Despite an aggressive anti-union stance throughout the rest of the world, global retailing giant Wal-Mart acts very differently in China, as demonstrated in July 2008 when the company signed its first agreement with the state-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) in Shenyang, the provincial capital of Liaoning Province in North-East China.
Agreements have subsequently been signed in Shenzhen, a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern China and in the city of Quanzhou in the South-Eastern province of Fujian. The ACFTU has claimed these agreements are a great victory and proof of the strength the ACFTU. Wang Tongxin, a representative of the ACFTU, asserted the agreement is “a win-win contract which has balanced the interests of workers and management.” (China Daily, 26 July 2008) Kevin Gardner, a Wal-Mart spokesperson, noted, “we support these efforts because of the valuable, mutually beneficial partnership the government-run union offers and because of their commitment to assisting businesses in our growth and development in China.” (Forbes Magazine, 25 July 08)
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IUF Solidarity from Korea to the USA
Union rally outside the Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles, 10 March 2005. From left, Lupe Luna (Century Plaza Union, UNITE-HERE), Shin Seung Chul (1st Vice President KFSU, Lotte Hotel Workers’ Union President), Hyewon Chong (IUF Korea Liaison Officer), Song Bok-Nam (Jeju KAL Hotel Workers’ Union President) and Son Sang-Hyun (KFSU Solidarity Director).
After a long and bitter campaign, workers in the Los Angeles hotels industry, members of the IUF-affiliated UNITE-HERE union, look set to secure unified contracts with common expiry dates across the city.
Two years ago UNITE-HERE decided to bring hotel union collective agreements across the country into similar time frames. Previously hotel workers in different cities, even when working in the same hotel chains, would have their collective agreements expiring at different dates. In order to strengthen the bargaining position of local unions, UNITE-HERE set 2006 as a common expiry date. In campaigns in major cities across the USA, local unions sought to build national bargaining strength. Continued…
