanizing influence. More time at home and in the community creates the possibility of making progress on the major environmental questions which confront us with such urgency. =20 New information and communication technologies do create the potential for radically reorganizing the location of employment to meet both environmental and social goals of reducing travel, and bringing the home, the school and the workplace closer together. =20 These things may seem utopian, but no less so than the belief that deregulating the labour markets and throwing ourselves into the global economy will return us to what some people fondly remember as full employment. =20 **************************************************************** FRONTLINE newspaper is published monthly in Melbourne, Australia by a number of trade unions, with support from community organisations, and is distributed free of charge throughout the labour movement and through community groups. FRONTLINE 71 Cromwell St, Collingwood 3066 Australia * Tel 613 - 419 000 * Fax 613 - 416 1303 * email peg:dspratt * Subscriptions $A10 for ten issues, to above address. **************************************************************** =20 =20 =20 -- Transfer complete, hit to continue -- .. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 22 Jan 1994 13:04:45 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Labor's Heritage Vol 5 No 3 =20 I have just received the latest issue of Labor's Heritage, the publication of the George Meany Memorial Archives. I continue to be impressed by this publication which keeps trying to bridge between scholars, unionists and the general public. =20 The lead article is "Labor History in the Academy: A Layman's Guide t= o a Century of Scholarship." John Schacht has written a very useful an= d concise mini-history of labor scholarship from the Wisconsin school t= o today. I think it is the kind of article which could have a wide usage and I am only sorry that I did not have it available when I was preparing my labor history course. Of course, everyone will have the= i disagreements, but I think that it does a good job. The pictures alone are impressive. There is Commons seminar, on a blackboard you can see the names "Quesnay, Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Proudhon." On the other hand, I am not sure that either Philip Foner or Selig Perlman would have wanted their pictures together. =20 Other articles include a piece on the 1921-22 Omaha and Nebraska Packinghouse workers strike by William Pratt, and another on the history of Shrimpers Unions (1915-1955) in Mississippi by E. Paul Durrenberger. =20 Subscriptions are 1 Year / 4 issues / $19.95 Labor's Heritage 10000 New Hampshire Avenue Silver Springs, Maryland 20903 ph: (301) 431-5457 =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 22 Jan 1994 13:06:33 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Labor Research Review 21 =20 I just received an annoucement for Labor Research Review 21 Its theme is "No More Business As Usual" Here is the flyer's lead text =20 Labor Unions are putting corporations on notice: "No More Business As Ususal!" No more union-busting, no more scabs, no more decerts, no more NLRB abuses, no more runaway plants. Our Tool: the corporate campaign. By disrupting corporations' financial, social and power netweorks, unions can win important contract campaigns, save good jobs and protect workers' rights. =20 Labor Research Review 21 presents labor at its best with all-the-gears cranking corporate campaign. Get into the heads of our top strategists. Learn what makes a corporate campaign tick: research and strategic development, media coverage, international solidarity and mobilizing, public support, and mass action. =20 NEXT ISSUE : LRR 22 Political Action =46rom Canada to Mississippi, labor's place in the political arena is taking on new dimensions as we take the organizing model into our political action campaigns. =20 Individual Issues are $8/ 2 year subscription is $25 (4 issues) Midwest Center for Labor Research 3411 W. Diversey, suite 10 Chicago, IL 60647 (312) 278-5418 =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 23 Jan 1994 00:14:24 +0200 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Eileen Boris Subject: Re: Overworked And Out OF Work In-Reply-To: <199401220200.EAA29874@kruuna.Helsinki.FI> from "labornet@IGC.APC.ORG" at Jan 21, 94 05:56:54 pm =20 Given that it is nearly midnight and I am overworked, I want to make = a few brief comments to this interesting article. First, telecommuting= is no solution to the work and family so-called dilemma, even as it ease= s the burdens of some women who find themselves responsible for reproductive labor as well as wage earning. For my analysis of this recent would-be trend in the context of the history of home-based lab= or and its regulation, see HOME TO WORK: MOTHERHOOD AND THE HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL HOMEWORK IN THE UNITED STATES, which is coming out this spring from Cambridge Univ. Press (and in paperback). Second, I agree that we need to redivide family and reproductive labor, including the management as well as the actual physical tasks so that men and women equally share the joy and burden of such work. But individual or personal solutions are no substitute for social resources that take t= he burden away from individual parents, particularly mothers who do most= of this work now. By putting such arrangements in a civic space--or a public arena--they can be the subject of poliltical struggle: over dependent care, parental leave, even housework--with employers as wel= l as men from different groups/classes. Finally for now, extending hou= rs is, of course, a major way that employers have responded to the recen= t international crisis. One response in Finland that feminists fear (a= nd women here have a very high full time labor force participation rate, over 70% of women are in the paid labor force and most full time) is part time labor, especially part time labor for women, to ease the unemployment problem (nearly 20% or more depending on whose stats) an= d restructure the welfare state in the process. The state in the Finni= sh version of the Nordic model provides services that aid women earn wag= es outside of the home; those providing the services, that is, those employed by the state, are women, whose caretaking then has become socialized (but remains sex-segmented). Both groups of women then ea= rn future pensions and other benefits on the basis of their work (well, higher ones since there are a few citizen entitlements no matter one'= s wage). Part-time work would disadvantage women further in a system t= hat facilitates their motherhood (which liberal capitalists regimes resis= t) but maintains a high degree of occupational segmentation and divides = the state itself into a male state (the social partners) and female state (the caring services), where fiscal and foreign policy get made by th= e male side, mostly by men. So part-time work can also be a response t= o the current economic crisis and not just overtime. Cutbacks in state services mean another form of overtime: more work For women. We certainly need to think about how employers structure work and wha= t demands unions make on them and working people through their unions a= nd through other organizations (women's movement) make on the state. For= a good discussion of some of these issues, see newish anthology edited = by Dorothy Sue Cobble, WOMEN AND UNIONS: FORGING A NEW PARTNERSHIP ILR Press. =20 Eileen Boris Univ. of Helsinki for 93-94 Howard Univ., History usually Eileen.Boris@Helsinki.Fi =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 22 Jan 1994 15:53:36 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: labornet@IGC.APC.ORG Subject: Booklet on Jobs Exposes Corporate B =20 /* Written 3:11 pm Jan 22, 1994 by ww@blythe.org in igc:apc.labor *= / /* ---------- "Booklet on Jobs Exposes Corporate B" ---------- */ Subject: Booklet on Jobs Exposes Corporate Bunkum =46rom: ww@blythe.org (Workers World Service) Reply-To: ww@blythe.org (Workers World Service) =20 =20 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit =20 Review: =20 BOOKLET ON JOBS EXPOSES CORPORATE BUNKUM =20 ["The Time Has Come: Everyone Must Have the Right to a Job," by Greg Butterfield. 20 pages. $1 plus 75 shipping. Published by the A Job is a Right Campaign, 39 W. 14th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011.] =20 You've heard it all before: =20 Corporate restructuring is good for business. And what's good for business is good for everyone. =20 Laid-off workers just need to go back to school. Then they'll be able to find new, even better, jobs. =20 "We" need to become more competitive with "our" rivals in Japan, Europe and elsewhere. =20 Crime is the real problem in this country. =20 The federal deficit is the real problem in this country. =20 The real problem in this country is greedy labor unions. =20 Yes, you've heard it all, and more. It's what the capitalist ruling class wants workers and the oppressed to believe. =20 Now hear this: It's a bunch of lies. Their purpose is to disarm the working class and prevent struggle. =20 A FORTHRIGHT BOOKLET =20 That's the premise of a new booklet just published by the A Job Is a Right Campaign. =20 The booklet's title is forthright: "The Time Has Come: Everyone Must Have the Right to a Job." Writer Greg Butterfield wastes no time making his case. =20 First, he debunks all the lies about unemployment's causes and cures. And in the process he makes it clear that there's no such thing as "we." =20 There are workers and there are bosses. Their interests never coincide. In fact, the bosses are behind all the workers' worries and miseries. =20 But this book isn't a plaint about the woes of capitalism. It isn't an exercise in rhetoric, either. =20 =46rom the first page--a list of Job Is a Right Campaign demands--this booklet's singular purpose quickly emerges. It's an organizing tool. =20 Butterfield means to convince readers that they can wage a successful fight for jobs, and to enlist them into the struggle. It's that simple. =20 He does it in a plain-spoken, winning style. It's quite a contrast to the subterfuge and gimmicks that make bourgeois tomes on the economy impenetrable to all but the terminally boring. =20 Yes, the Job Is a Right Campaign has a rather different take on things than the Keynesians, the Chicago School, or Milton Friedman and the supply siders. The idea isn't to defend the status quo. =20 The idea is to overturn it. =20 --Shelley Ettinger =20 -30- =20 (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 West 17 St., New York, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@blythe.org.) =20 =20 +----------------------------------------------------------------+ + 212-675-9690 NY TRANSFER NEWS COLLECTIVE 212-675-9663 + + Since 1985: Information for the Rest of Us + + e-mail: nyt@blythe.org info: info@blythe.org + =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 10:25:09 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: bnissen Subject: Mexican labor movement =20 Does anybody have a bibliography of good articles and books on the Me= xican labor movement? I am familiar with some, but definitely not all, of = such resources. Any help would be appreciated. -- Bruce Nissen Division of Labor Studies Indiana University Northwest bnissen@UIC.indiana.