ORGANIZED LABOR AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

WHEREAS, the globalization of the economy is proceeding at a rapid rate; and

WHEREAS, such globalization is being accelerated by cyberspace technology; and

WHEREAS, such globalization has resulted in major investment opportunities for almost all major corporations; and

WHEREAS, the availability of such cheap labor sources depresses wages in the U.S. and in all industrialized countries; and

WHEREAS, such global opportunities allow many corporations to weaken unions, reduce benefits, intimidate low-wage workers and can generally undermine collective bargaining; and

WHEREAS, European and American unions are particularly threatened by this phenomenon; and

WHEREAS, traditional Marxist/Socialist counters to such developments have been discredited by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the widespread acceptance of poorly regulated laissez-faire capitalism; and

WHEREAS, many political parties are promoting right-wing agendas in response to this international competition:

RESOLVED, that AFT, through its affiliation and influence in global teacher unions and through its influence with the AFL-CIO, urge international organized labor to cooperate more fully, forcefully and creatively to the presence of this globalization threat; and

RESOLVED, that AFT, through its various affiliations and associations, urge the formation of an international labor "think tank"; and

RESOLVED, that such think tank be financed by contributions from all unions, including Asian, Latin, American and European; and

RESOLVED, that such think tank serve as a source of scholarly research, organizing techniques, historical perspectives and international public relations to counter the anti-union animus being promoted by some multinational corporations; and

RESOLVED, that AFT’s traditional respect for human rights be a centerpiece of such think tank philosophy; and

RESOLVED, that AFT continue to promote respect for the human right to organize as a means to counter the "Social Darwinian" aspects of the "cyberspace laissez-faire" capitalism; and

RESOLVED, that AFT, through its influence and association, promote the idea of a youth for labor movement, modeled on the Peace Corps, in which young people from all continents would be trained in union organization work and in the promotion of human rights as part of multi-national economic protocols developed in response to the technological revolution.