Saturday, September 04, 2010
Unionizing in Europe is one thing, but it’s quite another for European firms doing business in the United States. Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims many European companies that publicly embrace workers’ rights have actually undermined American employees’ efforts to bargain collectively.
HRW’s latest report singles out businesses like Germany-based Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Post’s DHL, UK-based Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets and G4S Wackenhut security, France-based Sodexo food services and Saint-Gobain industrial equipment, Norway-based Kongsberg Automotive, and the Netherlands’ Gamma Holding.
“European multinational firms have carried out aggressive campaigns to keep workers in the United States from organizing and bargaining, violating international standards and, often, US labor laws,” according to HRW.
In some cases, European companies have forced American workers to attend anti-union meetings and threatened employees who advocate forming unions. According to the report, “Sodexo threatened, interrogated, and fired workers who tried to form a union.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
US: European Corporate Hypocrisy (Human Rights Watch)
A Strange Case (Human Rights Watch)
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