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 10:44:05 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: Mexican labor movement In-Reply-To: Message of Mon, 24 Jan 1994 10:25:09 EST from =20 Re: Bruce Nissen's Request: Dan La Botz's book I hear is very good bu= t I can't remember the name. You should be able to find it by punching in his n= ame. =20 BTW, some of the independent trade unions were involved in solidarity= actions with the Chiapas rebels. I've got a comrade who's a journalist in Mex= ico City and she tells me that bus drivers, organized by the Indepdendent= trade unions, wereactive in the big demos in Mexico City. More on this late= r. =20 Sean Purdy Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 09:17:00 MDT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SOC484AI@UNMB.BITNET Subject: Re: Mexican labor movement =20 RE Bruce Nissen's request: =20 Dan La Botz, _Mask of Democracy: Labor Suppression in Mexico Today_ (Boston: South End Press, 1992) has excellent case studies and summary of history, labor law, and "The General Condition of the Mexican Worker." =20 Kevin Middlebrook, _Unions, Workers, and the State in Mexico_ (San Diego: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, 1991) is more academic approach and covers a wider range of contemporary issues in Mexican labor movement(s). =20 RE Sean Purdy's info on independent trade unions involved in solidari= ty actions with Chiapas rebels: Thanks for the news, and I hope you are able to post more! =20 Harry Browne Resource Center Albuquerque, NM =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 15:15:29 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Stephen F. Diamond" Subject: Re: Mexican labor movement In-Reply-To: <9401241653.AA23055@minerva.cis.yale.edu> =20 COntact mcook@cornell who teaches Mexican Labor at ILR there for a bibliog. Also, Kevin Middlebrook is at Hoover this year and could gi= ve you more info. No email address on him, tho... =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 17:13:19 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: labornet@IGC.APC.ORG Subject: NY Rally Against IMf =20 /* Written 12:29 pm Jan 24, 1994 by dwalters@igc.apc.org in igc:labr= .privatiza */ /* ---------- "NY Rally Against IMf" ---------- */ =46rom: David Walters Subject: NY Rally Against IMf =20 /* Written 6:45 pm Jan 23, 1994 by DDW4%OPSp%SFBPP@cts27.comp.pge.c= om in igc:p.news */ /* ---------- "NY Rally Against IMf" ---------- */ =46rom: DDW4%OPSp%SFBPP@cts27.comp.pge.com Subject: NY Rally Against IMf =20 *********************************************************** NEW YORK ACTIONS AGAINST IMF. INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DELEGATES TO SPEAK AT HARLEM RALLY FEB. 5!! *********************************************************** Labor Party Forum, P.O. Box 40458, San Francisco, CA 94140 Tel (415) 641-4440 Fax: (415) 641-8616 or contact: >>Alan Benjamin at (415) 641-4610, FAX: (415) 641-8616, or Internet: TheOrganizer@igc.apc.org >> Dennis Serrette, Black Workers For Justice: (301) 630-0502, or >>Siggy Kaupp, U.S. Support Committee: (202) 546-6526. *********************************************************** January 20, 1994 Dear Friends Residing in the New York City Area, The U.S. supporters of the Liaison Committee for a Workers' International will be organizing a series of events on February 4-7, 1994, to which you are invited to participate.The Liaison Committee is a multi- tendencied formation of unions and political organizations in 72 countries committed to the struggle to defend workers' interests across the globe against the multinationals, the IMF and all governments submitted to its policies of war and austerity. =20 >> On Friday, February 4, an international labor delegation mandated = by the Bureau of the International Liaison Committee will meet with UN General Secretary Boutros Boutros= -Ghali to present a letter and a dossier endicting the UNUs policies of war and embargo waged against the peoples of Iraq, Somalia, ex-Yugoslavia Q as well as the UN-supported embargo against Haiti. >> Many of the members of this delegation will be participating in an= evening rally on Saturday, February 5 (from 5 to 9 p.m.) at the State Office Building in Harlem (125th St= . and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.) organized by the Patrice Lumumba Coalition. For more information on this rally contact Elombe Brath at (212) 666-5037. Rally speakers include Jack Demostenes Muoz, PRD Deputy of the Congress of the State of Chiapas (Mexico); Lybon Mabasa, Deputy General Secretary, Azanian People's Organization, and convener, African Conference Against the IMF and the Debt; Louisa Hanoune, Spokesperson, Algerian Workers Party; Miguel Meja, General Secretary, Movement of the United Left (Dominican Republic); Elsa Ponce, Executive Board, National Soci= al Security Workers Union (Brazil) and Tafazzul Hussain, President, Bangladesh National Workers Federation. Other speakers will be announ= ced later. =20 >> On Saturday, February 5, members of the international labor delegation will be participating in a one-day conference for independent labor politics at the Labor Education Center at Rutgers U= niversity (New Brunwick, N.J.). For more information on this conference, contact Eric Lerner at (609) 883-8878, FAX: (609) 8839131. =20 >> And on Monday, February 7, the international labor delegation will= travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in a Day of Action Against the IM= F. [E-mail theorganizer@labornet.apc.org for information on the Washington, DC events or call the above listed telephone numbers.] =20 For more information about these events, contact >>Alan Benjamin at (415) 641-4610, FAX: (415) 641-8616, or Internet: TheOrganizer@igc.apc.org >> Dennis Serrette, Black Workers For Justice: (301) 630-0502, or >>Siggy Kaupp, U.S. Support Committee: (202) 546-6526. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 14:50:52 +0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Jeff Cowie Subject: Re: Mexican labor movement and the La Botz Book In-Reply-To: <9401241632.AA06058@gibbs.oit.unc.edu> =20 Since Dan La Botz's work has come up twice already in the search for = books on the Mexican labor movement, I thought I would intervene with a wor= d of caution. _Mask of Democracy_ needs to be understood as a somewhat one-dimensional portrait of its subject matter (by the author's words= and intention). Rather than an analysis of the labor movement, it is mor= e of a labor rights/human rights expose. =20 This raises two problems. The first is that this accurate but single-minded book might be used as a point of departure for understa= nding Mexican labor history. The political and economic power that labor d= oes wield in Mexico, its historic victories, its legal power, and the complexity of the wage structure are all trumped by the single messag= e of the admittedly bitter violations of law and rights in Mexico. Becaus= e of this, I find it problematic as an introduction to Mexican labor studi= es. It should be approached with caution. =20 Second, on the level of praxis, which is more La Botz's territory, th= ere are additional problems. As North American workers are increasingly linked together by schemes like NAFTA, we need clear understandings o= f each others' positions in order to create workable political strategi= es. Although this is certainly his intent, I'm not sure La Botz's book is useful--and may be harmful--to that end. As David Barkin has written= in a thoughtful review article that crystalized much of my discomfort with= this book (Dec 1993 Review of Radical Political Economics), "his book migh= t might be taken as a clarion call for foreign brethren to harken to struggles of their oppressed companeros...international solidarity [however] must not be based on charity or inequality but on a process= of shared respect and a search for new forms of cooperation that are mut= ually reinforcing." (135) =20 La Botz's book is accurate and instructive, and he is clearly committ= ed to labor's cause. Just be clear what it is about. =20 If you are interested in exploring more of the immense complexities a= nd difficuluties involved in labor transnationalism--including these issues--see my working paper, "The Search for a Transnational Discour= se for a North American Economy: A Critical Review of US Labor's Campaig= n Against NAFTA" available through the Duke-UNC Working Group on Labor = and Free Trade in the Americas (315 Carr Building, Duke University, Durha= m, NC 27708 or email at jdfrench@acpub.duke.edu). Comments and criticisms = very welcome. =20 Jeff Cowie University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 17:03:41 EST Reply-To: sambot123@aol.com Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: sambot123@AOL.COM Subject: Re: SET LABOR-L REPRO. =20 SET LABOR-L REPRO =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 01:20:48 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sam Lanfranco Subject: LIST INFORMATION (Brief) =20 This is a technical note from LABOR-L ListManager Sam Lanfranco. It i= s to remind you that the discussion on LABOR-L is loged in files one mo= nth at a time and you can request the files by email. To find out what fi= les exist, how _BIG_ they are, and what their names are send the followin= g two word message: INDEX LABOR-L to LISTSERV@vm1.yorku.ca *********************************************************************= **** To GET a file send a one-line message GET FILENAME (see below) to the listserv@ address. DO NOT SEND FILE REQUESTS TO LABOR-L =20 Here is what INDEX LABOR-L will produce =20 FILENAME <-> for the GET command nrecs is lines in file /^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^=E3 /^^^=E3 * filename filetype GET PUT -fm lrecl nrecs date time Remar= ks * -------- -------- --- --- --- ----- ----- -------- -------- -----= ----------- LABOR-L LOG9308 PRV OWN V 80 78 93/08/16 11:33:15 Start= ed on Wed, LABOR-L LOG9309 PRV OWN V 80 1195 93/09/29 12:54:47 Start= ed on Thu, LABOR-L LOG9310 PRV OWN V 80 918 93/10/31 18:57:39 Start= ed on Mon, LABOR-L LOG9311 PRV OWN V 80 5040 93/11/29 18:39:33 Start= ed on Mon, LABOR-L LOG9312 PRV OWN V 80 595 93/12/29 16:32:43 Start= ed on Wed, LABOR-L LOG9401 PRV OWN V 80 3820 94/01/25 17:04:09 Start= ed on Tue, LABOR-L NOTEBOOK PRV OWN V 80 7564 92/02/11 23:42:07 Start= ed on Tue, =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 07:12:00 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: World Radio Transcription Services Subject: Labour-related news from Russia =20 After some technical problems and extremely poor reception conditions= , WRTS is up and running again. Several months ago nettors expressed intere= st in reading news on the economic and political context which workers f= aced in the CIS nations. If people are no longer interested or only a few= , I can e-mail these directly to them instead of filling others' e-mail= slots. =20 In solidarity, Andrew. =20 ********************************************************** =20 cis b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-26Jan94-0100UTC] According the CIS Statistical Committee, certain signs of stabilisation were registered in the economy of member countries last year. Overall industrial production dropped by 14.6% compared to 18% the year before but economic situation is critical in Armenia and Georgia. In Armenia the industrial slump reached 28% and in Georgia, 26%. In Russia industrial output fell by 16.2% but this is a better index than in 1992. Turkmenistan was the only CIS country where industrial production increased last year. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 cis b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-1300UTC] Interfax news agency reports last year the CIS member-countries harvested 183.2 million tons of grain, down by four percent from the previous harvest. According to CIS Statistical Committee estimates, the size of grain harvest rose in Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tadjikistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Ukraine also reaped a good harvest. Russia and Kazakhstan gathered less than [?] in 1992. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 kazakhstan b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-1300UTC] The world community will give Kazakhstan more than US$1 billion in credits for its continuation of reforms. This came in a statement by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The main donors will be the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, some Asian banks and a number of countries, for one the Japanese Government set aside US$225 million. The credits are given on favourable terms for Kazakhstan. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 kyrgyzstan b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-1300UTC] Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, paying an official visit to Kyrgyzstan, central Asia, today met Kyrgyzian President Askar Akaev in the capital, Bishkek. The sides exchanged opinions on the prospects of bilateral relations and the position of ethnic Russians in Kyrgyzstan. =20 The Russian Minister delivered to Mr. Akaev a personal letter from President Boris Yeltsin which says that Moscow supports the market reforms and democratic changes underway in Kyrgyzstan. =20 During the meeting the sides signed a consular convention and initialled the treaty on legal cooperation between the two countries. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 nato b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-0100UTC] A two-day meeting of experts from central and eastern Europe has begun in Berlin at the initiative of the German Defence Minister, Volke Ruhe, to discuss the implementation of the NATO programme, "Partnership for Peace," approved two weeks ago. The programme provides for long-term cooperation with countries in the part of Europe which can become a step to NATO membership while some nations, such as Poland, Hungary and Lithuania, demand quick admission to the alliance. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service - "Commonwealth Update"-26Jan94- 0200UTC] "Rabochaya Tribuna" [Workers' Tribune] publishes information from New York which speaks of the project to introduce a Marshall Plan for the Commonwealth. The paper names the author of this project, well-known economist and consultant to the World Bank, James Soberman. He has advised leaders of the leading industrial powers to invite 100 000 businessmen from the Commonwealth to undergo a course in methods of market economy. