DOCUMENT RESUME ED 360 557 CE 064 351 AUTHOR Hecker, Steven, Ed.; Hallock, Margaret, Ed. TITLE Labor in a Global Economy. Perspectives from the U.S. and Canada. Conference Proceedings (Eugene, Oregon, September 1990). INSTITUTION Oregon Univ., Eugene. Labor Education and Research Center. REPORT NO ISBN-0-87114-153-1 PUB DATE 91 1 NOTE 311p. PUB TYPE Collected Works Conference Proceedings (021) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Competition; *Economics; Employer Employee Relationship; Foreign Countries; Forestry; *Global Approach; Health Care Costs; International Cooperation; International Relations; *International Trade; Labor Legislation; *Labor Market; *Labor Relations; Occupational Safety and Health; *Unions; World Affairs; World Problems IDENTIFIERS *Canada; United States ABSTRACT The following papers are included: "Introduction: Labor in a Global Economy" (Hecker, Hallock); "Labor ina Global Economy" (Marshall); "Canadian Labor Strategies fora Global Economy" (Carr); "Recent Developments in the Canadian PoliticalEconomy" (Watkins); "Labor and Politics in the U.S. and Canada"(Bernard); "The Political Action Strategy of the Washington StateLabor Council" (Kenney); "Restructuring in Industrial Relationsand the Role for Labor" (Verma); "Trade, Competition, andJobs: An Internationalist Strategy" (Dorman); "Labor Alternatives to InternationalCompetition" (Donohue); "Challenging the Ethic ofCompetitiveness: What's at Stake for Labor" (Gerard); "An International Mobilization Strategy" (Cohen); "Mobilizing across Borders: Unions andMultinational Corporations" (Pomeroy); "Expanding Labor's Agenda: Community Coalitions, Capital Strategies, and Economic Development" (Swinney); "Labor Has No Choice But to Play the CapitalStrategies Game" (Tusler); "Achieving Authentic Labor MarketFlexibility: A North-American Union Perspective" (Marschall); "AustralianUnion Movement Strategy" (Ogden); "Flexible Labor Markets andLabor Training--An American and International Analysis" (Deutsch); "Flexibility, Job Security, and Labor Market Policy" (Flumian);"The Impact of International Capitalon Australian Labor" (Wheelwright); "A Most Un-labourlike Experience--SixYears of a Labour Government in New Zealand and Its Impact on Organized Labor" (Harbridge);"The New Work Force: Management and Labor Strategies" (Nussbaum);"The Contingent Workforce in Canada: Problems and Solutions" (MacPhail); "A Multicultural Framework for Worker Education" (LaLuz); "The Politics of Privatization" (Clements); "FightingPrivatization: The British Columbia Experience" (Shields); "TheRight to Organize: Labor Law and Its Impact in British Columbia" (Lanyon, Edwards); "Organizing in Canada: Adapting to ChangingConditions" (Oleksiuk); "Organizing Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy" (Quan);"The Deficiency of the Voluntary ComplianceModel as a Public Policy Instrument in Workplace Health and Safety in Canada" (Sass); "Occupational Health and Safety Twenty Yearsafter OSHA" (Baker); "Pattern Bargaining in the Pacific NorthwestLumber and Sawmill Industiy: 1980-1989" (Widenor); "Pattern Bargaining in the Wood Products Industry in Western Canada" (MacLellan): "Current Issues and Future Strategies for Forest-Product Unions" (Scott); "Paying Too Much, Buying Too Little: U.S. Medical Care on the Critical List" (Schoen); "The Uninsurd and Rising Health Care Costs" (Brown); "Health Care: Lessons from Canada" (Schreck, Petrie); and "The Role of the States in Health Care Reform" (Kitzhaber). (YLB) IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY Perspectives from the US. and Canada Steven Hecker Margaret Hallock editors University of Oregon Books Labor Education and Research Center University of Oregon U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION U,ix e ni l dutarroNv Research and Improyernew PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS E D 0 CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMA t ION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER .ERICr I ih.s ddrumenr has bee, rebriCsClu,P0 as feCelvNi 'MIT Ice oe,so, nr orgarazairdn or,g.nabnej .1 t m.,,,, changes t.a.e beer. :ade :(..erpfeve vt-12))et ,epIcou, bee Q.,ahly ------- Po.,tS 0, .8eve nr ndrn.,,aytaled.n.....ydo, ne,1 Ob ,s.1 her essa.,y represerd clf., ,a . TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES rrER. pos.I.,, 0. Pd... r INFORMA lION CENTER IERICI tIEST COPY AVArifilll © 1991 by the University of Oregon and the Labor Education and Research Center. