Mexican Labor Unions and Economic Reforms Over the Past 20 Years
INTRODUCTION:
Since labor unions in Mexico were originally formed in the early 1900s, they have maintained a unique system of collaboration and collusion with the government of Mexico. Though many may refer to their system as one of “corruption,” it is a system that has become so deeply imbedded in the relationship between labor unions and the government, that it is now a well-understood unofficial network. Over the past 20 years in Mexico, a great deal of progress has been made toward the liberalization of the Mexican markets. Previously government-owned companies have been privatized, foreign investment has boomed, and a once one-party system has just recently produced its first democratically elected opposing party president. But how helpful have the labor unions been to this progress? Generally, labor unions would be one of a society’s greatest opponents to such things as privatization, causing many difficulties to the progress of the economy, however in the case of Mexico, I contend that labor unions have, in fact, been a beneficial component to the progress. The unions have contributed through their collaboration with the government, their suppression of wages, their maintenance of a balanced governmental system, and their contributions to democracy. Though it cannot be claimed that all of their contributions to the economic development of the past 20 years in Mexico has been positive, it can be claimed that Mexico’s unique style of government-labor union coordination has acted in many unusually beneficial ways.
LABOR UNION HISTORY:
Up until 1931, no organized labor union had ever been recognized by the Mexican government. In fact, unde...
... middle of paper ...
...rms
in Latin America. Cambridge University Press: USA
Mujica, Jorge García. (2002). Situación Económica y Prospectos. Resumen para la
Síntesis Económica de México: La Ciudad de México.
Otero, Rafael. (1999). Effects of Labor Unions on Regional Economic Development.
Ph.D. Dessertation. The Universtiy of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX.
Otero, Rafael, and José A. Pagan. (2001). Unions and Job Queuing in Mexico’s
Maquiladoras. Working Paper. The University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg,
TX.
Panagides, Alexis and Harry Anthony Patrinos. (1994). “Union-Nonunion Wage
Differntials in the Developing World: A Case Study of Mexico.” The World
Bank, Latin America and the Caribbean, Country Dept. Policy Research Working
Paper 1269: Washington DC
Rose-Ackerman, Susan. (1999). Corruption and Government. Cambridge University
Press: USA
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
...most important manufactured goods and, once the domestic goals were achieved, to export finished products. Mexican capital, Mexican industry and Mexican raw materials would be used in this important endeavor. If foreigners wanted to invest, they were restricted to manufacturing industries rather than extractive ones. Even in manufacturing, foreign investments could not control the majority of interest in any company: the so-called 51% rule”. With Aleman’s new emphasis on the economy, “far from wanting to organize the lower classes for social change, Alemán sought to keep them pacified. Corporatism suited the purpose, because just as it could be used to mobilize, it could also be used to immobilize, by subjecting labor and peasant unions to government control. Reflecting the priority on stability, the party was renamed Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).”
Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni...
Beginning in the late 1700’s and growing rapidly even today, labor unions form the backbone for the American workforce and continue to fight for the common interests of workers around the country. As we look at the history of these unions, we see powerful individuals such as Terrence Powderly, Samuel Gompers, and Eugene Debs rise up as leaders in a newfound movement that protected the rights of the common worker and ensured better wages, more reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for those people (History). The rise of these labor unions also warranted new legislation that would protect against child labor in factories and give health benefits to workers who were either retired or injured, but everyone was not on board with the idea of foundations working to protect the interests of the common worker. Conflict with their industries lead to many strikes across the country in the coal, steel, and railroad industries, and several of these would ultimately end up leading to bloodshed. However, the existence of labor unions in the United States and their influence on their respective industries still resonates today, and many of our modern ideals that we have today carry over from what these labor unions fought for during through the Industrial Revolution.
