SALUDOS II

As sure as I can see the sun rising and setting, I predicted that there would be something less than desirable happening as result of the over-played and over-extended strike at the VW plant in Puebla, Mexico. Also, as sure as sugar is sweet and vinegar is sour, the German company, after settling the dispute, declared that they will be withdrawing one half the originally planned investment here in Mexico in favor of investing in China.

I could make such a prediction since I was living the same set of circumstances while working as a Teamster in the U. S.. Working as a Teamster all my life was, personally, a rewarding experience monetarily speaking with all sorts of benefits, medical, dental, eyes, long vacations, paid holidays, in short the whole ball of wax. The fact that the Mafia was behind the entire union movement did not phase us as we were merrily trucking up and down the concrete slab every day of our lives. At the time, the important thing was to bring home the bacon for the family and who cared if the whole package was choreographed by a less than desirable organization.

End of a dream: With each negotiation for a new contract, the union´s demands were always up, up and away from reality. Finally, after years of excessive demands, the companies gradually, one by one, started filing chapter 11. The end result was, around 27 trucking companies in the metropolitan area of New York and New Jersey went belly-up deliberately to rid themselves of the union. The signal that a company was going to close was easy to spot. About one year before closing the doors, they would ask the employees to take a cut in pay or there would be no more job. Of course, the drivers had no recourse but to accept if they wanted to keep working. Almost to the day, after a lapse of one year, employees found the doors closed on Monday when reporting for work, this being done with no warning whatsoever.

I am not familiar with the actual function of union leaders here in Mexico, but Local 560 in New Jersey was a lesson in deceit and thievery. All officials drove brand new Cadillacs and thought they were above the law in all aspects. The president of the local was finally charged with stealing retirement funds and sentenced to jail.. The whole affair generated so much notoriety that the federal government finally stepped in and took control of the local for several years. The sad part is that while the union was a necessary evil in the past, their real goal was personal gain without regard to effects they had on the membership. In the end our local of some 30,000 members dwindled to less than 10,000 all in a space of about ten years.

Mexicans, more than anyone else should realize that foreign investment comes here because of cheap labor, as horrible as that sounds. The Volkswagon affair is proof positive that excessive wage and benefit demands will only drive them away to countries that are more than willing to work for less money. I understand completely how exciting it was to think of a big raise in salary, but is it really worth the loss of a job?

By
Bruce Stokes

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