US Trade Union Leaders: US and China Trade Unions make their first move to deepen co-operations

Transcription

1 Net Exchange (wangyi) US Trade Union Leaders: US and China Trade Unions make their first move to deepen co-operations 23 May Main Points: On 18 May, the national American trade union federation Change to Win, in a break with the US National trade unions tradition of non-contact with Chinese trade unions, sent its first delegation to visit China. The US Trade Union representatives stressed that the contact with the All China Federation Trade Union (ACFTU) does not imply an acceptance of the ACFTU. In addition, the International Brotherhood of Teamster Union Chairperson James Hoffa said: assisting Chinese workers in the struggle for better wage is beneficial in protecting the rights of US workers. 1 Translated from Chinese. Original Chinese version available at [Accessed 2007/05/26]. 1

2 Photo: Dong Jianhua meets Anna Burger in Beijing s Great Hall of the People. Shaanxi, China Internet News: On May 22, visiting US Change to Win Federation Trade Unions Chair, Anna Burger indicated in Beijing that she has reached a series of understandings with the ACFTU on how to promote practical cooperation between the two national trade unions. The visit represents an important and key first step toward the establishment of formal and friendly relations at the top level between the unions of the two countries. On 18 May, Burger led a top level delegation comprising of major leaders from the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other industrial trade unions to begin its visit of China. This is the first time that a US national trade union delegation has visited China and represents a break with American trade unions previously policy of non-recognition of Chinese unions. Burger told reporters, we had frank, open and encouraging discussions with the ACFTU. This is also the first time that US and Chinese unions have discussed the working process of collective bargaining, and have reached understanding on many issues. We have agreed to hold additional exchanges in the future to continue discussions on similar topics. For a long time, the largest US national trade union American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO) has refused any contact with Chinese trade unions making it impossible to establish a normal relationship between the two unions. In 2005, seven US industrial trade unions separated from the AFL-CIO and established the second largest national federation of trade unions - Change to Win Federation of Trade Unions (CTW). CTW advocates active cooperation with Chinese trade unions. Burger believes that as a result of economic globalization trends and the expansion of multi-national corporations, US and Chinese workers are in fact confronting the same employers. As a result, it is necessary for US trade unions to establish long term cooperative relations with the ACFTU to work together to protect workers rights, and to improve working conditions and living standards. 2

3 In the same evening, the delegation and members of the American Chamber of Commerce attended a banquet together. During the banquet, the parties discussed the Chamber of Commerce s opposition to the draft of the Chinese Contract Labor Law. Our stance is extremely clear. We believe that the draft is good, and its principle is to protect workers rights. US corporations should not oppose this policy, Burger said. During its visit, the delegation met separately with Mr. Jia Qinglin, the Chairperson of the National Consultative Council of the National People s Congress and Mr. Wang Zhaoguo, the Vice Chairperson of the General Council of the National People s Congress and Chairperson of the ACFTU. The delegation also visited Shanghai and held talks with the union and workers from the deep-sea container port. Through these site visits, members of the delegation have increased their understanding of the work of the Chinese unions, and some members have changed their bias. Burger believes that the delegation visit to China marks the first step toward the establishment of mutual exchange between the unions of the two countries. It is also a key step. I hope this meeting will mark the beginning of long term cooperation, she said. Contact Does Not Imply Acceptance- US Union Leaders Spell Out the Objectives of their China Visit On 21 May visiting US Delegation Leader James Hoffa, Chairperson for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters stressed that this contact with the ACFTU does not imply acceptance of the positions of the ACFTU. BBC Chinese Web reported, the US Trade Union delegation indicated that contacting the official ACFTU is the only choice. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Chairperson James Hoffa said, helping Chinese workers to secure higher wages is beneficial to protecting the rights of US workers at home. 3

4 During the visit, a sub-group of the US delegation provided advice that would improve the ACFTU negotiation techniques with foreign enterprises. Hoffa said, obviously, there are many aspects that attract US and European multi-national corporations to come to China. If we can help to increase the standard of living of the Chinese people, US and European corporations may not find China to be as attractive as before. This ice breaking China visit by the US Change to Win Federation of Trade Union Leaders only represents action taken by one of the many US trade unions. The ACFTU is the only legal trade union and has over 100 million members. US trade union leaders not only conducted organizational exchanges with the ACFTU, they also met with the Chairperson of the Chinese National Consultative Council, Mr. Jia Qinglin. Executive director of Change to Win, Greg Tarpinian said US corporations have established themselves in China for decades. In this respect, the US trade unions are far behind. Many US enterprises, such as McDonalds and Wal-mart have already reached agreement with the ACFTU to establish unions. During their visit, US trade union leaders condemned US corporations opposition to the draft labor law which is geared towards providing some protection to Chinese workers rights. Previously, the AFL-CIO has continuous accused China of international labor law violation, low wages, lack of overtime regulation and fringe benefits. It believes that those abuses are the main attractions for US corporations to invest in China, leading to the loss of millions of jobs in the US. 4

5 However, some analysts have indicated that some of the US trade unions are changing their position of non-recognition towards the ACFTU. The position has been changed to contact and dialogue and some believe that it is the best way to improve workers rights. On the other hand, with the rapidly increasing amount of export trade, there is also a need for China to deepen its relationship with US enterprises. Recently, under government intervention, multi-national corporations such as McDonalds and Wal-mart are allowing the establishment of trade unions. The Chinese political leadership believes that so long as trade unions will not challenge its absolute rule, the establishment of unions will reduce labor disputes to some degree, thereby, providing some stability to a deteriorating labor situation. Editor: She Li-na New China News Agency Photo taken by Mao Jian-jun 5