Related Articles
|
Impact of "Free Trade" On Construction June 30, 2004 Until now, the debate over "free trade" has mostly centered on the manufacturing sector of the economy. But "free trade" has the potential to affect all sectors, including construction. The following example of how "free trade" could affect construction workers is fictional. But this fictional account COULD become reality if we dont educate ourselves about the issues and take action. A Power Point presentation is available to help us accomplish both. A construction company from India wins the bid on a huge project in the United States. The firm imports skilled building trades workers from low-wage countries. They are paid minimum wage to do the work normally done by U.S. union trades under prevailing wage and project labor agreements. Despite well-organized protests by unions and legal actions, the World Trade Organization approves the contract. The precedent is set and this model spreads to other jobs. U.S. political leaders who support labor are powerless to stop the model because that would violate the rules of "fair" trade. Outlandish? Impossible? Think again. An alarming PowerPoint presentation, "Under Threat: New Trade Deals and Construction Workers," produced by the Minnesota Fair Labor Coalition tells why these devastating developments are possible. But even more importantly, the slide show contains suggestions about what IBEW members and others can do to stop the nightmare of "outsourcing"-- that has eliminated so many manufacturing and service jobs--from visiting its destruction upon building trades workers. Click here to view the presentation.
|
Minnesota Fair Trade Video (PowerPoint Pres.)Unions, Manufacturer Win China Trade DisputeU.S. MAJORITY DISAPPROVES OF GOVERNMENTS TRADE APPROACH Bushs Pick for Manufacturing
Czar Withdraws...
|
