E-Edition
Get the latest news delivered daily!
Get the latest news delivered daily!
E-Edition
Trending:
Labor unions may not be front-page news in America, but they are front and center in the lives of many around the world.
My home country of Argentina is home to more than 3,000 labor unions. Since the 1930s, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT)—the country’s largest union association—has been a force in Argentine politics, receiving money from the government, expanding its control over the economy, and stifling non-union business activity. The CGT claims more than three million union members, representing over two-thirds of Argentina’s unionized workforce. Roughly 40 percent of the country’s workforce is unionized.
This means that the free market is virtually impossible to find in Argentina. Business dealings are routinely beset by union complaints, informal pressure tactics, and formal strikes. Earlier this year, a national strike by grain transporters halted deliveries of soy and corn—key exports for Argentina, which is the global leader in soy derivatives and the world’s second-largest exporter of corn. Because of transport union strikes, exporters reported losses of more than $1 billion due to four days of lost productivity alone.
Worse yet, Argentina’s unions are synonymous with corruption. In a country where 55 percent of registered workers are government employees and the inflation rate is even higher than that (64 percent), one institution is widely considered the country’s most corrupt: Organized labor. More than 80 percent of Argentines believe that trade unions are the most corrupt institutions in the country, well ahead of the government and mainstream media.
But even corruption isn’t the worst of it. For decades, union officials have shown utter disregard for the rule of law, resorting to bullying, intimidation, and outright violence whenever and wherever those tactics may undermine companies in their crosshairs. Union Argentina embraces a militant tradition, exerting influence over business by any means necessary. According to Luisa Montuschi, economist and director of the Department of Business Sciences at the University of CEMA, “There is no competition in Argentine trade unionism, which is organized in a monopolistic manner, leading to the accumulation of power and corruption.”
In many ways, Argentina’s organized labor is akin to the mafia, facing accusations of extortion and wielding its power over politicians. In some cases, politicians leave office to appease union officials—and stay safe.
Which brings us to Veronica Razzini, with whom I recently spoke on my podcast. She is an entrepreneur from Rosario (my home city), who established a pro-business movement called “MEAB” or “Movimiento Empresarial Antibloqueo” (the “Anti-Blockade Business Movement”), advocating on behalf of entrepreneurship to stop the mafioso-style tactics of organized labor.
As head of a company that manufactures construction materials, Razzini is a prime target of union leadership. Over the years, she has been coerced into bribing different union officials, who block the doors of her business and stop her staff from working. But, by launching MEAB, Razzini has decided to stand up to union officials and speak her conscience.
The only problem is that Argentina’s unions don’t make dissent easy. In late July, union enforcers fired three shots at Razzini’s building, threatening that her company would be shut down for good. But she soldiers on, continuing to fight back against union threats. In her words, “We are tired of living under extortion.”
Let Razzini’s story be a warning against government-backed union power. As union organizers make inroads at companies like Starbucks, Americans should brace for unintended consequences. Violence may not be imminent like it is in Argentina, but union interference in the economy has not been known to produce lower prices and more harmonious working conditions.
To the contrary, U.S. consumers can expect work stoppages, staffing shortages, and higher prices to become more common due to union involvement. Over the last decade, nearly 80,000 Unfair Labor Practice complaints have been filed against union officials—and that’s in the United States. Union bosses play dirty.
So tread carefully or brace for the consequences. Argentinians like Veronica Razzini brace for them every day of their lives.
Antonella Marty serves as the director of public relations and influencer relations at Atlas Network.
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.
Get the latest news delivered daily!
Copyright © 2022 MediaNews Group
About Author
