Taking on Multinational Corporations Through Worker Solidarity
While Labor Unions are often fighting against tremendous odds in the twenty-first century, that does not mean that they have lost their ferocity and their willingness to fight to protect working people. This fighting spirit is currently being demonstrated by our Brothers and Sisters who are on strike against ASARCO in Texas and Arizona.
Union members who work hard every day as miners have taken on a multinational corporation with tentacles not only in the United States but across the globe. Companies have expanded across the globe, making it hard for a particular nation to hold them accountable to any labor or environmental laws. Such is the case of ASARCO. ASARCO was purchased years ago by the Mexican based conglomerate, Grupo Mexico, which has launched vicious campaigns to bust Unions and deny workers their hard-earned pensions. This has also been the case of other Mexican conglomerates who have expanded their operations in the U.S., such as Grupo Bimbo, which purchased Weston Foods in 2008 and CEMEX, which purchased Ready Mix USA in 2011.
These companies have been able to take advantage of the weakened state of Labor Unions. Through carefully planned maneuvers, they have made it harder for workers to organize. They have also taken advantage of loopholes in or country’s labor laws and tax codes for them to earn the highest amount of profit regardless of the impact that it may have on our country’s social and moral fabric.
U.S. Labor Unions face many challenges on how to challenge the ever-growing threat that the unchecked power of big business has on our Democracy. We are currently living at a critical juncture in American history. Income inequality is at an all-time high. Corporations are making billions of dollars in profits, while ordinary working families are struggling to put food on the table. Their dreams of being able to provide a better future for their families are quickly fading away with the reality that it is becoming harder every day to make a living.
It is no coincidence that this increase in income inequality in the U.S. has gone hand in hand with a decline in the number of unionized workers. In 1965 one-third of American workers belonged to a union, which ensured that they earned good wages and benefits. This also lifted the standards for all workers in the U.S. because unions set the standards that even non-union employers pursued to maintain their workforce. Over the last 40 years, union membership has declined to an all-time low of 6.4 percent in the private sector due to aggressive employer tactics and a lack of enforcement from the government, and the results have been devastating.
As part of the global economy, workers in the United States must be part of both a local and global fight against corporate greed. Multinational corporations can cross borders and exploit workers across the globe with great ease. In order to win, American Unions and its members must bring the fight to these companies both at home and work with Unions across the globe to win improved working conditions, wages, and benefits.
We are in the fight of our lives with the 2020 presidential election fast approaching, and with it, the future of our democracy hangs in the balance. In order to fight back against global corporate greed, Union members must unite and stand up for the rights of all working people, regardless of their background. We must continue mobilizing in our workplaces to stop employers from using tactics to discourage Union organizing. We must push on our elected leaders to take action and demand better trade deals that hold multinational corporations accountable, and labor and immigration laws that allow people to exercise their rights without fear of retaliation. When working people unite, there is nothing that can stop us.