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service - "Commonwealth Update"-26Jan94- 0200UTC] "Komsomolskaya Pravda," quoting a high-ranking officer in the General Headquarters of the Russian Army, insists that a discussion is underway about joint Russian-American army manoeuvres. "These manoeuvres," writes the paper, "should take place in the summer this year on the territory of the Privatsky Military District." According to the paper's information, because of the difficult financial situation of the Russian Defence Department, the greater part of the expenses for conducting of manoeuvres will be borne out by the Americans. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-26Jan94-0100UTC] The Russian Premier, Viktor Chernomyrdin, believes that the Government will not depart =66rom the road of reforms. "Nothing can indicate a departure from the reforms and the reorganised legislature." The Premier was speaking at a conference of the leaders of the country's central European region in the city of Orel. =20 The conference decided on the need to adopt the federal programme for revival of Russia's central regions up to the year 2000. =20 As for last year's results, Chernomyrdin said that the domestic gross output fell by 12% and industrial by 16%. These figures are lower than in 1992 but the people's real incomes have grown 10% compared to 1992. =20 The Government has allocated four trillion rubles in the first quarter of the new year to pay our debts in the agro-industrial and military complex and in some other industries. And top priority for the current year as seen by Chernomyrdin will be to avoid any impractical commitments. =20 The Russian Prime Minister also stressed the importance of radically reforming the social sphere by marking the most efficient use of State resources. =20 ******************** =20 In Moscow President Yeltsin met the Minister of Finance, Boris Federov. This was reported to Interfax news agency by the presidential press service. Earlier the presidential Press Secretary, Vyacheslav Kostikov, said that as long as Mr. Federov does not resign he can be considered the Minister of Finance. Mr. Federov refuses to join the reformed cabinet and has put forward several conditions: he refuses to work together with Vice Premier Aleksandr Zaveryukha and the Chairman of the Central Bank, Viktor Gerashchenko. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-26Jan94-0100UTC] The Russian Foreign Minister, Andrei Kozyrev, arrives on an official visit in China on Wednesday. Before the trip the Minister told correspondents that the two countries are beginning to work for the top-level Chinese return visit to Moscow. =20 President Boris Yeltsin was in China a little over a year ago. Mr. Kozyrev believes that China-Russia summits should become annual for the sake of expanding relations between the two countries. He emphasised that relations with China meet the vital interests of China. He called his earlier statement that the two-headed eagle =66rom the Russian national emblem faces the East as much as the West. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-1300UTC] Russia's Premier, Viktor Chernomyrdin, visiting the central Russian city of Orel, today opened a meeting on the revival of central Russia attended by the leaders of the 18 regions whose agriculture is in deep crisis. Mr. Chernomyrdin said that special attention should be paid to food supplies and the development of the region's agro-industrial complex. According to the Premier, the participants' proposals will be used to work out the programme of reviving central Russia. =20 On Monday Viktor Chernomyrdin met President Boris Yeltsin. Addressing newsmen, he repeated that the reformed cabinet planned no sharp changes in the course of reforms. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-0100UTC] The Russian Vice Premier, Oleg Soskovets, has declared that the amendment of the strategy of reforms means primarily their greater social orientation. He denied reports about a new economic programme and that it [?] been worked out for the Government by former economic advisors of the Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev -- Leonid Abalkin and Nikolai Petrakov. "There's only one programme," he said, "approved by an expanded session of the cabinet last year." =20 Oleg Soskovets described the current economic situation as "extremely grave." Among other things he said that budget spending for the first quarter of the year is planned at 8.5 trillion rubles while the Government has only one trillion at its disposal. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-25Jan94-0100UTC] President Boris Yeltsin met in the Kremlin with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. According to the Prime Minister, the brief meeting centred on this year's budget. In an interview before departure for Orel in central Russia, he stressed there are no differences in his relationship with the President and this applies to both the strategy of reforms and appointments. =20 Viktor Chernomyrdin said the reshuffle does not foresee any drastic changes in the strategy of reforms. At the same time he spoke of the need to use non-monetarist methods along with a tough financial policy. Among them he named agreements with manufacturers on the prices of output and a freeze on earnings during a definite period. =20 The same day the head of Government arrived in Orel, where he's to attend a conference of local leaders on Tuesday. =20 =20 =20 =20 ************** World Radio Transcription Services *************** fax: 1 416 539 8830 tel: 1 416 539 0815 e-mail: wrts@web.apc.org =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 06:09:13 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: labornet@IGC.APC.ORG Subject: 'International Union Rights' jrnl. =20 /* Written 3:30 pm Jan 25, 1994 by labornet@igc.apc.org in igc:labr= .resources */ /* ---------- ""International Union Rights" jrnl." ---------- */ =46rom: int-union-rghts@geo2.geonet.de Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 19:56:43 CET Subject: International Union Rights To: labornet@cdp.igc.org =20 The fifth edition of International Union Rights, the journal of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights, has just been published. This issue focuses on the recognition of trade unions and their abilities to organise effectively. =20 Amongst those contributing to the latest issue are: =20 Ross Wilson, Vice President of the New Zealand Trade Union Council, who argues that attacks on workers trades' union and employment rights undermine economic recovery. =20 Lakshmi Bhan, a regional official of the Public Services International in South Asia, who considers the important leading role of women in trade union organising. =20 Kwame Ocloo, a former general secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union in Ghana, explains that none of Ghana's post colonial governments escape criticism when it comes to violations of legally recognised trade union rights. =20 Other articles include: =20 A report on the strike by the United Mine Workers of America against the Peabody Mining Company. An insight into the events that have taken place in the 10 years since trade union were banned at the Government Communications Headquarters in Britain. =20 Jay Naidoo, former general secretary of Cosatu, considers the role of trade unions in 'post apartheid' South Africa and John Hendy QC, President of ICTUR, argues that behind the attacks on trade unions and workers rights is the relentless pressure to cut labour costs and in particular wages and conditions. =20 Regular features include `Profile', this time on Bill Brett the newly elected Chair of the Workers group at the ILO, plus other reports of the work of the ILO, and a round up of news from various countries around the world. =20 If you want to receive a regular order of INTERNATIONAL UNION RIGHTS please contact - IUR, PO Box 3458, London SW16 5RH. Tel: 081 769 7124 Fax: 081 664 6022 E-MAIL (GEOMAIL) GEO2:INT-UNION- RGHTS. =20 Annual subscription: Britain 10; Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe 12/US$25; US and Canada US$40; Japan and Australia 15/US$30. =20 Please make cheques payable to INTERNATIONAL UNION RIGHTS. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 13:53:28 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 I wanted to respond to Eileen's request to discuss gender, labor and union decline. I agree that the very fruitful discussion that we had on Labor-L whic= h I occasionally moved over to H-labor tended to be a very white guy focused affair. What's wrong with that? Well, I think there are two avenues of criticism. I wanted to focus on sexism in this post, although I agree that racism is also central. One - Working Class Composition. The major organizing victories of the AFL in the late 1890's and the CIO in the 1930's reflected workin= g people's ability to overcome a half century of recomposition. In a sense, the AFL (with all its shortcomings) did reflect the native-German-Irish skilled workers in the same sense that the CIO often was a victory for southern and eastern European industrial workers. Since World War II, and accelerating in the later decades, there has been another recomposition with the major entrance of women and Black workers. Even well-intentioned union leaders have tried to accept these new workers within the exisitng union structure with the results we see around us. So - on the very basic issue of WHO WORKS [Who Is Building America] these issues are paramount. Let me add that in the 1980's we began to experience an entirely new development with massive entrance of new immigrants, primarily from the West Indies, and Asia as well as other Latino groups (especially Mexicans) and some Europeans. All of this, of course, in a period of massive restructuring of capital. Two - Learn, learn, learn. The tremendous theoretical work accomplished by feminist scholars has already made a profound change in some areas of labor scholarship (e.g. Ava Baron's recent work). But I think the effect is still ghettoized. Feminist theory tells us that if we see an all male plant with an all male management, that gender is still central to what we are seeing. (I also wonder about the country-nature of scholarship. I noticed on H-Labor that there i= s a higher proportion of women subscribers among US than among Canadians.) So - between Roy's insistence that we focus on the employers (but I thought that their hostility was a given) and Sean's insistence that we look to the union leadership (which I think of as a reflection of pressure from both sides of the class struggle) I am suggesting that structurally and theoretically we look to the Class. I think we need to redefine the question a bit by asking why workers have been less successful fighting back against this offensive than some of thsoe in the past. I am suggesting that we begin with those factors which weaken working class unity. Thus, we might want to place the decline of US unions in the context of a general retreat of US workers. In particular, we can see that the growing poverty and great spread of part-time labor often has a sexist dimension. Of course, I do not hink that I am saying anything new or unique, but I do believe that we need to reorient our discussion. ----------------------------------------- / Seth Wigderson // Voice (207) 621-3258) / / University of Maine-Augusta // Internet SETHW@MAINE.MAINE.EDU / / Augusta, ME 04330 --------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- // "Better fewer, but better" / =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 15:10:22 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: MSTERN@BENTLEY.BITNET Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Seth raises an important issue in terms of the re-gendering of work. = I don't want to distract from his remarks by suggesting the obvious but I sha= ll in any event. Given the new sexual division of labor, it becomes essent= ial to integrate the role and meaning of home and family in relation to work= . This is especially important in the recent reorganization given the geogra= pic dis- persion and the destruction of localized working-class neighborhoods = wherein people shared a common living and working arrangement. Such a reorga= nization of "home" and "work" relations places an enormous burden in the way o= f recon- stituting a set of ties which, in both the instances you mentioned, r= elied on both a culture of work based on manliness, neighborhood solidarity, a= nd ethnic similarity (if not homogeneity). Such matters as part-time work, the= collapse of extended family structures, and the willingness of many women to m= ove in and out of the workforce around home life issues certainly complicate the= question. M. Stern, Bentley College, Waltham, MA =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 18:23:47 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: gender, labor