[Opinion] Ulsan, The Next Detroit

The state of Michigan in the United States is a hotbed of union movements. It is home to the big three automobile makers, and Detroit serves as a mecca for the mighty automobile labor union. Workers working in the same factories as their grandfathers and fathers believe firmly that the union protects their American dreams and saves their jobs and salaries. However, as Japanese cars are taking over and factories are closing down one by one, some are predicting Detroit will become the next “ghost town.”

When the Michigan Mackinac public policy center researched the rise and fall in manufacturing jobs from 1970 to 2000, it found that while 1,430,000 jobs were created in 22 states, 2,180,000 disappeared in others. The Taft-Hartley Act enacted in 1947 prohibits closed-shop policies that allow only union workers to be employed and illegal union acts. The 22 states that legislated the right-to-work law founded on the Taft-Hartley Act experienced flourishing economies. Meanwhile, Michigan, with its flourishing hard-core unions, saw the opposite. Since 2001, nationwide GDP has increased by 9 percent, with only Michigan’s decreasing among states.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Michigan, feeling a crisis coming on, has recently begun to reclaim the right to work. This spring, the CEO of a U.S. computer software company criticized the irresponsibility of the union and advocated a right-to-work law. 56 percent of residents were in favor.

Alabama, a poorer state than Michigan, is now threatening to overtake Michigan within 3 years thanks to a right-to-work law. Hyundai Motors also built a factory in Alabama in 2005.

The era of the hard-core labor union fighting against employers for the rights of laborers during industrialization is gone. Competition is getting fierce due to globalization. The big three automobile companies are ready to demand unprecedented compromises with the union. The people who live in Michigan, a state that is larger than North and South Korea put together, have realized the greatest union movement is the right to work.

In Korea, Hyundai Motors is about to get dragged into a whirlpool of political strikes again due to an anti-FTA strike by the Korean Metal Workers’ Union. The citizens of Ulsan are desperate to avoid the strikes, but the union seems set on making Ulsan the Detroit of Korea.

Kim Sun-deok, Editorialist, yuri@donga.com