Globalization: Collective Bargaining

Richard D. Vogel (2008) points out that the three megatrends of increasing globalization, rising global inequality and growing poverty, and "massive, irreversible, and probably catastrophic environmental damage caused by unregulated economic activity" are not only interrelated but are all made worse by "unrestrained free trade capitalism which relentlessly exploits resources and people for profit." He defines globalization as "the domination of the world economy by multinational corporations through the imposition of free trade policies and practices" a

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competition, Toyota's solution was to pay surwages to its workers-an addition to wages that puts its wages "significantly higher than average local wages but well below wages established by collective bargaining" (Vogel, 2008). As an example, the 2006 starting hourly wage of a TMMTX assembly line worker was $15.25 per hour, 25% more than the average local manufacturing wage of $11.55 per hour, a difference that yielded an annual income of $31,720 versus $24,024 (Vogel, 2008). The effectiveness of Toyota's strategy was excellent. The additional $7,700 per year meant that working families could afford better food, healthcare, and living quarters (Vogel, 2008). The strategy was also perfectly legal, as there is no law against offering workers a surwage. The ethics of the strategy, however, are problematic. Surwages paid to workers in the same plant or community have "divisive psychological effects," as those that receive the surwages become defensive, knowing that they are "in a privileged position," and those without the surwages feel resentful (Vogel, 2008). Moreover, the strategy suppresses union organizing, because it is "an unjustifiable risk for one side and seems futile for the other" (Vogel, 2008). Vogel (200
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Approximate Word count = 1443
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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