and decline =20 Seth Wigderson writes that we should refocus the debate on union decl= ine away from employer and union behaviour onto gender and class. =20 =20 Well, Seth, as you might expect, I disagree. The central problem, as I see it, is the theoretical/conceptual/semantic apparatus that frames the question. The central question should not be union decline at all but rather the illegitimate persistence and recent resurgence of militaristic, command and obey, authoritarianism in the midst of a society that formally has embraced the principles of democracy. The most critical challenge is to construct a language that allows us all to see this ugly obscenity all around us - not as something natural (as in: "We all know the hostility of employers is inevitable, don't we?") but as an outrage; something repulsive to values we consider essential ("No, the anti-participatory employer behaviour we experience daily is not inevitable. It is not even normal in the flawed democracies with which we commonly compare ourselves. Witness, Germany, Sweden, etc., etc."). From my point of view it is axiomatic that all citizens, men and women, black and whit= e, skilled and unskilled, etc. should be able to participate in the making of decisions that critically affect their working lives. =46rom this perspective refocusing the debate onto gender is a red herring. Something bound to excite the intellectual senses thus steering attention away from the autocrats thereby allowing them to go about their dirty business of continuing with impunity to dismantle the already fractured pillars of democracy. roy =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 18:24:19 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 27 Jan 1994 13:53:28 EST from =20 Seth: Could you provide more detail on your notion of class structure= being at the heart of union decline? Do you mean public sector workers who som= e have labelled as non-working class? Service workers? Etc.? To my way of th= inking the objective position of the working class on a world level at least= is much more favourable than before. See the arguments in Alex Callinicos, Ag= ainst Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique (Polity Press, 1989). =20 There are more workers in South Korea alone today than in the whole w= orld during Marx's time. Figures suggest that there are more workers in th= e world today than ever before. In the advanced capitalist countries there ha= ve been changes, but they have not fundamentally changed the class nature of = society. =20 I thoughtpost-Fordism, post- industrialism, post XYZ were features of= the 1980s that scholars have now rejected given the economic crisis. Is i= t any surprise that youhearmuchlessinthe 1990s about "flexible specializati= on" and so on? =20 Am I reading you correctly here Seth? =20 Sean Purdy Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 22:05:28 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Okay Sean, So there are more workers in south Korea today than in all the world when papa Karl was sitting on his carbuncles in the British museum - so what? There are certainly more workers in the U.S. than at any time in its history -- but Bill Clinton is much more intereste= d in the hopes and fears of Wall Street greedheads than all those workers. What I was suggesting (and I did not think it was too extreme) was that we begin (as labor historians) with who is in today's working class. Does this make me a postmodernist - Wow! Not= ! I did not intend to say that I have all the answers - I don't. But what I do have is some more points to go on the agenda. There are a lot more women in the paid labor force than before. That changes things. For one, it makes it easier for the employers to impoverish some workers while others stand by and do little. Is it accidental that many of those being impoverished are women and many o= f those standing by are men. So we need to be looking at the shop floor and the union hall and the boardroom, that has not changed; we also need to be looking at the daycare center and the kitchen and the bedroom. We do need to keep developing both theory and practice. Finally, what I am saying is that we need to find strategies that 1) help our sisters in forging the unity they need to develop their own agenda and 2) develop further strategies to help the brothers and sisters to find the common ground where they can begin the process of fighting back. As scholars, I think we can bring historic and analytic support to these efforts. Fraternally, Seth Wigderson P.S. As to books. I recommend David Halle's *American Working Man* both for what its says and for what it doesn't say about gender, sexism and work. P.P.S. In the space of brief, basically off the cuff comments, I am focusing on gender, but of course race and ethnicity should also be a= t the center of our inquiry about class. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 22:34:50 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 27 Jan 1994 22:05:28 EST from =20 Seth: I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. I just wanted clarif= ication. We may disagree on how we achieve the unity needed, however. =20 Regards, Sean Purdy, Queen's University =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 22:37:55 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Re: gender, labor and decline =20 Okay Roy, You think that sexism is a "red herring," I don't, so where do we go from here? Well, at the outset, I share your outrage, but not your surprise at the nature of those who this society rewards with wealth and power. {"I am shocked, shocked, to find there is gambling here at Rick's."} Well -- maybe we should look at what is new, what has changed, what i= s different today than in the past. Obviously there are lots of change= s in the last few decades. All I suggested is that if we want to understand how a working class is acting (or not acting) that our analysis be rooted in WHO is in the class. What could be wrong with that? Where else would you begin? Fraternally, Seth Wigderson =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 01:09:45 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Ted Werntz Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Roy Adams writes: =20 > ..... From my point of > view it is axiomatic that all citizens, men and women, black and wh= ite, > skilled and unskilled, etc. should be able to participate in the > making of decisions that critically affect their working lives. =20 This is well put Roy. But what if due to past historical practice= s and present modes of perception and behavior, there are existing inequalities between say men and women, or black and white? Should something not be done to eliminate these inequalities, and to try to reach a future state where the women and men, or white and black can be partners based on rough equality. =20 Ted Werntz =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 09:58:32 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: gender, labor and decline In-Reply-To: <199401280401.AA24154@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 Seth, I would begin (as I already have in "Union Certification as an instrument of labour policy, a comparative perspective" which will be published in Sheldon Friedman, et al., Restoring the Promise of Ameri= can Labor Law, ILR Press, Cornell in March or April) in 1918 when a broad consensus existed across North America recognizing the right of worke= rs to collective representation in the establishment of their conditions= of work. The debate was over the method of implementing the consensus. Empoyers said (prdictably and in their self-perceived interests) we w= ill do it willingly thus beginning the surge of company unionism; the uni= ons of course disagreed. As a middling position the Wilson War Labor Boar= d imposed works councils with decision-making powers over several issue= s on several companies most notably Bethlehem steel. The war ended before = this institution could take firm root - as it did in Germany in the 1920s. After the imposition of participation at Bethelem, the employers regrouped and began to insist that no such imposition should take pla= ce in future unless a majority of the relevant employees voted in favour= of it. Thus majoritarianism found it way into American labour policy. When the Wagner Act was passed company unionism was outlawed but majoritarianism retained. The outlawing of company unionism relieved employers of the duty to deal collectively with their employees unles= s a majority insisted on it. After the turmoil of the war years it was ea= sy for employers to use majoritarianism to keep the union out. =20 Somewhere along the way a philosophy was developed to support majoritarianism and the "right" of employers to rule unilaterally as = the default. Where would we start? Digging into the historical details of= how the consensus on collective representation (never complete of course = - there were always lots of intransigents - that's why the Wilson board= had to impose participation on Bethelem) was dissapated and how the right= to rule unilaterally was restored. =20 cheers, roy =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:17:13 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline In-Reply-To: <199401280615.AA27467@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 =46rom WERNTZ@EISNER.DECUS.ORG Fri Jan 28 10:08:02 1994 Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 01:09:45 -0500 =46rom: Ted Werntz Reply to: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere To: Multiple recipients of list LABOR-L Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Ted Werntz writes: =20 =2E . . what if due to past historical practices and present modes of perception and behavior, there are existing inequalities between say men and women, or black and white? Should something not be done to eliminate these inequalities, and to try to reach a future state where the women and men, or white and black can be partners based on rough equality. =20 Of course, gender, race and class are legitimate focii for research. However, if the object is to do something about "union decline" or it= s flip side "autocratic resurgence" then I don't believe that concentra= ting on those areas is the best strategy. The language legitimating autocr= acy in North America is like a disease and we need to find out where it c= ame =66rom, how it works and find a cure for it. Sexism and racism may be symptoms but I feel certain that they are not the cause. roy =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 10:32:00 MST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SOC484AI@UNMB.BITNET Subject: Union decline bibliography =20 In a posting on Jan 24, Steve Diamond suggested contacting Maria Lorena Cook at Cornell for bibliography relevant to Union decline debate. Great suggestion but her e-mail address is not mcook@cornell, I don't believe. If you tried that and it didn't work, try MLCX@CORNELLA.BITNET or MLC13@CORNELL.EDU. =20 Harry Browne Resource Center Albuquerque, NM =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 13:10:51 CST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Tracy Montauk Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 27 Jan 1994 13:53:28 EST from =20 Seth: =20 I agree mostly w/your statements - the class thing and all. But I th= ink I need to make one point which may come off as sounding too obvious a= nd simple. In the late part of the 20th Century most of the folks who n= eed to be organized don't believe in unionization themselves. Why should= they? They are not working class, they are professionals. (Sarcasim intende= d). And it is true we are having a difficult time protecting our contracts he= re in the US - but the majority of these instances take place in factories a se= ctor the labor movement succesfully got a hold on a while ago. I have just co= me from working for a University (as an office joe) and it is true we were un= ionized though it was an open shop (yes they still exist) and I cannot even b= egin to recall how many times I was told by a worker that they didn't "need" = to join a union - that's for factory people, you know folks who can get hurt = at work. In the beginning I was completely amazed but then I came to understan= d that it wasn't the union per say but a class thing. Unions are for the wo= rking class and these people were damned if they were going to be concidere= d anything but professionals. So not only are we dealing w/part-time workers, f= olks working out of there home but the reluctence of the workers themselve= s. This is where we can bring in management and those above. They foster thi= s idea in workers - giving them just the smallest bit of authority over some= one else but making them grovel oh so much more. But all this only applies if= we are of the generation that remember unions. I was in a mall a few months= ago and decided to ask the young man who was serving me my