Striking to Gain Attention

If we think of labor disputes and troubles with wage and benefit concerns to be limited to the US we are seriously deluded in our view of the world and the way it operates. While there are countries around the world that have the benefit of provided health care, and some places offer higher wages than we do in the US, the troubles that concern many workers are a global concern with the same desires by workers in any industry with the same challenges being faced by the companies that employ these workers in their factories.

The automotive industry in the US has a long history of strong unionization with the UAW being the most powerful and influential union in the country. In early days of the organized workforce, simple things such as working conditions, minimum working ages, wage increases, and benefits were what was fought for. Strikes were fairly common which is one way that workers are able to express their own power in the relationship between workers and the company that employs them. This isn’t a local event and recently we saw similar action take place in Germany, affecting several of the brands we know and admire.

German Engineering Halted

There is a romantic feeling to the term German Engineering. When you hear this team you often expect the vehicle you drive to be crafted perfectly and offer you an amazing drive on the roads that you travel on a regular basis. This thought and process was halted recently when the production team at Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche all staged a strike that lasted three days and cost the companies millions of dollars in lost production due to a dispute between the automotive union in the country and the companies that put their names on these vehicles.

The full three days of strikes that took place happened because the demands of the workforce aren’t being met which called for an eight-percent pay increase over the next 27 months for the 3.9 million metal and engineering works in this economy. The workers have watched as the economy of Germany has grown exponentially over the past six years with a record low unemployment rate. This fact seems to demand that a pay increase is needed and the IG Metall labor union has threatened an additional strike if the employers fail to offer the concessions to the workers and give them what they ask for.The estimated cost of the strike was nearly $248 million in lost revenues. The offer on the table for this group of workers is currently a 6.8-percent wage increase.

Another demand for shorter work hours was met with rejections unless the company also has the right to increase hours when necessary which can happen with more vehicles need to be produced than in the past. Certainly, there will be a close to this challenge take place in the near future, but the lost production is something these companies won’t be able to get back.