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From: saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics
Subject: Re: Unions, onions, and things... The Saga Continues
Message-ID: <7581@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Apr-84 16:41:15 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.7581
Posted: Fri Apr 20 16:41:15 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Apr-84 01:02:26 EST
References: <725@ihuxp.UUCP> <3113@fortune.UUCP>, <729@ihuxp.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 39

> Are you saying that the costs of keeping the plant modern are greater
> than the shipping costs for thousands of ocean miles?  I definately
> find that hard to believe.  NO, I won't buy this.  The reason still
> can be put at the feet of overpriced labor.

You can also look at the problem from a different angle.  Our labor is not
overpriced, labor from other countries is UNDERpriced.  labour iJapan is
cheaper than it is in America, but Japanese laborers have many advantages
that American labourers do not have: job security, and more decision-making
power in the workplace.  Their society is also structured differently from
ours: it is a very traditional (dare I say feudal) society where everybody
has a place: nearly half of the workforce, women, is unpaid as it performs
housework which is not considered valuable.  This allows men to work much harder
at their jobs since housekeeping and child care is taken care of by women.
The structure is very efficient as nearly everybody has a place in the system.
This structure is also based on the idea of responsibility, something clearly
lacking in America: workers have a sense of responsibility towards their
employers, so will not do things like going on strike which will mean bad
business for the company.  In return the company is responsible for the security
and well-being of its workers and tries to provide a safe work environment and
financial security for the workers life.  A wife is responsible to her husband
to perform her duties as mother and caretaker of the house, but in return
husbands are responsible towards their wives to provide for them financially.
Whether people actually behave like that is another question, but the system
is still based on responsability.

If you look at thirld world countries with cheaper labour, you will also find
that not only is the labour cheaper, it is most of the time slave labour. 
Salaries are very low, people cannot afford basic health care, working
conditions are often very dangerous.  In the "free-trade" zone in Philipines
workers often work at gunpoint, to make sure they don't rebel.  In Costa
Rica banana plantation workers and their families are routinely sprayed with
pesticides.  In some United fruit plantations in central america, workers are
sometimes paid with "tokens" redeamable only the United Fruit stores.

So before you destroy the current system, take a look at the alternatives.

Sophie Quigley
...!{clyde,ihnp4,decvax,allegra}!watmath!saquigley