cookies and coffee= if he was unionized. His response: "I'm over 16, I have my working papers= and everything - Is that what you wanted to know" These are the people w= ho are going to be most affected by the "Who me, I'm not working class menta= lity" =20 T. Montauk C627512.Mizzou1.missouri.edu =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 16:48:30 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Tracy raises some interesting points, but not necessarily as intended= . I certainly agree that most working people will say that they do not want or need a union, and will explain at some length the evils of unionism, occasionally with graphic and personal illustrations. But I believe that much of that needs to be seen EX POST PATCO. Afte= r Reagan's complete defeat of PATCO, with the organized labor movement standing by with bandages and resolutions, many workers understood that they could not look to the existing structure of the working class to defend them. Tracy's college folk may think that unions are only for factory rats, but only a minority of factory rats are organized. I think that I would argue that we need to spend a lot more time studying the part time temporary casual labor force, to try to understand that sector of the class better and to even maybe learn what has worked for them. And, again, I believe that they are more female (well you know what I mean) and more people of color. I very well remember being in Detroit when the heavily female drugstore clerk's union was just destroyed by a corporate ownership shuffle while the mostly male UAW stood by and did almost nothing. I should add that workers at the lower end of the pay scale rarely understand that their interests are also tied to those making the most. Frankly, if I had the magic wand that could overcome gender and color divisions within the working class,I wouldn't be tapping away at a notebook. But I really do believe that we can help the process. Fraternally, Seth Wigderson =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 00:11:33 +0200 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Eileen Boris Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline In-Reply-To: <199401281708.TAA14487@kruuna.Helsinki.FI> from "Roy Ad= ams" at Jan 28, 94 10:17:13 am =20 While sexism and racism might not be the reasons for "union decline," the recomposition of the labor force and the ways that trade unions a= nd the collective bargaining system were constituted in an era when wome= n of all races and men of color were outside of trade unions is importa= nt. Race and gender are categories of analysis that are crucial to understanding class in the United States and most other places and no= t merely diversions--that is the old style of Marxism that failed to understand that the working class not only has two sexes (or maybe more!) but that we all have multiple identities--I prefer to think of racialized gendered class in which one aspect or more is significant = at a given time. Marc had an important point when he reminded us how we need to consider community and household in understanding worker consciousness and structural realities. I don't disagree with Roy th= at we do need a close historical analysis of the state and unions, but w= e do need to understand the larger social context in which collective bargaining, unionization, and employer assaults take place--and that larger context includes the non-unionized working class and its racialized gendered composition. Significantly union growth has been= in government work and among people of color in the last two decades. Significantly many trade unions are beginning to address issues raise= d by women members. =20 Just some reactions. =20 Eileen Boris REnvall Institute Helsinki Eileen.Boris@Helsinki.Fi =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 17:06:09 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Well Roy, if all you are going to allow in are the "one cause" and multiple "symptoms," I can guarantee you will get AN answer, even if not a very helpful one. Sexism and racism certainly predate capitalism and modern class socie= ty. But, as a system, capitalism picks up whatever old crud it found lyin= g around and uses it to cement the new crud of class relations. And, of course, even this is not that new. The Romans understood and practiced Dividum et Imperium [divide and rule]. I do believe that w= e need to understand those divisions much better, and incorporate that understanding into the center of our analysis, AND [this is the touch= y part] finally study how one section of the working class (willingly o= r unwillingly) participates in the oppression of other workers. Roy - you continue to focus on what the capitalists say, maybe you need to shift your focus to why the workers listen. Fraternally, Seth Wigderson =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 17:17:55 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: MOWDER@NYUACF.BITNET Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Hmm, sounds like Ms. Montauk and I may frequent some similar cookie stands, cos the same thing happened to ME one time at a mall. When I, on a lark, asked the poor fellow slaving awa= y there, "Are you unionized here?" he just froze up and looked scared, as if I were an undercover cop who'd just asked, "Are you ex-convicts here?" or "Are you illegal aliens here?" Clearly, the kid didn't know WHAT "unionized" meant, but felt it to mean something vaguely official and sinister. =20 All that, and he forgot to give me creamers for my cuppa Joe = :-) =20 Seriously tho, while some of the theory stuff in the exchange= s here kind of eludes me, I'm glad (as a university steward rep= re- senting mainly women and people of color against a quite host= ile employer) that this is being discussed. =20 And on a separate note: As if to add to a steward's sense of stunned outrage, New York's new Giuliani administration annou= nced today that their new plan to slash jobs in the education s= ector is to start getting rid of the consultants and temps. So, let m= e get this straight: =20 LAST YEAR'S brilliant business strategy was to get rid of all= the FULL-TIME workers (you know, the ones with benefits? and som= e job rights? and some semblance of worker's solidarity), and to r= eplace THEM with temps, to save some bucks. =20 And now THIS YEAR'S brilliant strategy is to get rid of the t= emps, because THEY'RE the problem? =20 Get me a neckbrace! This switcheroo has given me whiplash! =20 Jamie Mowder Local 3882, United Staff Assoc. of NYU NYSUT, AFT, AFL-CIO =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 14:33:58 -0800 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Eric Fenster Subject: Moscow study trips =20 A few months ago here, I mentioned the opportunity of joining "fact-= finding missions" to Moscow to explore the political & economic situation in = Russia. =20 The election last month was evidence that what happens in Russia con= tinues to be crucial to the rest of the world. It follows that keeping well= - informed is essential. People interested in doing so are eligible fo= r the study trips (some of which can also earn college credit). That may include businesspeople, teachers, journalists. etc. =20 Time is getting short for making the necessary arrangements. Please= send a message if you wish more details. (efenster@igc.org) =20 The dates are: =20 Fact-finding missions 1) 01 May-21 May 2) 19 May-18 Jun (4 credits from Eastern Michigan University possible= ) 3) 21 Jun-15 Jul (6 credits or CEUs from Minnespolis Community Colleg= e) 4) 28 Jul-23 Aug =20 Russian language 5) 27 May-02 Jul (beginning level; other levels could be organized) =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 20:11:35 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Radical History Review Winter 1994 No. 54 =20 I just got the latest RHR. It has a major Latin American Labor focus and a special E P Thompson memorial section. Here is the Table of Contents =20 LATIN AMERICAN LABOR A Worker's Nightmare: Taylorism and the 1962 Yarur Strike in Chile by Peter Winn =20 The Time of "Freedom": San Marcos Coffee Workers and the Radicalization of the Guatemalan National Revolution 1944-1954. by Cindy Foster =20 "Father of the Poor" or "Mother of the Rich"?: Getulio Vargas, Industrial workers and Constructions of Class, Gender and Populism in Sao Paulo, 1930-1954 by Joel Wolfe =20 Myth and the History of Chile's Araucanians by Stephen Lewis =20 Remembering Cesar Meta Mendel-Reyes =20 MEMORIALS FOR E.P. THOMPSON Michael Merrill Eric Hobsbawm W.L. Webb =20 TEACHING RADICAL HISTORY - SYLLABI Dan Okada and Mark Adin - Vietnam: The Veteran's Account Vince Gotera - Practical Criticism Richard Moser - Vietnam: War and legacy Kali Tal - Race and Recent american wars =20 PUBLIC HISTORY Art, Latin America and MOMA by Teresa Meade and Andor Skotnes =20 THE PAST IN PRINT Jeanne Boydston: Home & Work: Housework and the Ideology of Labor in Early America Susan Glenn - Daughters of the Shtetl: Life and Labor in the Immigran= t Generation both rev. by Ileen DeVault =20 Elizabeth Kennedy and Madeline Davis - Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community rev. by Alice Echols =20 Gisela Bock and Path Thane eds. - Maternity and Gender Policies: Wome= n and the Rise of the European Welfare State Victoria de Grazia - How Fascism Ruled Women: Italy 1922-1945 Robert Moeller - Protecting Motherhood: Women and the Family in the Poltics of Postwar West Germany all rev. by Bonnie Smith =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 06:59:24 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Carl Cuneo Subject: Re: Virgins on Motorcycles In-Reply-To: <199401282320.AA02025@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 I have been listening to this discussion on gender, labour, and union decline, and think they are inextricably linked in quite complex ways= . Here is an example, to which I would like to get some ideas of its me= aning and significance: I interviewed the national vp for industrial relat= ions of a company employing thousands of workers. In the course of the interview, he referred to the union at the company as "virgins on motorcycles". What did he mean by this? To give you a bit of context= : There have been very few strikes at this company; the collective cont= racts have been considered relatively good by the standards in this particu= lar industry; but the company considered its profit margins too low, and proceeded to gut its entire operations, closing some parts, selling o= ff other parts, and restructuring still more parts. In the process, Taylorism was tried, and then QWL. About 40% to 60% of the workers w= ere women, depending on the worksite. But there was a very strong gender barrier within the workplace and within the union. Needless to say, = men led the company and men led the union. Both were "pretty white" [qui= te a racist term!]. Being a union steward was a stepping stone to company management positions in many cases, although there were also radical stewards who rejected this option. Carl. ____________________________________________________________________ | /^^^^^^^\ _________________________________ = | | LONG /~~~~~~~~~\ | Slew pricey PCs; | = | | LIVE /~~~~~~~~~~~\ | Format Dos Diskettes on Amigas! | = | | ASCii ( __ __ ) ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' = | | ART! ( /@ \ /@ \ ) _______________________________ = | | (( ~ / ~ )) |Carl J. Cuneo | = | | ((( # / # ))) |Dept. of Sociology | = | | (((( /._ )))) |McMaster University | = | | ((((( | ))))) |Hamilton, Ont., Canada L8S 4M4 | = | | (((((( (,,,,,,,) )))))) |(905) 525-9140, x23602 | = | | ((((((( \,,,,,/ ))))))) |FAX: (905) 522-2642 | = | | (((((((( \,,,/ )))))))) |cuneo@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca | = | |((((((((( \,/ ))))))))) |_______________________________| = | |____________________________________________________________________= | =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 21:27:00 CDT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: "Katie Buller" Subject: Re: Gender, Labor and Decline =20 Omigosh! An actual unionist posting here?! I'm shocked (grin!) =20 Seriously, I enjoy the academic exchanges on here--these folks know a= lot, but it is refreshing to see some actual frontline folks posting here = too. =20 > Hmm, sounds like Ms. Montauk and I may frequent some similar > cookie stands, cos the same thing happened to ME one time at > a mall. When I, on a lark, asked the poor fellow slaving aw= ay > there, "Are you unionized here?" he just froze up and looked > scared, as if I were an undercover cop who'd just asked, > "Are you ex-convicts here?" or "Are you illegal aliens here?