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 91-24239 International Standard Book No. 0-87114-153-1 Labor Education and Research Ce .ter University of Oregon Eugene OR 97403 (503) 346-5054 ,3 Contents Foreword and Acknowledgements 1 Introduction: Labor in a Global Economy 2 Steven Hecker and Margaret Ha Rock Section 1 The Global Economy, Free Trade, and Labor: The Strategic Choices 9 Labor in a Global Economy 10 Ray Marshall Canadian Labor Strategies for a Global Economy 25 Shirley C .E. Carr Recent Developments in the Canadian Political Economy 30 Mel Wcalems Section 2 U.S. and Canada: Comparative Political and Industrial Relations Systems 33 Labor and Politics in the U.S. and Canada 35 Elaine l3ernard The Political Action Strategy of the Washington State Labor Council 44 Lawrence Kenney Restructuring in Industrial Relations and the Role for Labor 47 Anil Verna Section 3 Options for Labor: Labcr Standards, Capital Strategies, and International Labor Solidarity 62 Trade, Competition, and Jobs: An Internationalist Strategy 64 Peter Dorman Labor Alternatives to International Competition 72 Peter Donohue Challenging the Ethic of Competitiveness: What's at Stake for Labor 82 Leo Gerard An International Mobilization Strategy 87 Larry Cohen Mobilizing Across Borders: Unions and Multinational Corporations 92 Fred Pomeroy Expanding Labor's Agenda: Community Coalitions, Capital Strategies, and Economic Development 96 Dan Swinney Labor Has No Choice But to Play the Capital Strategies Game 103 Jim Tusler 4 Labor in a Global Economy Section 4 Flexibility, the Nature of Work, and Labor Market Policy 106 Achieving Authentic Labor Market Flexibility: A North-American Union Perspective 107 Daniel Marschall Australian Union Movement Strategy 116 Max Ogden Flexible Labor Markets and Labor TrainingAn Arn Prican and International Analysis 120 Steven Deutsch Flexibility, Job Security and Labor Market Policy 139 Maryantonett Flumian Section 5 Labor and Globalization Down Under 145 The Impact of International Capital on Australian Labor 146 Ted Wheelwrigla A Most Un-labourlike ExperienceSix Years of a Labour Government in New Zealand and Its Impact on Organized Labor 152 Raymond Hart/ridge Section 6 Representing the New Work force 163 The New Work Force: Management and Labor Strategies 164 Karen Nussbaum a The Contingent Workforce in Canada: Problems and Solutions 170 Joy MacPhail A Multicultural Framework for Worker Education 174 Jose La Luz Section 7 Privatization of Public ServicesConcepts and Strategies 177 The Politics of Privatization: Public It's Ours, Private It's Theirs 178 Laurie Clements Fighting Privitization: The British Columbia Experience 189 John T. Shields Section 8 Labor Law and Organizing in the U.S. and Canada 195 The Right to Organize: Labor Law and Its Impact in British Columbia 196 Stan Lanyon and Robert Edwards Organizing in Canada: Adapting to Changing Conditions 221 Keith Oleksiuk Organizing Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy 225 Katie Quan iv 5 Labor in a Global Economy Section 9 Occupational Safety and Health in a Charging Environment 229 The Deficiency of the Voluntary Compliance Model as a Public Policy Instrument in Workplace Health and Safety in Canada 23 1 Robert Sass Occupational Health and Safety Twenty Years after OSHA 243 Robin Baker Section 10 Labor and Forest Products: An Industry in Transition 250 Pattern Bargaining in the Pacific Northwest Lumber and Sawmill Industry: 1980-1989 252 Marcus Widenor Pattern Bargaining in the Wood Products Industry in Western Canada 263 Norman MacLellan Current Issues and Future Strategies for Forest-Product Unions 270 Denny Scott Section 11 Health Care: The U.S. Crisis and Lessons from Canada 276 Paying Too Much, Buying Too Little: U.S. Medical Care on the Critical List 278 Cathy Schoen The Uninsured and Rising Health Care Costs: The Problems and What We Can Do about Them 286 E. Richard Brown Health Care: Lessons From Canada 296 David D. Schreck and Paul Petrie The Role of the States in Health Care Reform 301 John A. Kitzhaber Foreword and Acknowledgements A phrase that was often heard to describe the situation of U.S. labor unions in the 1980s was "crisis and opportunity." This duality, borrowed from the Chinese, often has seemed unduly weighted to the crisis side. The U.S.-Canadian "Labor in a Global Economy" conference did not flinch from the crisis, but had as its intention the opening of a dialogue across borders on the opportunities and strategies for labor in a period of rapid global change. It has been gratifying in the months since the conference to see the rapid expansion of this dialogue, spurred both by external events such as the North American free trade negotiations and by the recognition within the union and labor relations communities of the U.S. and Canada that such discussions are essential in confronting globalization and economic restructuring. International conferences are challenging to organize, even when the parties share a common language and a common border. There are many organizations and individuals who contributed to making the conference and this volume a reality. Our first thanks must go to the British Columbia Federation of Labour and its president, Ken Georgetti. Without