Steelworkers chief says corporate neglect of values hurts industry
By MATT BRAMANTI
News Writer
America's vital industrial economy — and its national security — is suffering due to corporate neglect of American values, according to Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America.
Gerard's speech, the 24th in the Lloyd McBride Lecture Series, focused on the contrast between the values of labor unions and "the global trading regime," particularly the World Trade Organization.
In speaking of trade unions' values, he referred to the heroics of unionized firefighters, police officers and rescue crews in New York and Washington as examples of "compassion, caring, of working collectively for the good of the community." Gerard contrasted this with the declaration that "economics systems that are based on individualism" have resulted in the loss of a million American manufacturing jobs in the last 12 months.
Gerard stated that the corporate culture's focus on profit has led to more steel being produced abroad, particularly in China and the former Soviet republics, sometimes employing child labor and paying sweatshop wages. He explained that this foreign steel is frequently "dumped" into American markets at prices that U.S. firms simply cannot compete with. This "illegally subsidized steel," said Gerard, has put "24 of the nation's steel companies into bankruptcy in the past 30 months."
In speaking of a clash of values, Gerard alleged that the principles of sovereign government are frequently subverted by WTO actions, and by corporations' lawsuits under the North American Free Trade Agreement. In referring to the WTO's closed-door meetings regarding trade policy, Gerard asked "What is it that they're hiding?" He argued that lawsuits brought by corporations against governments often succeed, allowing corporations to overturn the authority of the countries in which they operate. Gerard further suggested that this pall of secrecy has led to environmentally dangerous measures that would not survive the light of day.
Gerard encouraged his audience, mostly members of the United Steelworkers of America, to attend a rally being held in Merrillville, Ind., to mark the beginning of International Trade Commission hearings. These proceedings will gather testimony about the faltering American steel industry, and its problems in competing with "illegally dumped foreign steel." The rally will begin at 5 p.m. along Broadway. Hearings will begin at the Radisson Hotel the following morning at 9 a.m.
The speech was met with exceedingly positive reactions. Tom Hargrove, president of the United Steelworkers of America Local 1010 in East Chicago, agreed that "we're losing our ability to produce steel domestically" and offered his expectation that thousands will attend the rally to "keep the issue on the table."
In a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Gerard stressed the importance of American steel to the security of the United States.
"You can't have national security without a strong industrial economy," he said, "and you can't have a strong industrial economy without a strong domestic steel industry."
Contact Matt Bramanti at
bramanti.1@nd.edu
All News Stories for Thursday, September 27, 2001