= " > Clearly, the kid didn't know WHAT "unionized" meant, but fel= t > it to mean something vaguely official and sinister. =20 Reminds me of the time I was working as a clerk in an OSCO DRUG STORE= , and some organizers came to visit us. They were given the bum's rush and= we were told they were gangsters. Well, I was young and stupid... I wa= s laid off from not one but two OSCO DRUG STORES, and after the second = layoff back in 1973, I have not set foot in one since. And if the Soviets h= ad wanted a suggested first target from me back then, I would have gladl= y given them the coordinates for Osco HQ. =20 > > All that, and he forgot to give me creamers for my cuppa Joe= :-) > > Seriously tho, while some of the theory stuff in the exchang= es > here kind of eludes me, I'm glad (as a university steward re= pre- > senting mainly women and people of color against a quite hos= tile > employer) that this is being discussed. > =20 I am a former steward on a major university campus and still sometime= -activist in the local union movement. I like the academic discussion too, but= can we get a little more participation from the frontline folks? I'd really= like to know what is actually going on elsewhere in the country and the world= from those who are experiencing it firsthand. =20 BTW, this is NOT a criticism of the discussion already present here. = The talk is remarkably flame-free (unlike 1-union--sorry Sam) and thought= fully presented. The bibliographic information is good, and I appreciate t= he sense that someone out in academic world actually cares about what is= happening to those of us on the front lines. Can we learn from each other? =20 > And on a separate note: As if to add to a steward's sense o= f > stunned outrage, New York's new Giuliani administration anno= unced > today that their new plan to slash jobs in the education = sector is > to start getting rid of the consultants and temps. So, let = me get > this straight: > > LAST YEAR'S brilliant business strategy was to get rid of al= l the > FULL-TIME workers (you know, the ones with benefits? and so= me job > rights? and some semblance of worker's solidarity), and to = replace > THEM with temps, to save some bucks. > > And now THIS YEAR'S brilliant strategy is to get rid of the = temps, > because THEY'RE the problem? > =20 Around here, that would be called cleaning house. When the new admin= istration comes in, all traces of the old is swept out, including any temporari= es that were "high profile" as these folks probably were. Who cares about th= e workers' families or bills? The politicos come first, don't they? So= unds like business as usual to me. Contracting out for private workers to= do public workers' jobs hasn't worked very well here. For one thing, th= e union fought it tooth and nail, and in cases where the private services "le= aked" into state service, the work was done shoddily. Oh well, you get wha= t you pay for, right? =20 =20 Katie Buller Member, AFSCME Local 2412 Wisconsin State Employees Union =20 Katie Buller Bitnet: KTBULLER@WISCMAC= C University of Wisconsin - Madison Internet: KTBULLER@MACC.W= ISC.EDU School of Library & Information Studies America Online: MSMOO@AOL= .COM Laboratory/Library =20 "Wisconsin Winter Evening" =20 =20 . . * | * . * \|/ * . * . -- -- * -- -- . | = . . / | \ . * - * - * | # | * ## * /%\ /% ____n____ # /%\ /%% /% //////////\__n__ /%\ / %%\ /%\ /%% /%% |# #_# #| //////\@/ %%\/ %%%%\/ %%\ ....oooo%% /%%% |# |@| #| |#.#|.:@/ %%%\ %%%%%\ %%%\kboo......= . |==========|==========|==========|/ /|==========|==========|= ==========|==========|==========|==========|==========| =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 23:17:00 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: World Radio Transcription Services Subject: Radio Moscow: 27,30Jan94 =20 cis X =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-30Jan94-0100UTC] Talking to a press reporter in Davos, the Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, said his new cabinet would unswervingly follow the lines of free-market reforms and Russia's integration into the world economy. The Russian Prime Minister arrived in Davos...to attend the International Economic Forum. Russia is interested in promotion of cooperation in Europe and the world. =20 The Russian Prime Minister said he would want his country to join the European Union and the G7. The Prime Minister said Russia would welcome an invitation to join the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. =20 The Forum is discussing global economic problems. =20 The Kazakh, Turkmen and Uzbek presidents have briefed newsmen in Davos on the economic situation in their republics and aired their views on prospects of international cooperation. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 kyrgyzstan b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-30Jan94-0100UTC] Kyrgyzstan is about to vote confidence in President Askar Akaev...that the President called the nationwide referendum to fend off what he sees as ungrounded, corruption charges and to put and end to the cabinet crisis which erupted late last month. Akaev calls for more radical economic reforms and close cooperation with Russia. =20 Local analysts cannot rule out the possibility of his losing the referendum. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-27Jan94-2200UTC] The Russian President's spokesman, Vyacheslav Kostikov, has confirmed the Russian President's commitment to the reforms underway in the country. In talking with reporters on Thursday the 27th, Mr. Kostikov made an appeal not to dramatise the situation in the country following the cabinet reshuffle. Mr. Kostikov is quoted as saying President Yeltsin has wide powers under the new constitution to correct the cabinet and to make it pursue the policy of reform. =20 "The President is prone to judge, not by words, but by deeds." =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 russia b =20 [Radio Moscow World Service-27Jan94-2200UTC] In talking with reporters President Yeltsin [in St. Petersburg] said that legal action would be taken against those Deputies of the State Duma who called for war and violence. =20 Later in the day [Thursday] the President discussed topical issues with the leadership of St. Petersburg. The President's decision to turn the city, Kronstadt, a naval base, into a free-economic zone caused sensation. =20 The ceremonies [marking the anniversary of the seige of Leningrad] ended with a concert and fireworks. =20 President Yeltsin returned to Moscow on Thursday. =20 =20 =20 ************** World Radio Transcription Services *************** fax: 1 416 539 8830 tel: 1 416 539 0815 e-mail: wrts@web.apc.org =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 23:18:00 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: World Radio Transcription Services Subject: China R Intl: 30Jan94 - 0300UTC =20 china b =20 [China Radio International-30Jan94-0300UTC] Thirty thousand cartons of fake cigarettes went up in flames in Beijing on Saturday. The event was part of a nationwide crusade against the production and marketing of contraband cigarettes. According [the] chief of the China Administration of Tobacco Monopoly, over 2.5 cartons of smuggled cigarettes and 300 000 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes were seized last year. Fifty production centres of fake cigarettes were destroyed and over 100 illegal, wholesale markets were banned. =20 With the rampant production of illegal cigarettes China's tobacco industry is quickly shrinking; 1993 saw a sharp reduction in the nation's tobacco enterprises which dropped from 300 to 100. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 china b =20 [China Radio International-30Jan94-0300UTC] China's first telecommunications equipment market has opened to business in the export processing zone [named] of Shanghai. The market combines exhibition, trading and information services with technological exchanges. It has granted honourary membership to some world-renowned enterprises such as IBM, Motorola, Mitsubishi and NEC. =20 [?] construction of the market has started and is expected to be completed by 1995. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 china b =20 [China Radio International-30Jan94-0300UTC] China's State Council has announced that no new fix-asset projects will be approved this year. A State Council circular on Saturday warned against reckless investment in fixed-asset construction. He asks the National Bank to keep a close watch on loans for fixed-asset investment. The circular forbids any bank to offer any loans to a project that is not approved by the State Council. =20 _________________________________________________________________ =20 tibet b =20 [China Radio International-30Jan94-0300UTC] A number of key projects in the Tibet Autonomous Region are taking economic centre stage. The Gonga airport in southern Tibet with advanced runways, communication facilities and a passenger lounge is now the only airport linking Tibet with the outside world. =20 China's largest chromite base is also taking shape in the area and a comprehensive, agricultural development project is providing water to more than 22 000 hectares of farmland, pasture and woodlands. As a result, Tibet is expected to harvest 5000 tons of grain and 500 tons of vegetables every year. The project involves energy, transportation and agriculture. It will help improve Tibet's investment environment and exploitation of Tibet's abundant local resources. =20 =20 ************** World Radio Transcription Services *************** fax: 1 416 539 8830 tel: 1 416 539 0815 e-mail: wrts@web.apc.org =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 23:22:00 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: World Radio Transcription Services Subject: Burma [World Factbook] =20 /* Written 4:26 am Jan 29, 1994 by tun@quark.sfsu.edu in web:reg.se= asia */ /* ---------- "Burma [World Factbook]" ---------- */ =46rom: tun@quark.sfsu.edu (Coban Tun) Subject: Burma [World Factbook] =20 Subject: Burma [World Factbook] =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------= ----- [This is an excerpt from the WORLD FACTBOOK 1992 - ELECTRONIC VERSION. For the complete printed edition and/or more country information, ask at the Van Pelt Library Reference Desk or call 898-7555. =20 For full introductory material please see the PennInfo document "World Factbook Contents, Notes, Abbreviations"] =20 THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1992 =20 Comments and queries are welcome and may be addressed to: =20 Central Intelligence Agency Attn: Public Affairs Washington, DC 20505 (703) 351-2053 ---------------------------------------------------------------------= ------ =20 Burma - Geography ================================== =20 =20 =20 Total area: 678,500 km2 =20 Land area: 657,740 km2 =20 Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas =20 Land boundaries: 5,876 km; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos = 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km =20 Coastline: 1,930 km =20 Maritime claims: =20 Contiguous zone: 24 nm =20 Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm =20 Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm =20 Territorial sea: 12 nm =20 Disputes: none =20 Climate: tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest mon= soon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures= , lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) =20 Terrain: central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands =20 Natural resources: crude oil, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, co= al, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas =20 Land use: arable land 15%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; fore= st and woodland 49%; other 34%; includes irrigated 2% =20 Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and land= slides common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation =20 Note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes =20 =20 =20 Burma - People ============================ =20 =20 =20 Population: 42,642,418 (July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992) =20 Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1992) =20 Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1992) =20 Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1992) =20 Infant mortality rate: 68 deaths/1,000 live births (1992) =20 Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 61 years female (1992) =20 Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1992) =20 Nationality: noun - Burmese (singular and plural); adjective - Burmese =20 Ethnic divisions: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Ind= ian 2%, other 5% =20 Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim= 4%, animist beliefs 1%, other 2% =20 Languages: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages =20 Literacy: 81% (male 89%, female 72%) age 15 and over can read and write (199= 0 est.) =20 Labor force: 16,036,000; agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, govern= ment 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY89 est.) =20 Organized labor: Workers' Asiayone (association), 