Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007 - (Page 53)

complain that they can’t compete with Mexican truckers willing to work longer hours for less money. That’s all the controversy over Mexican trucks is about, and all it has ever been about. It’s a power play by a powerful labor union desperate to remain relevant in an era of free trade, globalization and regional trade pacts. Teamster ofﬁcials know that if their members lose out on the extra business provided by transfers from Mexican trucks, those members could also lose conﬁdence in the union and its ability to protect them. Then membership could drop. So the union isn’t just ﬁghting for its members; it’s ﬁghting for its own survival. Union ofﬁcials say that this controversy is about outsourcing, and highway safety, and the worry that Mexican drivers don’t speak English, and the possibility that Mexican trucks could smuggle drugs or illegal immigrants. In light of the September 11 attacks, they’ve even argued that Mexican trucks might bring in potential terrorists. HISPANIC ENTERPRISE Let’s put the brakes on that nonsense. This ruckus is about none of those things. Those are just cultural hot buttons that union ofﬁcials push to get the public on their side. At their most shameful moments, many of these ofﬁcials have gone so far as to deliberately stoke nativist fears and stir anti-Mexican sentiment. Very shrewdly, and very cynically, the strategy seems to have been to zero in on what scares American about Mexico and Mexicans, and exploit it to the hilt. Worried about Mexican drug dealers and illegal immigration? The Teamsters hear you. Are you concerned that Mexican trucks might be sub-par, or that Mexican truckers might drive drunk? So is the union. Insistent that people who live and work in the United States—or, for that matter, even pass through—should learn English? The Teamsters are looking out for you. And these politics make for strange bedfellows. Union ofﬁcials who worry about falling wages are aligned with conservative Republicans who are just as worried about disappearing borders. Thankfully, most members of Congress saw through those tactics and pressed ahead. Nor were the courts persuaded that the impending arrival of Mexican trucks on U.S. roadways represented an “emergency” worthy of an injunction. And so, in September, the trucks were ﬁnally allowed onto U.S. roadways. Unfortunately, judging from what you hear on talk radio or read in letters to newspapers, some elements of the public seem to have bought into the scare tactics. And, if voters put pressure on Congress in the years to come, anything could happen. This controversy may have stalled for now, but it could rev up again. And our country would be worse for it. Ruben Navarrette, Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego UnionTribune, a nationally syndicated columnist with The Washington Post Writers Group, and a regular contributor of commentary to CNN.com and USA TODAY. 53 October/November 2007 http://CNN.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007

Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007 Contents BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Trendsetters BIZTECH: Personally Digital BizLife - Travel: The Mobile Meeting Motoring: Is What You Drive, Who You Are? Q&A - Fact Tank for the Hispanic Population Hispanic Commerce Cover Story: Tiles with Style Success & Motivation: Grammy Whammy Finance: Talking Code Event: Masterminds NCLR Report - Improving your Triple Bottom Line Politics & Government: Keep on Truckin' Managing: Avoiding an Identity Crisis Franchising: Beyond the Brand Finance & Investing - Talking Money Movers & Shakers Regional Report - Louisiana, Louisiana Chamber Focus - On the Island of Enchantment

Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007

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