MEXICO: On September 3, after three weeks of negotiations, the IMF-affiliated VW autoworkers’ union (Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores de la Industria Automotriz VW) reached agreement with VW Mexico management for a collective contract covering workers at the company’s assembly complex in Puebla. The deal, which just beat the deadline set by the union, boosts wages for hourly workers by 5.5 per cent, and gives an additional 1.5 per cent increase in benefits. Commenting on the successful outcome of the bargaining talks, the union’s general secretary, José Luis Rodriguez Salazar, said that “most importantly, we avoided a conflict.” The union, representing 75 per cent of the 16,000 workers at the Puebla plant, staged a 19-day strike last year in order to achieve their wage demands. The complex, situated 100 km southeast of Mexico City, is VW’s only assembly operation in North America and the sole producer of the new “Beetle”.

USA: The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed on August 29 to a request by the Federal Mediation Service for a 30-day contract extension at Boeing and for a resumption of bargaining on September 4. The response by the company, however, has been to hold firm on its “last, best and final” contract offer – which the union calls “a continued attack… on the jobs, incomes and living standards of the IAM workforce” – and has refused the request by the federal authority to resume talks with the IAM. Bargaining for the new three-year contract, to cover over 25,000 IAM members building airplanes for Boeing, got to its official start on June 25, with full-time negotiations running since August 15. The key issues for the union have been job security, pensions and health care. “Boeing has eliminated more than one-third of the IAM membership’s jobs since the 1999 contract, yet Boeing’s after-tax profits have gone up 152 per cent and sales have gone up 27 per cent during that same period,” said IAM chief negotiator Dick Schneider. Bargaining talks concluded on August 27, and the present collective contract expired today, September 2, at 12:01 a.m. Affiliated at international level to the IMF, the IAM is the largest airline union in North America, representing 140,000 airline employees. Boeing is the largest U.S. export manufacturer.

BRAZIL: Well-organised resistance to a plan announced on August 16 by DaimlerChrysler to dismiss outright 656 non-production (indirect and white-collar) staff at the company’s Sao Bernardo do Campo plant has brought a historical victory to the workers and the ABC Metalworkers’ Union. Following work stoppages in three different departments of the company on August 21, 23 and 26, management agreed to cancel its plan to proceed with the dismissals, and a new proposal – a voluntary job-quitting programme over the period September 2-17, offering certain additional benefits – has been accepted by all 5,500 non-production workers. On September 18, a joint meeting between the union and works council with management will evaluate the situation and propose alternatives, if the target number of 570 jobs has not been reached. In its restructuring plan, the company intends to discontinue the development of new products, to outsource activities and combine operations between departments. The ABC Metalworkers’ Union is a member of the CNM/CUT, affiliated at international level to the IMF.

LATIN AMERICA: IMF affiliates in Latin America have set up country councils – cooperation bodies for IMF affiliates within one country. In Argentina, in August, the IMF’s affiliates Aoma, Smata, Asimra and Uom constituted a “National Council of the IMF for Affiliates in the Republic of Argentina”. In Mexico, affiliates have established a “National Council of Metalworkers of the IMF-Mexico”. Also, in Chile, affiliates have formed a National Council. “This process is very encouraging,” says IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi. “And the process has gone much faster than we thought.” One reason for this swift course of action, says Malentacchi, is the difficult situation trade unions in Latin America are facing. “Take Argentina, where the dire economic and political situation is putting the trade unions under pressure. The trade unions must simply cooperate more closely in order to keep and enhance their influence. The role of the Councils is to initiate and support this process.” The IMF Action Programme for 2002-2005 refers to the need for trade unions to set forth new and adequate structures appropriate for global challenges. It proposes the establishment of IMF country councils, to:

• encourage cooperation between the unions;
• mediate on disputes and inter-union rivalries;
• build unity between unions in the core areas of collective bargaining, education and organising the unorganised.

IMF country councils exist since long in several countries, for example in Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

GENEVA: The International Metalworkers’ Federation has just launched a new section on its website called “Union Women”. This special page represents the continuing initiatives of the IMF to ensure that more women workers are organised in trade unions and that women’s representation at all levels of trade union organisations is increased. “When we look at the people who are most active in our unions and holding leadership positions, we do not see many women,” comments the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, “and yet women’s presence in the metalworking industries is growing daily. If we are to organise these new workers, we need to be relevant to their needs and able to demonstrate that we are capable of representing women.” “Union Women” – www.imfmetal.org/women – will focus on concrete strategies used by IMF-affiliated unions to encourage greater participation by women in their organisations and to address issues of particular concern to women. Although many women will find it useful and informative, the website is particularly intended for union leaders and organisers who may be looking for innovative ways to bring about greater equality for their women members.