External advocacy and political involvement is deeply engrained in the culture of labor unions. Bill Fletcher Jr. writes myth 8: “the union uses our money for political action and I have no say in the matter,” in his novel “They’re Bankrupting Us” And 20 Other Myths about Unions. In this myth, Bill Fletcher Jr. addresses unions and how they take political action. Labor unions often take political action in a controversial way, while not always getting full advantage of their work.
Throughout its history Mexico has had many revolutions. The most famous perhaps is the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920. The people of Mexico were getting tired of the dictator rule of President Porfino Diaz. People of all classes were fighting in the revolution. The middle and upper classes were dissatisfied with the President’s ways. The lower and working class people had many factors such as poor working conditions, inflation, inferior housing, low wages, and deficient social services. Within the classes everyone was fighting; men, women, and children all contributed to the fight for freedom from Diaz (Baxman 2). This revolution proved to be the rise and fall of many leaders.
To understand the best ways of managing myself as a potential team leader I have examined the relationship between time and stress management. I scrutinized the way I manage my own time by keeping a time log also surveying colleagues in a questionnaire, to explore the importance of time management and its relationship to the causes and symptoms of stress. My overall aim is to minimize my own stress and become a more effective leader.
Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
The history of political instability in Mexico and its need for revolution is very complex and dates back to the colonization of Mexico by the Spaniards in the 1500s. However, many aspects of the social situation of Mexico when the Revolution broke out can be attributed to the thirty-year dictatorship of President Porfrio Diaz, prior to 1911. The Revolution began in November of 1910 in an effort to overthrow the Diaz dictatorship. Under the Diaz presidency, a small minority of people, primarily relatives and friends, were in ...
There are a variety of definitions of time management. Past researchers and authors, refer to the definition that time management involves the process of determining needs, setting goals to achieve and prioritizing and planning tasks. (Lakein, Alan., 1973). Being effective in time management is key in order to be successful in college and beyond. In college it can determine your grade on a test or paper. When you are not conscious of time and lose track of it, it can hurt you in the long run. It is important to have a schedule or calendar on tasks you need to finish. You do not want to wait until the last minute to begin doing an assignment. Research shows that students who procrastinated on assignments did poorly on the assignment than those who did not
In the workplace, stress can have some strong physical and mental effects on employees. To best understand stress, it is first important to define it. Stress is defined as “a feeling of tension that occurs when a person perceives that a given situation is about to exceed one’s ability to cope and consequently could endanger one’s well being” (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2011). Stress on the job is usually the result of people feeling inadequate and unable to perform the given duties of a position at a high level. This could be the result of not having the tools necessary to complete the work or having an outside need that is unable to be met while performing duties. Today, we’ll examine different types of stress and the effects that stress can have on individuals and the workplace.
The limitation of this essay is that no survey has been conducted, and so further research could be done regarding significant issues in time management.
Long – term stress can even require the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, and depression; it can be a main cause of moodiness and frustration. Many of us are aware of the physical symptoms of stress-muscle pain, rapid breathing or an increased pulse. At the same time, they also suffer from emotional of stress which can be like roller coaster of highs or lows. emotional effects rang from emotional overeating to a feeling of being overwhelmed and pressure. stress impact many other components, which leads to difficulties in making decisions, loss sense humor, poorer concentration, negative thinking. As can be seen, stress nearly brings serious effects to people. Apart from the effects above, it can be the main reason which creates your decreased productivity at work. stress makes people less control their pace work, which leads to dissatisfaction. about 40% employees said that they are burned out because of work-related stress and loss $300 billion each year in the workplace . In addition, your relationship with people around also become worsens because of your stress. In fact, stress makes people puzzled and their life can undergo a considerable
With the realization of the potential of environmental and personal factors to serve as causes of stress, I am able to bring out the positive attributes in my many roles (student, father, husband and worker) and responsibilities. The next step for me was to channel these roles into a challenge stressor and use these as motivators to not only cope with stress but to improve outcomes in each of my roles. I found time management to be a strength that I possess based on my personality trait. Consequently I utilized my time management skills to prioritize and handle the demands of each of my roles.