Workers Communications: Three International Examples Union for Democratic Communications October 1989 Jon Bekken Institute of Communications Research University of Illinois, 222B Armory Champaign, IL 61820 217/333-1549 In 1985, members of the Zentai Omori branch of the Japanese Postal Workers Union addressed an appeal for international solidarity to U.S. rank-and-file union activists, noting that in a recent meeting they had been "surprised to learn how similar our problems are": For example, the current eagerness of corporations to bust militant unions; the introduction of new technologies to displace workers, "de-skill" jobs, and increase management's control over work processes and workplaces; and the expansion of part-time, low-wage and service sectors of the economy are our problems too. ...Even the system of dividing workers into small groups to control them more rigorously, which you label the "Japanese management plan," is known as the "American labor control system" over here... There is another important similarity between us. We, rank-and-file workers, fight against those abuses in various ways; but until now, regrettably we have had no opportunity to hear your voice directly. Zentai Omori went on to suggest that rank-and-file workers from both countries arrange to meet and discuss their common problems, and to exchange publications and information, without the intercession of union bureaucrats. One way in which they attempted to do this was by publishing and distributing a quarterly English-language journal, Rank-and- File, sent to several U.S. union locals and activists as a means of providing first-hand knowledge of the situation and struggles of Japanese workers. This is but a single example of recent initiatives by workers in all parts of the world to develop communications and information systems to enable them to meet the challenges of an increasingly global economy, and to match the resources of transnational corporations that can move production halfway across the globe with comparative ease. Other examples include the Asia Workers Solidarity Link network; regular international conferences and exchanges among IBM, Ford and GM workers throughout the world (mostly involving local, rather than national, union representatives) to share information and discuss their struggles against their common employer; and the revived interest in, and activity from, International Trade Secretariats in recent years. In several cases these efforts have yielded practical results--providing unions with information on company policies, international activities, etc.; bringing pressure to bear against employers or governments; facilitating financial support; and impeding employers' ability to transfer struck work across national boundaries. Independent labor networks and research centers have generally taken the lead in these initiatives. An example is a conference organized by Transnationals Information Exchange which brought together unionists from 14 Asian, North and South American and European countries to discuss the ongoing restructuring of the telecommunications industry, and attacks on jobs and union organization that have resulted. Computerizing the Labor Movement Four years ago the Spanish dock-workers union, Coordinadora, proposed an international computerized information center making data on working conditions, wages, contracts, ongoing labor disputes and other relevant data accessible to rank-and-file portworkers and union activists. The proposal was originally presented to the International Alternative Ports and Coasts Conference's workshop on port labour and new technology, but was not discussed or incorporated into the conference declaration. Coordinadora presented it again the next year to an international conference of revolutionary labor unions and rank-and-file groups, which "agreed that this was a desirable goal to work toward but was beyond the scope of current resources." Coordinadora's newspaper, La Estiba, demonstrates the union's concern for international developments--which the union has learned through bitter experience will, sooner rather than later, have a direct impact on their members' working conditions. The union has long been part of a European informal network of port unions which regularly hold conferences, exchange information about ongoing labor disputes, and arrange solidarity actions with each other's struggles. Such networks are increasingly common in the labor movement, but computerization has for many remained an elusive dream, raising organizational difficulties which has limited their use by those organizations (such as International Trade Secretariats) best situated to make the necessary investments in equipment and training. Three International Trade Secretariats (grouping unions along broad industrial lines, and loosely aligned with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) are going on-line and encouraging their major affiliates to do the same. Yet most efforts to take advantage of the new computer and communications technologies have been by independent workers' and rank-and-file groups at the grass roots level--engaged in a process that Kim Scipes refers to as "building the new shop floor internationalism." These groups combine information exchanges with rank-and-file action ranging from solidarity strikes to financial contributions. Several independent labor research and resource centres--in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America--have already gone on line, taking advantage of low-cost personal computers and telecommunications networkes to speed appeals for solidarity, requests for