CANADA: CAW members at the “Big Three” automakers have voted overwhelmingly to give union negotiators the mandate to take strike action if bargaining demands are not met in the final round of talks, to begin the week of August 26. At General Motors as well as DaimlerChrysler, 97 per cent of the CAW workers gave their backing for a strike if the talks fail, and at Ford 95 per cent were in favour of industrial action. The union stated that such results show that their members are determined to achieve new contracts which provide wage gains, job and income security, time off the job as well as benefit and working condition improvements. Current contracts with GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler expire on September 17, 2002.

BRAZIL: After two months of trying to negotiate a plan by DaimlerChrysler Brazil to get 656 non-production employees (indirect and white-collar) at its Sao Bernardo do Campo plant to “voluntarily” quit their jobs, close to 100 per cent of the workers last week rejected the company’s proposals. However, when management began announcing individual dismissals on Friday, August 16, the ABC Metalworkers’ Union called out on warning strike all 5,500 non-production workers (out of a total workforce of 9,800). 100 per cent walked off the job and voted unanimously to resist company dismissals. On August 21, 150 workers from the Purchasing Department left their work and walked through the shopfloor in various production buildings. In its restructuring plan, the company aims to discontinue the development of new products, to outsource activities and combine operations between departments. The union says that the deteriorating economic situation in Brazil, due to 8 years of neo-liberal government policies, encourages companies to cut jobs. But with the launch in July 2002 of the DaimlerChrysler World Employee Committee, the union is fully aware that restructuring within the corporation (e.g. the Chrysler division, Freightliner, Evo Bus) is being stretched out over a period of three years, whereas in Brazil the company is trying to accomplish their plan in two months. The ABC Metalworkers are a member of the CNM/CUT, affiliated at international level to the IMF.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: After a long series of bilateral meetings to negotiate a new collective agreement for weekly and monthly paid employees at Caribbean Ispat Limited, the Steelworkers’ Union of Trinidad and Tobago (SWUTT) reached a deal with company management in July. The union says that the new contract, which will cover the period from November 1, 2001, to October 31, 2004, represents an historic achievement for the union as the parties settled all items without the intervention of a third party or strike action. Principal items in the agreement include (figures are in Trinidad and Tobago dollars, TT$ 1 = US$ 0.168067):

• wages – consolidation of present cost-of-living allowances plus a general wage increase of 10% (3% in the first year, 3% in second year, 4% in third year);
• cost-of-living allowance – $100 consolidated to basic wages;
• heat bonus – $0.95 per hour.

Other improvements deal with enhanced payment for shift bonuses, meal allowance, travelling allowance, and pension benefits. SWUTT, an affiliate of the IMF at international level, is the recognised majority union for both weekly and monthly paid workers at Caribbean Ispat, which is a subsidiary of the Ispat International Group, the world’s 8th largest steelmaker.

The latest statistics from UNCTAD, the UN agency for trade and development, show that 29 transnational companies are larger, in terms of economic comparison, than many countries (see IMF website news of August 14, 2002). Most of the wealth which TNCs have been able to build up comes from the exploitation of natural and human resources in developing countries. The total resources of the 29 TNCs represented on the list amount to $US 784 billion – that’s more than the entire Canadian economy, which is the 8th largest in the world. One can argue against the idea of putting all TNCs together. On the other hand, I believe that in spite of the fact that many of them actually compete in the same market segment, they have many common points:

• They usually aim to make the maximum profit regardless of the social or environmental cost.
• They do not like state or government interference, in any form. Consequently, they use their enormous economic and financial influence to try to control democratically-elected institutions.
• Although most of these companies bargain with unions where the unions are strong, their true attitude is shown by the fact that they resist organising attempts wherever they can.

They might not have any formal organisation to coordinate their actions, but they don’t need it. Their business associations and roundtable discussions, conferences and meetings, such as the one in Davos under the auspices of the World Economic Forum (WEF), give them plenty of opportunity to elaborate their strategies to undermine democratic systems and democratic organisations such as trade unions and other NGOs. This is one of the reasons why the IMF has decided not to participate in formalising relations with such forums as the WEF. But even more important, the global labour movement must become part of the counterweight to the powerful corporations, which want moneymaking to be the overarching goal of human activity. Obviously, we must engage the corporations, but we do not want to become part of the process in which global corporations seek to shape the world according to their priorities. The IMF believes that the best way forward for the global unions is through collective bargaining and by adding our voice to those who demand a social dimension to globalisation, at Porto Allegre and elsewhere.

USA: Former UAW president, Stephen P. Yokich, died August 16, in Detroit, after suffering a stroke the day before. “Words cannot begin to express the sadness and loss the UAW family feels over the death of our friend and brother, Stephen P. Yokich,” UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement. “It was a shock to hear about his death,” said the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi. “I met him less than two months ago at the UAW Convention in Las Vegas. He was in good shape and looking forward to spending more time with his family. His death was really unexpected, and a great loss for the trade union movement.” Solidarity messages from IMF affiliates and individuals can be sent to the Yokich family through the UAW, [email protected]