A New Labor Giant?

Interesting piece in the Guardian about a new super-sized labor union to take on the multinationals:

The move, to be announced this week, is seen by union leaders as the first step towards creating a single union that can present a united front to multinational companies.

Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus, said: 'Our aim is to create a powerful single union that can transcend borders to challenge the global forces of capital. I envisage a functioning, if loosely federal, multinational organisation within the next decade.'

Amicus is itself planning to merge with the Transport & General Workers' Union in May to create a 2 million-strong labour organisation. Between IG-Metall's 2.4 million members, the USW's 1.2 million and 730,000 at the Machinists', a merger would create an organisation with some 6.3 million members.

Simpson added that multinational companies 'trade off countries and workforces against each other' and that forging such solidarity agreements as have been signed with German and US unions is the best way to combat such practices.

This is a step in the right direction, but unless it is able to move into the third world areas where all of the jobs are disappearing to, I'm not sure how effective it will be.