Labor Disputes

By Kristin Grech, Fall 2008

Whether the labor disputes are taking place in the United States or overseas in Asia, Europe, or Mexico, the one apparent fact is that they are becoming more and more prominent in news stories. There are many similar actions being taken here as well as overseas, and there have been many different approaches taken to settle the disagreements.

In the US and overseas, there is a strong want and need of settlements. Many people are being forced into work that does not fit their education, or they are being forced into a field that they may no nothing about. The time that it may take for individuals to train for a specific field may be more time than to just settle an unruly labor dispute. Most of the employees and employers involved in the disputes want an agreement to be made that allows for both parties to be satisfied and for workers to return to their tasks as normal.

In the United States, former mechanics of Northwest Airlines are also out of jobs due to the strike against Northwest and Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. Northwest is now looking at hiring replacement workers permanently, which would result in thousands of workers being without jobs.

Due to disputes in unionization, labor disputes in the US are currently at all time high. In 2005, 12.5 percent of U.S. workers were union members. In 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, the membership rate was 20.1 percent. According to The Christian Science Monitor, strikes can cost US businesses up to 3.1 million working days in January, the second-highest January total since 1970.

Many countries overseas belong to the European Union (EU), which is now the union of twenty-five democratic states, covering most areas of public policy, ranging from economic policies to foreign affairs. The EU is in economic and political association with members among the European government. The most recent labor dispute for the EU has taken place in Italy. Italy is trying to work to end the EU arms embargo against China, and according to ANSA, the EU is currently split on lifting the embargo.

One major difference between the labor disputes between the US and overseas, is that in Europe, most of the countries belong to the EU, whereas in the US, there is no one specific union citizens belong or report to. Any dispute under the terms of the EU must be handled under their rules and regulations, and in the US, if an employee does belong to a union, the members of the union, employers, and employees will meet to come to an agreement benefiting all.

According to The Washington Post, “History has shown this assessment was right on the mark. If it is true that the strike is labor’s “only true weapon,” as some unionists suggest, then practically the entire movement has been disarmed. This also indicates that the legal right of workers to organize and bargain collectively has little real meaning.”

Also, according to The International Labor Organization (ILO), governments around the world have declared the right to strike is part of the freedom of association. In short, it is a human right. The ILO has also found that the United States permanent-replacement doctrine undermines that right.

Martin Hutchinson, writer for The Globalist, stated, “There is a huge difference between the US and Europe’s economic model, including income levels, socialization, and that in Europe, there is a greater level of unionization as well as a lower level on entrepreneurship.”
Hutchinson also believes that this is partly due to George W. Bush’s request for $92 billion dollars for the war on terror and the recovery of Hurricane Katrina. Hutchinson also stated that the US public finances continually seem to be slipping, which could in turn be why there is a high rate of unionization in the US.