GGR209H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Rust Belt, Temporary Work, North American Free Trade Agreement
Document Summary
North american logistics: predominantly low wage & nonunion, outside of public postal. Shared interest of brands, supplier firms and local governments in de-emphasizing labour. General under-reporting of labour news in canadian media. Political implications of global value chains & production. Upgrading" in the gpn: process through which a firm or region moves into more profitable, innovative, or skillintensive niches of the supply chain, where barriers to entry are higher. This can involve incorporating new functions; for example, taking on more complex assembly processes or component design work. (gutelius 2015: 54) Often assumed to be beneficial for workers, but not necessarily. Differences: degree of centralized control & geographic dispersion of types of activities. Internalized (intra firm) transaction (highly vertically integrated) between corporation"s. Externalized (inter firm) transaction with independent companies or franchising. 75% of cars must be manufactured in north america to avoid tariffs, up from 62. 5% 40-45% auto content by workers earning min by 2023.
