the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jun 16, 2008
The two-tier wage concessions in the auto industry started at Delphi, spread through the U.S. auto industry, and now have been exported–to Mexico.
A union at Ford’s Cuautitlan plant agreed to cut new hires’ wages down from $4.50, to $2.25 an hour.
A union at Volkswagen’s Puebla plant conceded to cut new hires’ wages down from $1.95, to $1.50.
Others are expected to follow suit, as companies whipsaw plant after plant.
Union leaders in the U.S. started this disaster in recent years, when “solidarity” disappeared from their vocabulary. They gave concession after concession–especially two-tier wages–as part of their “partnership” policies toward the corporations.
The dominoes began to fall. As soon as the 2007 Ford, GM and Chrysler contracts were settled, a Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio announced a new hire rate of $10. Toyota plants in the U.S. said they would start new hires at $12.50. Now the dominoes have fallen into Mexico.
Anyone who dares tell us that we have to accept less to compete with other workers is lying.
It’s not Mexican wages pulling U.S. wages down–it’s Big 3/U.S. wages pushing everything else down!