L.A. labor group signs first pact with Chinese labor
The Los Angeles County Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, on Thursday announced the first formal relationship between a U.S. and Chinese labor council.
The 'sister cities' agreement brings together the 800,000-member LACLF and the six million-member Shanghai Municipal Trade Union Council to share information about workplaces, bargaining and labor organizing.
LACLF chief Maria Elena Durazo told the Sacramento Bee that as corporations act and plan more globally, it is imperative for workers and labor organizations to do the same.
“We’re going to share research about corporations,” Durazo told the Bee, outlining the terms of the agreement. “We’re going to share information about workplaces and the companies that are organized already, or will be, or are planning to be organized.”
First on the list of shared information, according to Durazo, are next year's contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and marine transportation companies at West Coast ports.
She said information exchange makes sense on this topic because the ILWU will be negotiating with many of the same shipping lines present in Shanghai.