Sanyo
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” If one talks to any worker long enough Ð one discovers that his loyalty not simply economicÐ…In
the end, he will tell you that the union is the only institution that insures and protects the Ðdignity as a worker, that prevents him from losing his personal identity, and from being transformed into an infinitesimal unit in one huge and abstract “factor of production.”
After reading this paper, I have come to realize the need for unions to act as intermediaries between the management and employees, and is especially important when MNCs establish subsidiaries in foreign countries. Even though there has been a change in attitude towards unions, the role that they play as an organizational forceÐ…. In my view, the misunderstandings that took place could have been solved if a union was incorporated with the management. For example, in the case of AT&T, unions were consulted before the establishment of the plant. This to some extent solved many of the labor problems which varied from hiring, wages to labor relations .AT&T was also aware in advance of the characteristics of the kind of unions they were dealing with i.e. the legal boundaries, political, social and organizational capabilities o unions. I will therefore dierentiate the American type o union/labor related organization rom the Japanese one, this way I eel some o the events that took place can be explained. This may prove to be a diicult task since some o the concepts may be the same but the interpretation is not the same. The only answer to such kind o conlicts can be understood room one industry to another and how it interpretes this concept.
EATURES O JAPANESE AND AMERICAN UNION/LABOR RELATED ORGANIZATIONS AND HOW THEY DIERENTIATE.
According to Wayne Cascio union membership in America has shrunk in the private sector, and he attributes this to the trend in changing industrial relations which have or are losing power. The lose o power by unions is a result o our interrelated actors; global competition, growth o service industries, corporate downsizing and the willingness o irms to move overseas. However in the case o japanese unions, the existance o Shunto hoshiki ( The Spring Labor Oensive), helps to overcome the weaknesses o enterprise unionism. Inions hence are an integral partt o the Japanese working society.
As far as unionization goes, unions are generally much less troublesome than in the United States. Union membership has been declining in Japan. In 1975, 34% of all employees were unionized, but in 1987 only 28% were. Also, unions are formed along corporate and not industry line. Labor federations in Japan do exist, but they are very loosely tied together. Because of the corporate nature of unions, and because of generally good labor-management relations, when