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Recent Framework Agreements Indicate the Continued Influence of European Labor Unions in North America

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Littler Mendelson

Labor unions in the United States continue to search for international support in unionizing American and European employers operating in North America.  Within the last few weeks, the United Steelworkers (USW) announced a framework agreement with Spanish union MONDRAGON Internacional, S.A., and the Communications Workers of America reached an accord with German union ver.di.  The latter accord created a new, affiliated organization called T Union, the primary goal of which is to unionize the U.S. employees of T-Mobile.  The USW agreement with MONDRAGON is less specific in nature, but comes upon the heels of previous agreements between USW and U.K.-based Unite as well as the German industrial union IG Metall.

International relationships with European unions give U.S. labor organizations the opportunity to pressure European companies operating in North America.  That pressure is intended to lead to agreements where employers remain neutral as to union organizing and agree to abide by a card check (instead of an election) to determine representation.  Relationships between U.S. and European unions also may create pressure on U.S. companies operating abroad.  At stake in those situations is a union-requested agreement to enter into a code of conduct supporting global union organizing in the broader name of employee "freedom of association."

Employers in the European Union often are sufficiently concerned about their relationships with E.U. labor unions to agree to direct North American subsidiaries to limit their response to union organizing.  Sometimes employers do so before fully considering the disadvantages of operating with unions in the U.S.  Whatever the goal, U.S. and E.U. labor unions will undoubtedly continue to seek pacts that support global unionization and place greater pressure on multinational employers.

This entry was written by Gavin Appleby.
Tags: Codes of Conduct, International Framework Agreements, Neutrality Agreements
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