1,800,000 members; Peasants' Asia= yone, 7,600,000 members =20 =20 =20 Burma - Government ==================================== =20 =20 =20 Long-form name: Union of Burma; note - the local official name is Pyidaungzu Myanm= a Naingngandaw, which has been translated by the US Government as Un= ion of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar =20 Type: military regime =20 Capital: Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon) =20 Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, si= ngular - pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State, Karan State, Kayah S= tate, Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State, Rangoon*, Saga= ing*, Shan State, Tenasserim* =20 Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK) =20 Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988) =20 Legal system: martial law in effect throughout most of the country; has not acce= pted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction =20 National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948) =20 Executive branch: chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, State Law= and Order Restoration Council =20 Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) was dissolved after = the coup of 18 September 1988 =20 Judicial branch: Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 Se= ptember 1988 =20 Leaders: =20 Chief of State and Head of Government: Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN = SHWE (since 23 April 1992) =20 Political parties and leaders: National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League f= or Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE; National Coalition of Union of Burma= (NCGUB), SEIN WIN - consists of individuals legitimately elected but not re= cognized by military regime; fled to border area and joined with insurgents= in December 1990 to form a parallel government =20 Suffrage: universal at age 18 =20 Elections: =20 People's Assembly: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results - NLD = 80%; seats - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79 =20 Communists: several hundred (est.) in Burma Communist Party (BCP) =20 Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army (KIA), United Wa State Army (UWSA), Karen= National Union (KNU) , several Shan factions, including the Shan United Arm= y (SUA) (all ethnically based insurgent groups) =20 Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC= , ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO,= WMO =20 =20 =20 Burma - Government ==================================== =20 =20 =20 Diplomatic representation: Ambassador U THAUNG; Chancery at 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC = 20008; telephone (202) 332-9044 through 9046; there is a Burmese Consulat= e General in New York =20 US: Ambassador (vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission, Charge d'Affaires Fr= anklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing addr= ess is GPO Box 521, AMEMB Box B, APO AP 96546); telephone [95] (1) 82055,= 82181; FAX [95] (1) 80409 =20 Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, = all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a st= alk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions =20 =20 =20 Burma - Economy ============================== =20 =20 =20 Overview: Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $500= . The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial improvement in e= xport earnings because of falling prices for many of its major commodity= exports. For rice, traditionally the most important export, the drop in wor= ld prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets and a smaller volume of = sales. In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export and continues to hol= d this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sec= tor, which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment for 65% o= f the work force. Burma has been largely isolated from international eco= nomic forces and has been trying to encourage foreign investment, so far= with little success. =20 GDP: exchange rate conversion - $22.2 billion, per capita $530; real gr= owth rate 5.6% (1991) =20 Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (1991) =20 Unemployment rate: 9.6% in urban areas (FY89 est.) =20 Budget: revenues $7.2 billion; expenditures $9.3 billion, including capita= l expenditures of $6 billion (1991) =20 Exports: $568 million =20 commodities: teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems =20 partners: Southeast Asia, India, Japan, China, EC, Africa =20 Imports: $1.16 billion =20 commodities: machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products =20 partners: Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia =20 External debt: $4.2 billion (1991) =20 Industrial production: growth rate 2.6% (FY90 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP =20 Electricity: 950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita= (1990) =20 Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood prod= ucts; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; constru= ction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer =20 Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP (including fish and forestry); self-suffic= ient in food; principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, puls= es; world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and teak account for= 55% of export revenues; fish catch of 740,000 metric tons (FY90) =20 Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy and minor producer= of cannabis for the international drug trade; opium production is on = the increase as growers respond to the collapse of Rangoon's antinarco= tic programs =20 Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158 million; Western (= non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.9 billi= on; Communist countries (1970-89), $424 million =20 =20 =20 Burma - Economy ============================== =20 =20 =20 Currency: kyat (plural - kyats); 1 kyat (K) == 100 pyas =20 Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1 - 6.0963 (January 1992), 6.2837 (1991), 6.3386 = (1990), 6.7049 (1989), 6.46 (1988), 6.6535 (1987) =20 Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March =20 =20 =20 Burma - Communications ============================================ =20 =20 =20 Railroads: 3,991 km total, all government owned; 3,878 km 1.000-meter gauge, = 113 km narrow-gauge industrial lines; 362 km double track =20 Highways: 27,000 km total; 3,200 km bituminous, 17,700 km improved earth or = gravel, 6,100 km unimproved earth =20 Inland waterways: 12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels =20 Pipelines: crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km =20 Ports: Rangoon, Moulmein, Bassein =20 Merchant marine: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,036,018 GRT/1,514,121 DWT;= includes 3 passenger-cargo, 19 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 3 vehicle carri= er, 3 container, 2 petroleum tanker, 6 chemical, 1 combination ore/oil, = 27 bulk, 1 combination bulk, 1 roll-on/roll-off =20 Civil air: 17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters) =20 Airports: 85 total, 82 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; none with = runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 38 with runways 1,220-= 2,439 m =20 Telecommunications: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service; intern= ational service is good; 53,000 telephones (1986); radiobroadcast coverage= is limited to the most populous areas; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 F= M, 1 TV (1985); 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station =20 =20 =20 Burma - Defense Forces ============================================ =20 =20 =20 Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force =20 Manpower availability: eligible 15-49, 21,447,878; of the 10,745,530 males 15-49, 5,759,8= 40 are fit for military service; of the 10,702,348 females 15-49, 5,721,8= 68 are fit for military service; 424,474 males and 410,579 females reach = military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service =20 Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.28 billion, FY(91-92) =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 23:22:00 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: World Radio Transcription Services Subject: Sorry =20 I was just cross-posting some information and hit the wrong macro key= . =20 Andrew Waldie.. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 30 Jan 1994 07:57:12 EST Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: SETHW@MAINE.BITNET Subject: Antebellum Gender & Labor, DeVault & Boydston =20 In the recent and occasionally continuing thread on union decline I suggested that we place gender at the center of our analysis and argued that we needed to do this both because of 1) the post - WW II recomposition of the working class, as well as 2) the tremendous contributions made by feminist theorists. =20 I just ran across a very interesting example of this in the latest Radical History Review (Winter 1994 #58). In a review of: =20 Jeanne Boydston. Home & Work:Housework, Wages, and the Ideology of Labor in the Early Republic. NY: Oxford U Press, 1990. =20 Ileen A. DeVault, who is at Cornell University's School of Labor of Industrial and Labor Relations, writes: =20 In *Home & Work* Boydston provides a masterful example of how historical studies can deal with the relationship between material circumstances, and the ideological explanations of those circumstances. She takes as her topic the nature of women's domestic labor and changes in assumptions about that labor in the early republic and antebellum United States. While some may attempt to discount this book as being "just" about housework, Boydston reveals the significance of housework to the gendered process of industrialization and to the ways to which that process was articulated. As she puts it, "Gender and economic organization had never existed separately in the northeastern United States.... Men experienced early industrialization *simultaneously* through their economic lives and through their gender identities, with each of thes= e shaping and being shaped by the other. In the same way, it was both of these forms--as *work* and as distincitvely *women's* work--that the history of housework unfolded..."(74) Starting with the premise that domestic labor must be construed "as work," she describes the wa= y in which the growing hegemony of the middle class trapped *all* women into grappling with ideological constructs that allowed to housework an ever-small part of the economy. =20 [I am skipping ahead a few paragraphs] =20 With the industrial transformation of the antebellum period, Boydsto= n argues that the "redefininition of labor attendant upon the coming of industrialization was equally, and simultaneously, a redefinition of *unpaid* labor" (57). These redefinitions involved both reworking th= e discourse of labor and transforming the actual labor itself. Boydsto= n carefully demonstrates the economic contributions of women's housewor= k to their families in the first half of the nineteenth century. In working-class as well as middle-class families, women performed the work of piecing together their men's contributions into an appropriat= e living standard or, most often in the working-class case, stretching those contributions to make insufficient cash suffice for the family. The often substantial gap between men's wages and even minimal estimations of the amount necessary for subsistence was made up by th= e continuation of women's (and to some extent, children's) domestic labors. While working-class women's labor contributed to the maintenance of their families, middle-class women's activities contributed both to family maintenance and to the acumulation of capital. Boydston is equally precise in describing the ways in which the contributions of all women became devalued. Despite the necessit= y of women's work for the establishment and perpetuations of industrial capitalism, what Boydston calls the"pastoralization of housework" set women's work off from the cash-wage nexus of The Economy, and thereby rendered that work ideologically invisible. Invoking distinctions between a man-made world of urban technologies and woman's supposed existence in natural bliss, this process of housework's pastoralization "functioned to support the emergence of the wage system necessary to the developmenbt of industrial capitalism...