FIAT article- from Italy.

[ComradeMan]

The tragedy of Fiat: new contract, longer hours, shorter breaks

Jan 13 2011 17:47

On January 13th and 14th, over 5,000 Fiat workers at Turin's main factory vote on a new contract which drastically increases hours, reduces breaks and restricts industrial action.

http://libcom.org/news/tragedy-fiat-new-contract-longer-hours-shorter-breaks-13012011

[TheCultofAbeLincoln]

That's quite unfortunate, though predictable, and it's quite a tough spot for those workers to be in. Something that is perhaps unfortunate about globalization is the ability of corporations to move to other regions where they can pay workers less. In the US, the shift in automaking has been to the "right-to-work" anti-union south (where kia, toyota, and now VW are heavily invested) or to Mexico (I know Ford especially has put more production there in the last decade or so). This has left unions like the UAW relatively powerless, a position it seems the Fiat workers find themselves.

Where does it seem corporations in western or southern europe like Italy move for cheap labor? I imagine that since the fall of the USSR, eastern europe is quite an exploitable labor market.

[Robert]

How do you see the vote going?

[RGacky3]

This is the same thing that happened in America duing the 1980s, the unions were bullied into taking crappy contracts, and what happened? The Unions got undermined and ultimately destroyed.

The mistake that American Unions made in that time was thinking they could work with manegement, like compromise, as if manegement will just give up trying to cut costs

I hope this does'nt get signed and I hope direct action gets taken, THIS is when you need to fight hardest, because once you start giving stuff up you've undermined the workers authority.

Unfortunately south Italy (as I understand it) is very poor, an the working class is'nt that strong, so it might be difficult, but this is definately a fight worth fighting.

[ComradeMan]

Unfortunately south Italy (as I understand it) is very poor, an the working class is'nt that strong, so it might be difficult, but this is definately a fight worth fighting.

Turin is in the North of Italy, most of the main industrial areas are in the Central and Northern regions- especially around Milan and Turin, so it's not so much a southern Italian problem in one sense. In another sense it is because southern Italians have migrated to the north historically to work in the industrial sector. This whole thing is shit though, it's basically holding workers to ransom with the threat of "accept this" or "accept unemployment".

Another "scandal" is the fact that the clothing industry has outsourced so much to China that the label "Made in Italy" is rather meaningless these days. A garment only has to be finished in Italy, i.e. a label put on it or the buttons or whatever to be classified as "Made in Italy"- the fact that most of it was produced elsewhere is neither here nor there!

Of course the price stays the same/higher even though the labour costs and production costs are lower. ;)

[RGacky3]

Turin is in the North of Italy

My bad, I missread the article.


This whole thing is shit though, it's basically holding workers to ransom with the threat of "accept this" or "accept unemployment".


I'm not saying its an empty threat, its not, in my short spout of organizing it was also threatened in a way (selective firings, firing threats and so on), however, assuming that giving in to such threats will keep you safe from them is naive. In order to outsource a company NEEDS worker complicity, you can't just start from scratch, you also need political complicity.


Another "scandal" is the fact that the clothing industry has outsourced so much to China that the label "Made in Italy" is rather meaningless these days. A garment only has to be finished in Italy, i.e. a label put on it or the buttons or whatever to be classified as "Made in Italy"- the fact that most of it was produced elsewhere is neither here nor there!


Union Labeling is a way to combat that.

Its a very dificult situation, but in my opinion there is no way they should take the deal, if the deal is taken by the union imo they should wildcat until it is renegociated, if a threat to lay off people is successfull it WILL be used again.

Manegement compromise is not always a no no, but not under threats of lay offs.

This is the mistake of American labor in the 80s.

[Bud Struggle]

I once had a Fiat 128 Spyder. Nice. :)

[Magón]

So I'm guessing no general strike was called for, or anything to protest this on a larger scale?

( Also, on a comedic note (if you know about cars and stuff that is): Fix It Again Tony. :lol: )

[ComradeMan]

So I'm guessing no general strike was called for, or anything to protest this on a larger scale?

( Also, on a comedic note (if you know about cars and stuff that is): Fix It Again Tony. :lol: )

Nope.... :(

But then the workers have families to feed and bills to pay and this is why they know they can pull this kind of stunt.

As usual there will be months of debating and arguing and accusation and counter-accusation and it will never end....

[RGacky3]

A general strike (meaning cross industry and citywide) is very very unlikely, a more plausible strategy would be wildcat strikes by the factory workers, if the union takes the deal wildcat strikes would be the best thing, hopefully they don't take the deal in which case Fiat is in trouble.

If the union takes the deal, 100% sure, all the jobs that would have been lost had the deal not been taken will be lost anyway, I guarantee it.

This deal just reeks of pre-emtive measures to start lay offs.

Either the Union refuses the deal and strikes, or the wildcat strikes need to start, in this case I would even advocate selective takeovers, as a plausible measure.