Re: [Pen-l] The Auto Crisis: Management, Labor and the Struggle for the Future

["Anthony D'Costa" <promothesdcosta@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think there are different interests within the UAW.  Some (but very few) actually talk about the labor movement as a political movement.  Others, not surprisingly see the everyday conflicts between management and workplace demands as the main arena for fighting.  Given that the US is so deeply capitalist that it becomes extremely difficult to fight for some of the larger goals such as those currently being bandied about -- green technology and so on.  But I also think that everyday battles are equally important since that is the frontline and winning such battles is consistent with larger, longer term goals.  But in an age of heightened capitalism profitability of firms will remain important even for workers.  This was seen during deindustrialization of the 1980s.  In Pittsburgh many of my friends were fighting to keep plants open and one of their strategies (which in the end failed) was to figure out if the plants could be feasble after restructuring.  A market feasiblity study was initiated but what can you do with Korean and Japanese steel producers who had few legacy problems as that of the oligopolistic US industry.

Anthony

On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 9:36 PM, raghu <mraghu01@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 10:44 AM, Charles Brown
<charlesb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> How about a big caravan to Wall Street , and set up a permanent occupation there ?
>
> Labor Legacy benefits, like the prime fruits of US labor history struggle: just give them up.
>
> In Solidarity Forever,
>
> Joe Hill
>



How much of this mess is the UAW's fault? Why did they not raise
alarms back in the 90's when the Big 3 were making bets on
gas-guzzling SUVs?

Why are they not trying to organize Toyota's and Honda's workforces?
-raghu.


--
Confucius say, dirty book rarely dusty.
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Anthony P. D'Costa
Professor of Indian Studies
Asia Research Centre
Copenhagen Business School
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Email:ad.int@cbs.dk
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