information, draft documents and other material to interested organizations around the world. An example of the potential power of these informal networks occurred in October of 1987, when the Malaysian government arrested many unionists and other activists. Within hours, scores of international groups in seventeen countries (including some in Malaysia itself) using the same electronic mail system had full information of the arrests, and could keep instantly appraised of subsequent developments. South African unionists have made similar use of such networks to disseminate news of their struggles and of government repression. Yet many problems have surfaced with such networks as well. Many parts of the world simply do not have the necessary communications infrastructure--outside of systems available only to the military or the largest corporations--for effective electronic data transfers. In other countries where connection is technically possible, artificially-high prices or government restrictions limit (not always successfully) access. Many other labor organizations, particularly those representing the most impoverished workers, lack even the relatively modest resources necessary for equipment, training, and communications costs and are thus excluded. And as these networks become more widespread, organizations with limited resources run the risk of being submerged under a pile of urgent messages. In short, the new technology makes possible more rapid communication and exchange of information, but has thus far not resulted in the new era for international solidarity between workers' organizations that many had hoped for. Elsewhere, unions have established low-technology information systems on a national and regional basis that offer many of the same services as do the emerging computerized systems, if not so rapidly. The Union Research Group brings together more than a hundred unions in the Bombay and Poona areas, gathering data from its affiliates and from other sources on wages and working conditions, management initiatives towards `rationalisation' or `modernization,' plant closings, job classifications, women workers, and occupational safety and health. This information is made available through English and Marathi-language publications, inter-union workshops, and through assistance to individual unions (particularly during negotiations). The scope of these activities requires a vast data base, but the lack of resources has required a cumbersome process of manual computations and physical transfer of documents. Thus the Research Group has been attempting to secure funding to computerize its data and make it readily accesible. Shop-Floor Internationalism Increasingly, unions in impoverished countries have come to rely upon international solidarity, whether to ensure their survival or to assist them in winning labor struggles against transnational employers. Mexico's `19th of September' Garment Workers Union, for example, publishes a bilingual International Bulletin publicizing the union's activities, appealling for solidarity against government repression, and requesting support for the union's organizing and strike funds. The union has also organized North American tours (of union officers, a documentary film, and an art exhibit depicting the union's history) to publicize its struggles and build links for mutual solidarity, and is organizing a November, 1989 conference of North American women workers to discuss common concerns. Following one such tour, a member of the union's National Executive Committee reported that We found people in almost the same situation as ourselves. They are also organizing. Many Mexicans believe that they'll go to the states, get rich and live well, but it's not that easy. That's why it's so important to exchange exeriences, talk with other workers from whatever sector, get to know their problems and express our own. It was important to find out that others don't let themselves be exploited... The Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Kilusang Mayo Uno in the Philippines, and the Brazilian Central Unica dos Trabalhadores are examples of other unions that have placed strong emphasis on building international networks. All of these efforts share a committment to building an international labor movement, a movement in which solidarity is a living ideal--not just an empty slogan to be inscribed on union letterheads and resolutions. And by and large these efforts have been the product of rank-and-file workers and union locals. National and international union centers, with some notable exceptions, have played a distinctly secondary role. While this has restricted the resources available to support these networks, and the numbers able to participate in them, it has also freed participants of many of the bureaucratic and political constraints in which many union centres have become enmeshed. In short, the need--and potential--for the emerging grassroots international labor communication networks has never been clearer. As the premier issue of the GM Workers' Voice put it: GM is powerful because it is global. It can use national divisions between trade unionists to get them to compete for jobs. While GM controls information on its worldwide operations, building unity within the workforce is impossible. GM WORKERS' VOICE is an alternative source of information... We hope that it will help build a new solidarity between those working in GM. But its usefullness depends on you! GM WORKERS' VOICE is not produced for you, it is produced by you.... The time has never been more urgent to exchange information and build international unity.