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Workers of the world, unite? Fiom flies from Uaw, but the US blue collars are not at all in solidarity with the European ones

7 months ago babelfish

Workers of the world, unite? Fiom flies from Uaw, but the US blue collars are not at all in solidarity with the European ones

A delegation from Fiom-CGIL flew to Detroit to join the UAW pickets on strike against GM, Ford and Stellantis. But the US trade unions are the first to want the IRA which risks leaving millions of blue collar workers at home all over the world. Facts and insights

Fiom flies to Detroit, 'alongside the striking workers': this is the title of an ANSA campaign in the last few hours. Our unions, starving for massive battles like those that are taking place in these hours in the USA, are going to give their unsolicited support to their American colleagues, grappling with an epic and historic battle, in terms of purpose and proportions . But is it certain that a common front of workers can be created regardless of nationality? It is almost impossible, according to experts, and so far it has been the American unions themselves who have pushed to put their European counterparts in difficulty.

Here are facts and insights.

THE UAW STRIKE

The strike that blocked the three big sisters operating in the USA – General Motors, Stellantis and Ford – is still ongoing. The latest news coming from Uaw's social networks gives the employees of the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville united with those who in the past weeks have folded their arms waiting for a contract renewal that meets their needs.

Uaw via social media continues to publish photos of pickets arriving from all over America at a constant rate: they are generally very small groups, far from the oceanic demonstrations to which a European is accustomed when the unions organize a protest, but the overall number would now exceed 25 thousand workers on strike.

FORD'S PRINCE PLANT HIT

In particular, according to several observers, having managed to block the Ford truck plant in Kentucky would have been a masterstroke for Shawn Fain , the president of the UAW who is leading a protest in which, as we have already had the opportunity to write in weeks gone by, many of America's old trade unionists don't even believe it.

That's because the plant generates $25 billion in annual revenue, about a sixth of the company's global automotive revenue. And the Blue Oval has so far seemed the closest to coming to terms with the working class, so this new move could push it to capitulate.

“We waited long enough, but Ford didn't get the message,” lashed the UAW president. Because of the strike, the three companies sent home about 3,500 workers in early October.

FIOM FLYES FROM UAW

And here we return to the Ansa of the beginning. “A delegation of the Fiom-Cgil, led by the general secretary Michele De Palma, is traveling to Detroit to join the Uaw pickets and bring the solidarity of the Italian metalworkers to the workers on strike”, we read, in an atmosphere which seems Guareschian, taken from some novel by Don Camillo.

“On Thursday 12 October – we read – the delegation will support the picket line in front of the Stellantis assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio. The following day, Friday 13 October, the Fiom-Cgil delegation will join the striking workers at the Ford plant in Michigan, in Wayne, and will then visit the Solidarity House, headquarters of the Uaw; while in the afternoon he will reach the workers of the General Motors plant in Ypsilanti, also in Michigan. Finally, on Saturday 14 October, the delegation will participate in the picket of workers at the Stellantis Mopar spare parts distribution center in Romulus, Michigan".

AMERICANS ARE NOT SO SUPPORTIVE

However, there is an underlying theme: even if the employer is the same, the workers are on very distant fronts. Just look at how the US unions think about Biden's IRA, that aid package designed to attract capital to the US and which risks leaving millions and millions of metalworkers in Europe at home. This is pointed out, for example, by Francesco Nespoli, researcher at Lumsa, author of the publication “Fondata sul lavoro. Political and trade union communication of changing work", published by ADAPT University Press.

That too is an issue that Start has followed closely, reporting how all the main partners of the USA, from the EU to Japan, up to South Korea immediately banged their fists on the table demanding that America take it back since it violates the international trade agreements.

Here, it was the trade unions themselves who asked the White House to carry on, not caring about European complaints, with the Uaw in the lead , despite being aware that such protectionist measures risk seriously damaging the productive fabric in other countries. In short, Fiom's solidarity is welcome, but it is certainly too early to say "workers of the world, unite"…

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/lavoratori-di-tutto-il-mondo-unitevi-fiom-vola-da-uaw-ma-le-tute-blu-usa-non-sono-affatto-solidali-con-quelle-europee/ on Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:54:18 +0000.