Organizing Globally
The world economy is becoming increasingly based on the globalization of production, markets, and ownership. This system exerts intense pressure for the creation of a more liberalised global transport system. The process of privatisation and commercialisation has already had a major impact on transport in many regions of the world.
Rapid changes are taking place in the global transport industry, increasing integration of different transport modes and blurring boundaries with other industrial sectors, while growing logistics and just in time production. One such casualty to take place maybe the post offices. It’s predicted that they will be merged into large courier and logistic companies.
The process of outsourcing has increasingly moved jobs from “core business” to subcontractors. In many cases union organizations become lost in the process of outsourcing. Sometimes union structures are based on a single company and are not adapted to organizing workers in outsourced operations. The end result is the relocation of jobs from one country to another. We have witnessed this in our Canadian District Lodges, and you are all familiar with the situations I am referring to, which have taken place in your own servicing areas.
We are not alone in the world with this phenomenon. This is a global problem which takes place for many reasons. Either a company is too small to perform the work in-house or its labour costs are deemed to be too high. Whatever the reason, companies are always trying to lower labour costs with little concern for basic workers rights, let alone trying to keep the work within their country to support and help the local economy. The only way they can reduce labour costs is at the expense of workers which detracts from their basic rights, decent wages, and at times at the expense of the environment due to poor legislation in the country in which the work is being performed.
As a result of the 41st congress held in Durban, South Africa, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) proposes to respond to all of these and other problems by:
- participating globally through campaigns which are designed to challenge the globalization process and bodies such as the World Bank and the WTO.
- targeting strategic employers, creating union solidarity networks within them, and negotiating International Framework Agreements designed to strengthen union organizing
- making use of the strategic position of logistics workers, identifying key strategic hubs and developing closer solidarity with manufacturing and distribution unions and their international organisations throughout the supply chain
- responding to the changing nature of work, with the increasing growth of “union free” workplaces; new entrants to many sectors often using contractors, outsourcing and even “fake self employed” workers; and calling on unions to adapt their structures to this new environment and to concentrate on organizing women workers, young workers, non-manual workers and those with non traditional employment status.
Most importantly the ITF will develop an effective program for organizing transport workers by establishing projects which identify strategic targets to achieve these objectives covered in the many motions passed. They will build global supply chain alliances with other Global Union Federations (GUF) and establish new education programmes to help unions adapt their structures and methods to organize more workers.
The greatest challenge in this effort to organize globally may be for ITF affiliates themselves, and the IAMAW is one of them. Almost everywhere many unions are organized in structures reflecting an industry structure that no longer exists: unions based on crafts that have disappeared; based on a corporate monopoly that was broken long ago; based on industry lines which are beginning to blur, or based on ideas of what and who transport workers are which ignore changes in the industry and the composition of the workforce.
The IAMAW as a union needs to examine our own structure to ensure that we are equipped to organize effectively in the modern world of transport. This is why we must stand together globally in order to succeed. By supporting the ITF’s initiatives and becoming more involved, we stand a better chance to improve our working standards and successfully grow to address issues that will face us in the future. This can be done by standing together with our global brothers and sisters in other Unions and work and organize together to bring global standards closer to ours in North America. In the end we will only succeed in keeping our work, wages, benefits and living standards if we achieve this goal. There is nothing wrong with globalization, provided workers are respected and treated fairly and equally all over the world.
Throughout the course of the next four years, I will be attending meetings and participate in some of these projects initiated by the ITF. It would be great if I could get support from our locals and some districts by receiving information as well as participation in some of these meetings in order to make these projects successful.
Stays tuned for future articles. For more information on the ITF please check their website at www.itfglobal.org
Carlos DaCosta
Airline Coordinator, IAMAW
