Panel
Discussion
“Crossing Borders:
Trade Policy and Transnational Labor Education”
March
15, 2005 |
|
|
| From
left: Catha
Worthman, Strategic Campaigns Coordinator, Health
Systems Division of the Service Employees International
Union; Harley Shaiken, Professor of Education
and Geography and Chair of the Center for Latin American
Studies, UC Berkeley; and Owen
Herrnstadt,
Director of International Affairs, International Association
of
Machinists. |
Crossing
Borders: Trade Policy and Transnational Labor Education
By Ana P. Ambrosi and Sara Lamson
Globalization
and Labor
What
does globalization mean for labor in the United States and
Mexico? What are the potential benefits
and consequences of
international trade for workers? The U.S. based International
Association of Machinists (IAM) and the Center for Latin
American Studies sought to explore these questions by exposing
the union’s
leaders and members to the reality of the export processing
zones of Tijuana on the U.S.–Mexico Border, home to the
region’s maquiladoras.
Educational trips to Tijuana were organized with the intention
of taking future labor leaders to see first-hand the effects
of globalization beyond the southern border and to engage with
fellow workers in Mexico. These visits included a combination
of analysis and reality: briefing materials provided a framework
for understanding the context of global production in Mexico
while opportunities to interact with industrial workers and their
communities provided a human experience.
Much has been said about globalization. But, what is new about
this phenomenon today? On the one hand, the global economy is
now characterized by the emergence of a new international division
of labor, the unprecedented power of transnational firms and
the increase in commerce within the same corporation; one third
of international trade takes place within multinational corporations.
Moreover, high productivity and increasing quality are combined
with lower wages. While productivity in Mexico has tripled, real
wages of workers in the export sector, for example, are 10 percent
lower today than when the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) was implemented.
In
this context, previous debates about “free” trade
agreements regain relevance. During the NAFTA discussions, promoters
of liberalization argued that expanding trade would lead to higher
incomes throughout the region, and this in turn would lead to
improved labor and environmental standards. In contrast, the
IAM and other unions contended that labor and the environment
would be negatively impacted if standards and regulations on
these areas were not included in the trade agreement in the first
place. Eleven years after NAFTA, cross-border trade has tripled,
the power of multinational corporations has expanded and the
real wages of export workers in Mexico have actually fallen.
Unions
play an important role in this context. The IAM is the largest
industrial union in North America, representing
various
sectors. The union has been traditionally active in the international
arena and on trade issues and is a member of the International
Metal Workers Federation. Workers in the IAM make up a diverse
group with varying incomes, backgrounds, experience and jobs.
Today the majority of the union membership works in the export
sector, but many workers face the possibility of being undercut
and displaced by overseas competitors. Participating in these
trips, union members and leaders had an opportunity to examine “on
the ground” the realities of the global economy and the
labor and environmental conditions on the U.S.–Mexican
border.
Crossing
the Border
A
dramatic change in the environment is seen when crossing the
border from San Diego to Tijuana: from green,
manicured public
areas to dirt and swirling exhaust fumes. The industrial
zone at the border is largely comprised of U.S.-owned firms,
mainly
maquiladoras or export-oriented factories, and communities
of workers and their families living in terrible conditions,
what might be called industrial poverty.
