Offshoring

...

TODAY, THOSE "market forces" are driving increasing numbers of
white-collar jobs overseas. The media is rife with stories about
"offshoring" of technology, financial and call center jobs to India, where
a large pool of highly educated English speakers offer a low-wage labor
pool for Corporate America.

The focus on India, however, is misplaced. According to a study by
McKinsey Consulting, of $20 billion in outsourcing revenue from the U.S.
in 2002, Ireland accounted for $8.3 billion; India for $7.7 billion; and
Canada, $3.7 billion. In fact, Canada also was one of two industrial
countries--Spain was the other--to have gained manufacturing jobs between
1995 and 2002, according to a recent study by Alliance Capital Management.

Overall, some 22 million factory jobs were eliminated worldwide over this
period--an overall loss of 11 percent. Even China saw a 15 percent decline
in factory jobs. The reason for much of this job loss is advances in
productivity--especially in the U.S.

"With productivity growing at an annual rate of 3 percent to 3.5 percent
rather than the expected 2 percent to 2.5 percent, the reason for the jobs
shortfall becomes clear," Business Week concluded. "Companies are using
information technology to cut costs--and that means that less labor is
needed." Given the global gut in industries from airlines to autos to
steel--the result of the boom years of the late 1990s--business is
reluctant to invest and hire more workers.

If China and India are blamed for U.S. job losses, it's in part because
Washington wants to use the issue to get trade concessions from those
countries. And, as with trade tensions in the past, racism plays a role.
The supposed threat of two billion-plus Indians and Chinese stealing
"American jobs" is seen as more politically effective than, say, blaming
Canada.

These dynamics can be seen in the AFL-CIO's formal complaint against
China, which blames that country's suppression of labor rights for low
wages that have allegedly led to the loss of 727,000 manufacturing jobs in
the U.S. While this approach seems to highlight the conditions of Chinese
workers, it nevertheless effectively allies the AFL-CIO with the
Republican China-bashers in Congress.

If U.S. unions want to challenge China's labor practices, they should step
up organizing at the 10 U.S. companies who are among China's top 40
exporters. And if the China-bashing is destructive, so too is relying on
employers in a "buy America" campaign. For example, steel tariffs enabled
companies to raise prices, but job losses and concessions have continued.

...

complete article by Lee Sustar:
http://www.socialistworker.org/2004-1/492/492_08_Offshore.shtml
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