The future of trade unionism in global world - By John Clarke, Journal of Commerce, Canada
Chinese workers are being wooed to come and work in the coal mines of northern B.C. Construction workers from Latin America are being pursued to fill labour shortages in B.C construction. Unions complain they’re not being consulted enough about worker exchanges that are likely to become a more prominent fact of life here.
If international trade unionism is a better response than the national brand it had better make its case more loudly than it is now.
In Canada United Steelworkers of America president Leo Gerard says that separately unions are “no longer capable of confronting these global companies unless we ourselves are organized globally.” That’s why it will be interesting to watch an attempt by his group and two British labour organizations, the Amicus Union and the Transport and General Workers Union, to form a new international union.
So far there’s not much evidence elsewhere that labour is ready even to debate the issue, never mind do the deep thinking to get it started.