[I]t veiled the reliance of the family on resources other than those provided through paid labor and heightened the visibility of the wage as the source of family maintenance. (160). =20 The "visibility of the wage," of course implies its opposite: the invisibility of women's unwaged domestic work. One of Boydston's greatest contributions is the way she makes visible this socially invisible work. =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Sun, 30 Jan 1994 16:11:14 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Ted Werntz Subject: Recommended article is Sexist and Racist =20 Seth Wigderson wrote on January 22, 1994, concerning the magazine Lab= or's Heritage Vol 5 No. 3: =20 > I have just received the latest issue of Labor's Heritage, > the publication of the George Meany Memorial Archives. > I continue to be impressed by this publication which > keeps trying to bridge between scholars, unionists and > the general public. > > The lead article is "Labor History in the Academy: A Layman's Guide= to > a Century of Scholarship." John Schacht has written a very useful = and > concise mini-history of labor scholarship from the Wisconsin school= to > today. I think it is the kind of article which could have a wide > usage and I am only sorry that I did not have it available when I w= as > preparing my labor history course. Of course, everyone will have t= hei > disagreements, but I think that it does a good job. The pictures > alone are impressive. There is Commons seminar, on a blackboard yo= u > can see the names "Quesnay, Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Proudhon." On th= e > other hand, I am not sure that either Philip Foner or Selig Perlman > would have wanted their pictures together. =20 I am appalled by the sexist and racist nature of the issue that = has so "impressed" Seth. Presumably the author feels that his "Layman's Gui= de," was written for men who are only interested in the work of other men, lik= e themselves. This point is emphasized by both the pictures that go wi= th the text, and then by the text. =20 Illustrating the article are 15 photographs, eight of which are po= rtrait photographs of individual labor historians. Every historian shown in= these photographic portraits is a man, presumable since "A Laymen's Guide" = might only be interested in photographs of male historians. A more accurat= e sub- title might have been "A White Layman's Guide to a Century of Scholar= ship" since every person shown in these portrait style photographs is a whi= te person. =20 In addition to the eight portrait style photographs, there are se= ven showing groups of people. One shows a professor of labor history and = seven students; all are male, all are white. Another seminar shown has ni= ne participants, two of whom are women, whose back is to the camera so t= heir faces are obscured. Of the seven males, six face the camera and the = viewer has a clear view of their faces, while the seventh male is seen in pr= ofile. Since the backs of the two women are face toward the viewer, the stat= ement is clearly made that women are not important. =20 There are also four group scenes. One shows a 1953 union rally of= subway shop repairmen in New York City rally during a mayoral campaign. The= only women in the photograph is one of two speakers, but interest is on th= e audience, none of whom are women. The audience is composed of subway shop repairmen, who are all dressed in shop clothes, except for the s= ole black male in the photo, who is wearing a white shirt, tie and overcoat, an= d is the only person so dressed. =20 Another photograph shows the Chicago Newspaper Guild on a moving = picket line, and the caption claims that there are men and women, however I = can only make out men on the picket line. =20 There is a photograph of a 1956 chess tournament between steelwor= kers, all of whom are male, and with one possible exception, all are white. Th= e caption says that working class history includes cultural and leisure= time activities, but the image shown is only of males engaging in cultural= and leisure time activities. =20 The final group picture is of a group of women workers on a facto= ry floor. The photograph is taken from above them, and so one gets a clear view= of the tops of the heads of these women workers, which emphasizes the type o= f headwear they are wearing. In the photograph of the men playing ches= s, facial expressions of many of the men are clear, but the women on the factor= y floor have their facial expressions obscured by the angle at which the phot= ograph was taken. =20 The final photograph is of the dust covers of five recently publi= shed books from the series "The Working Class in American History." Three of the books are by males, and their names and the titles of the book= s are clear from the photograph. This is so since the male authored books = are in the front of the photograph and two are completely unobstructed. Vie= ws of the two books in the rear of the photograph are obstructed, and in one th= e author's name is not visible. The author whose name is completely bl= ocked =66rom view is Dorothy Sue Cobble, author of "Dishing It Out: Waitres= ses and Their Unions in the Twentieth Century." =20 The same pattern is visible in the text. Women who do labor histo= ry are only barely mentioned and their concerns are dismissed without seriou= s attention being paid. The author summarized the concerns of women wi= th; "For the most part, the central questions raised by working women's histor= y have remained in odd, segregated juxtaposition with the concerns of the re= st of the field." Using the term "rest of the field" gives the impression that this is some honored and distinguished "rest of the field." The auth= or could have used the term "the male part of the field" as opposed to "the female part of the field" =20 The main theme of the article is that the author applauds the chil= dren and grand children of immigrants who were getting their PhD's after World= War II. As the author mentions "A new generation entered the profession as th= e G.I. Bill expanded and democratized higher education, and some of its best= scholars went on to study previously ignored groups, such as urban immigrants.= " It is important to note that the author here is referring to previously = ignored white groups, not black or brown or other non-white groups. The demo= cratized higher education that he applauds welcomed new members from white gro= ups that had previously been ignored, not black groups that have been ignored. =20 The author continues by stating that university history department= s in the 1960's "saw an influx of new students and young faculty members whose backgrounds were often non-elite and non-WASP and who maintained some= interest in bringing their forebears within the scope of historical study." A= gain, what the author is saying is that the 1960's saw an influx of young w= hite faculty members, who wanted to bring their white forebears within the= scope of historical study. These white faculty that the author approves of we= re not WASP's, but they were white. The author simply ignores black fac= ulty, or their noticeable absence from academia. =20 While the author prefers whites who are not Protestants, and whose forebears were immigrants prior to World War II, he is disdainful of immigrants who came after World War II, and doesn't even mention most= of them, presumably since they are not white, as is his favored group. There = is no mention, directly or indirectly of Haitians, Puerto Ricans, Filipinos= , Chinese, Mexicans, Jamaicans, Koreans, Guatemaleans, Vietnamese, Sene= galese, Japanese, Salvadoreans or any of the other immigrant groups that have= come to these shores since World War II. =20 The author's favored immigrants are the white immigrants who came = here prior to World War II. Those who came to these shores after the favo= red immigrants are neglected; those who came earlier, who are mainly Prot= estants, are denigrated. Some of the author's anti-Protestant bigotry leads t= o silly statements. He notes for instance that since the Times of Thucydides= , history had been the doings and saying of "great white men" while the workin= g class has been ignored. To explain this he states that "the men who inhabi= ted early twentieth century history departments, drawn mostly from elite white protestant backgrounds themselves, were usually unwilling to look bey= ond the history of statesmen, generals, and diplomats." Since there are many countries in which Protestants had been suppressed, these countries h= ad universities without faculty with protestant backgrounds. The author= does not present any claim that these universities, free of any protestant inf= luence, were more receptive to labor history than were the universities in Am= erica, whose faculty did have have protestant backgrounds. =20 Considering the limited amount of space available for printed idea= s, the author might have been better advised to eliminate his bigoted commen= ts about white protestants, and to instead try to say something intelligent ab= out the relation of black protestants to academic faculty and the manner in w= hich black workers are treated by labor history. =20 It would take another very long posting to even begin to go over w= hat has been left out concerning both women and blacks in labor history. I t= hink the article is a disgrace to the labor movement, and its publication will= be welcomed only by those who want to see a further decline in an alread= y weakened movement. =20 For those who might wish to complain to the publisher of this arti= cle, the address is Labor's Heritage, George Meany Center for Labor Studies, 1= 0,000 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20903. =20 Thank you, Ted Werntz =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 18:10:50 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: gender and autocracy =20 Returning to the fray after a weekend leave from the wires. =20 In response to my assertion that sexism and racism are symptoms rather than causes of union decline/autocratic insurgence Seth Wigderson points out that those social maladies predate unions by quite a bit. He goes on to suggest that it might be better to focus on why workers listen rather than on what capitalists say. =20 Seth, Let me be more precise. Of course sexism and racism are ancient but still the lesser rate of organization of women and people of colour is, I am certain, the result of the successful selling of an insidious theoretical constuct rather than the result of characteristics inherent in the working class. Of course, achieving an understanding of how homework became separated from wage work, gendered and devalued is important for those who want to understand more fully the nature of contemporary employment relations. But that stuff is, I am pretty sure, more or less invariant across countries. Homework and wage work were split and the former devalued in Scandinavia just as it was the United States but that did not preclude the development of very strong labour movements which today are essentially gender neutral in terms of the percent of the labour force in unions and covered by collective agreements. =20 What varies is the perception of the place of unions and collective bargaining in society. In Scandinavia, collective bargaining is seen to be a natural and essential complement to the institutions of political democracy. In the United States unions are often (as Jamie Mowder notes) seen to be somehow "sinister" organizations and collective bargaining is considered to be something to which one resorts only if the employer behaves totally irresponsibly with respect to employee interests. Unions are not generally seen to be agencies for the establishment of a more perfect democracy but rather retribution for managerial sins. =20 Why do the workers listen? Part of the answer was indicated by your Ex Post Patco remark, Seth. Those who haven't listened in the past have been mugged. Part of the answer may be found in the fact that the theory is superficially convincing especially in the absense of an alternative. American and Canadian workers don't know about the logic upholding universal participation in other nations. They need to hear about it; need to know there is a logic far superior to the phony choice between the autocratic status quo and getting denigrated and beat up for trying to go beyond it. =20 =20 =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =================================================================== =================================================================== ============== Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 22:14:53 -0500 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere Sender: Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere =46rom: Roy Adams Subject: Re: Recommended article is Sexist and Racist In-Reply-To: <199402010249.AA11427@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca> =20 Ted, please do tell us what was left out; I am sure that there will b= e a lot of interest. Thanks. roy =20 =20 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Roy J. Adams Ph: 905-525-9140, ext 23965 McMaster University Fax: 905-527-0100 Hamilton, Canada L8S 4C7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^