The first destination is the prosperous Mesa de Otay, an industrial
zone filled with high end manufacturing plants. En route, hundreds
of crosses on the border fence can be seen through the bus windows,
a glaring reminder of the many immigrants who have died trying
to cross into the United States. A little farther along, the
entry to an abandoned aviation plant bears a strike flag posted
by workers still owed wages by the defunct facility
The
first stop is made at an abandoned battery recycling plant
called Metales y Derivados. After the owner
was forced to shut
down the plant for mismanagement, piles of toxic waste were left
uncovered and abandoned. Signs that say “toxic” and “danger” do
not prevent children and workers living in the communities down
the hill from passing through this contaminated area. The consequences
of this industrial production failure were unchecked by any environmental
legislation or state institutions. Community residents have campaigned,
without success, to clean up the toxic site
Just
down the hill in a river-bed community called Chilpancingo,
trip participants listen to community members’ share their
stories about working in the maquiladoras. Worker’s here
live in shanty homes constructed with wood from packing crates
purchased from the maquiladoras. For most, running water, bathrooms
and cement floors remain unattainable luxuries. The narratives
are consistent: job-security is nonexistent, pay is not sufficient
to support a family, health care is unavailable. Meanwhile, respiratory
and skin problems are rampant, in large part due to exposure
to toxins from the industrial plants up the hill. Most maquiladoras
in the area have ISO 9002 certification — meaning that
workers spend the day working in clean rooms, but spend their
off hours with their families in these unacceptable conditions.
In
a significantly more developed community across town, trip
participants listen to local leaders Eduardo and
Aurora, who
explain their history of activism and efforts to educate workers
about their rights and recommend appropriate action when a worker
faces discriminatory or illegal practices in the workplace. While
Mexican labor law is excellent on paper, oftentimes workers are
not aware of all of the rights they should have in the workplace.
Illegal practices such as blacklisting workers who have been
involved in organizing, firing or refusing to hire pregnant women
and firing workers who have failed to come in to work due to
illness are all frequent occurrences in Mexico’s export
industry. This segment of the trip is slightly more uplifting
as it portrays the efforts of those who are attempting to demand
change by educating workers.
Impact
These
trips have been a transnational labor education effort to
promote the cross-border understanding and solidarity of
workers. After this experience, U.S. trade unionists have
responded in ways that have impacted their union and the discussion
about
labor standards and their enforcement. Two immediate lessons
are taken home to the U.S. First, there is something wrong
with increased profits for multinational companies while
living conditions and wages for their workers remain deplorable.
Yet
placing the blame on multinational corporations is an inadequate
response — the existing rules of the global economy do
not ensure that increased productivity is matched with an increase
in real wages, rising income equality or development for communities
of workers in Mexico. Second, the obstacles presented to those
workers struggling to achieve their rights under Mexican law
highlight the need for effective enforcement of existing labor
standards and regulations.
For
the participants, the trips to worker’s
communities in Mexico are moving experiences and personal reactions
are diverse.
Some union leaders have reacted by lobbying on trade issues and
calling for a debate on the implementation of international labor
standards. Union members are often active in local politics,
and they have brought these issues to the attention of colleagues
at the local level. Responses from these trips have included
articles submitted to newspapers, the creation of a documentary
and informational websites, as well as efforts to educate and
inform other members of the union at home.
For
members of the communities in Mexico, these visits have been
an opportunity to share experiences with workers
from the
United States and bring about a mutual understanding. Community
leaders engaged in organizing around the need for protection
of labor rights, improved working conditions and increased wages
elaborate the difficulties they encounter in this effort. Solidarity
and shared support among workers has emerged from this dialogue
and can be observed in the U.S. unionists’ support for
workers organizations in Mexico.
Labor
and globalization are closely linked in the current context.
These trips to the U.S.–Mexican
border have been a space for dialogue between workers. The
experience has highlighted
the importance of the role of unions and workers organizations
in contributing to the debate on trade policy.
Ana
P. Ambrosi is a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s
Latin American Studies MA program. Sara Lamson is a research
assistant at CLAS.
Original event text
Panel
Discussion
“Crossing Borders: Trade Policy and Transnational Labor Education”
In
1998, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers and the Center for Latin American Studies initiated
a project which sought to inform union members about the realities
of the global economy and the importance of the union’s
role in trade policy. Between 1998 and 2002 nearly all the
elected officials and appointed representatives of the Machinists
union in the United States and Canada — about 600 people
in all — journeyed to Tijuana in an effort at what might
be called “transnational labor education.”
