Labor & Employment Law

Report: European Multinationals Violate Labor Standards In U.S.

By James Parks

Protestors march outside the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 2007 to demand justice for Deutsche Telekom workers.

A new report shows that many European-based multinationals follow international labor standards in their home country, but  do a 180  when they deal with workers in their U.S. subsidiaries.

The title of the report, ?A Strange Case,? is based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, ?The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr, Hyde,? said the report?s author Lance Compa, senior lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The European multinationals, like the Stevenson character, have two distinct personalities, Compa says. In Europe, where there are strong unions and tough labor laws that are vigorously enforced, the companies have no choice but to treat their workers with respect and abide by international standards.  

But in the United States, the companies take advantage of weak labor laws and lax enforcement to launch aggressive anti-union campaigns to prevent workers from exercising their freedom to join a union, Compa told a group of about 35 people during a forum today at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C. While many of the companies operate within U.S. laws, their behavior doesn?t come up to the international standards they follow in Europe

The report, released by Human Rights Watch, includes eight case studies of companies that actively fight workers? rights in their U.S. companies. The study looks at companies such as Deuthsche Telekom, the German parent of T-Mobile, which has allowed U.S. management to harass and intimidate workers for a decade to prevent them from joining a union. 

It is important for U.S. unions to build partnerships with the European unions that represent workers in the same industry, AFL-CIO Organizing Director Elizabeth Bunn said. National boundaries mean little to multinationals. By joining together across borders, workers can develop strategies and take action to balance the power of multinationals, she said.

 The report makes several recommendations, including:

•  Reforming the National Labor Relations Act to address widespread employer interference with workers? freedom to join unions and prohibit the permanent replacement of striking workers.
• Applying new, stronger sanctions against companies that violate workers? rights.
• Allowing workers to receive information from union advocates in non-work areas on non-work time in the workplace.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 17, 2010 (boomark / email).