Chapter 179： union issues

This time, the mission of Bao Zixuan in Detroit is only half completed, and now the contract has been completed. All that remains, then, is to negotiate with union organizations and workers' representatives. Although the United States is a capitalist society, workers in the auto industry are uncles, and labor unions are more like an emperor. Let alone a new army like Black Cloud who has just entered the American auto industry, even century-old auto giants like Ford and GM have nothing to do with labor unions.

When the negotiation first started, the trade union organization intervened, but it stopped after seeing that the Black Cloud Group had the intention to back down. Now that everything has been settled, the trade union organization has started to come out again, asking Bao Zixuan to increase the wages of the workers and reduce the working hours. At the same time, they also threatened to strike, if the general demand is fine. Now, workers are directly required to double their wages and reduce their working hours by one-third; isn't this taking the black cloud as a worthy child!

No company can bear such conditions, and Bao Zixuan did not expect things to turn out like this. I've only heard that the UAW organization is abominable and somewhat greedy. I didn't want it to be so excessive, no wonder many companies are moving out of the United States. It would be better to increase shipping costs to build factories in Asia, these workers are too difficult to serve. It is unbearable for many people that an entrepreneur actually asks them to do something. Bao Zixuan is no exception, and on the third day after the acquisition, he will meet with union members and worker representatives.

After the United States suffered an economic crisis in the 1930s, President Roosevelt implemented the "New Deal". With the introduction of the National Industrial Recovery Act and the National Labor Relations Act, American labor unions gained legal status and the right to collective bargaining. The northern city of Detroit in the United States is the concentration of American automobile manufacturing enterprises. The United Auto Workers Union was established in Detroit in 1930. After the union was formed, most of the workers at the Big Three were unionized. But the problem that followed was that the management of the three major companies boycotted the union. In order to prevent the union from developing members within the company, the management found a lot of "scabs" among the workers. These people would report the news of the union's activities to the managers, and the managers would then be dissatisfied with the workers who joined the union of workers punished or fired.

In 1936, the U.S. economy had basically come out of the crisis, and the production of automobiles also reached the highest point in history. Among the three major companies, General Motors ranked first in the production of automobiles, its products were very popular, and the wages of workers were also high. at Ford and Chrysler. Still, workers were dissatisfied, seeing managers earn significantly more, at $200,000 a year, relative to their $1,000 a month salary. Moreover, the working conditions in the factory are very bad. Workers are not allowed to go to the toilet during working hours, and they work six days a week for 12-14 hours a day. The assembly line in the workshop is running very fast, which causes many workers to be injured. In July 1936, the temperature in General Motors' Flint plant reached 38 degrees, causing several workers to die of heatstroke, and the company did not pay compensation to their families. These circumstances made workers realize that in order to increase wages and benefits, the union must be recognized by the management in the factory, and collective bargaining must be conducted.

At the end of 1936, the United Auto Workers wrote a letter to General Motors, requesting to negotiate with the company on the issue of collective bargaining. But it was rejected by the employer. On December 28, a worker at GM's Cleveland plant pulled the switch on the assembly line and the workers went on strike. In the past, workers would walk out of the factory after a strike, but this time they didn't. They sat down quietly at their respective jobs after the strike, which created a new form of strike -- a sit-in strike. The workers also set up a picket line at the entrance of the workshop to prevent temporary workers recruited by the employer from entering the workshop to replace their jobs. At the same time, the workers carefully protected the machinery and equipment in the workshop, so as not to leave an excuse for the management to "destroy the company's property". The strike involved 200,000 workers.

After the strike, Governor Frank Murphy of Michigan, where Detroit is located, had planned to use the military and police to force workers to return to work. Before he did it, he called Lewis, the president of the U.S. Industrial Union, which the UAW belongs to, and threatened to use force. But Lewis's answer was, "I'll fight the workers to the end, and I'll go to the biggest window in the factory, open it, take off my coat, strip off my shirt, and expose my chest. If you order a shot, let your first A bullet went into my chest, and the moment I fell, you would hear your grandfather's voice in your ear asking - Frank, are you sure you're doing the right thing?". Later, Murphy recalled, Lewis' last sentence touched him too much because his grandfather was hanged after being arrested during an uprising. In the end, instead of ordering the military and police to enter the factory to suppress the workers, Murphy simply asked them to isolate union pickets and company-hired security in case of conflict. At the same time, Murphy also put pressure on GM's management to negotiate with the union.

After the strike at all GM plants, the union also adopted a segregation strategy and did not organize strikes at Ford and Chrysler. As a result, the two companies went full steam ahead and quickly threatened GM's market. GM shareholders couldn't take it anymore, and they put pressure on management to negotiate with the union as soon as possible to end the strike. To resume production.

In February 1937, after a 44-day strike, the workers and the union finally obtained promises from GM's management: not to prevent workers from joining workers, not to discriminate against union members, and to raise wages. On February 11, the union announced the resumption of work. This strike has laid the foundation for the collective bargaining mechanism of the US auto manufacturing industry. Through a round of collective bargaining over several years, the wages and benefits of American auto workers have also been continuously increased.

Looking at the previous strike records and negotiating goals organized by the American Auto Union, it may have been to get a better working environment in the past. Now that trade unions have turned sour, he's more of a political tool for some people to get their way. If the workers go on strike just after the acquisition is completed, it will definitely be bad news for Heiyun’s overseas expansion, and it will also have an impact on Bao Zixuan’s reputation.

Bao Zixuan also knows that it is really necessary to properly improve the welfare of workers, but the welfare of American workers is already the highest in the world. This made him very unwilling, but now he can only bite the bullet. After all, when the U.S. Department of Commerce approved the acquisition of Jeep and Dodge by the Black Cloud Group, it required that the two auto companies not be moved out of the United States, and more than 200 workers could not be fired.

Now it seems that all this is a pit, and you must be more careful when acquiring American companies in the future. If you are not careful, you will be brought into the ditch. The Ministry of Commerce is one aspect, and the workers and trade unions are also another aspect.

These people have grown up through **** struggles, and giants with deep roots in the United States like General Motors have been devastated. Now, Heiyun, the cross-border dragon, really needs to keep a low profile.

Bao Zixuan is collecting information on workers and trade unions, and the trade union is also collecting information on Bao Zixuan and Heiyun Group. This is about workers' welfare, treatment, and the right to speak in trade union organizations. Both sides are gearing up for the most reasonable solution.

The workers hope to get the treatment they want, and the Black Cloud Group hopes to resolve this matter as soon as possible. The development of the first hybrid car is nearing completion, and now is the time for a factory prototype.

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