Doctoral Dissertation Research: Globalization, Market Reform, and Dynamics of Labor Unrest in the Automobile Industry

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

SES-0623349 Beverly Silver Lu Zhang Over the past two decades, the Chinese automobile industry has grown dramatically, fueled largely by massive foreign investment through joint ventures. This rapid growth in output has gone hand-in-hand with radical changes in the organization of production, including mass layoffs from state-owned enterprises, the intensification of the pace of work and increased workloads, and the spread of Taylorism and related principles of management. The researchl analyzes the impact of these radical changes on labor relations in the Chinese automobile industry. The specific aims of this project are: (1) to analyze the dynamics of labor-management relations at the point of production in the Chinese automobile industry, including the role played by the Party, the government, and the official trade unions; (2) to examine the nature and extent of grievances expressed by Chinese autoworkers, and whether any hidden or open forms of labor unrest are evident; and (3) to map the broader local, national and global processes (including competitive dynamics within the world automobile industry) and how these might be influencing trends in labor relations at the shop-floor. The dissertation will be based on intense fieldwork at five major automobile assembly enterprises that represent different ownership types and geographic locations in China. The Co-PI will spend at least one month at each company, visiting production lines, doing direct observation at the shop floor, interviewing workers, managers, and factory union staff, and examining company documents. The findings of the proposed research should be of interest to policymakers and scholars in several fields. Most research on labor relations in China has focused either on light manufacturing industries in the south or on declining state-owned enterprises in the "rust belt" northeast, thus, providing a partial and somewhat biased view of labor relations in China as a whole. This analysis of the automobile industry will contribute a contrasting industrial case for comparison, i.e., an industry that is capital-intensive and experiencing rapid growth in output. Beyond its implications for a fuller understanding of the dynamics of Chinese society, the study will also provide fresh empirical material and insights for evaluating important debates currently taking place among social scientists and policy makers concerning the impact of globalization on labor and living standards worldwide. The results of the research will be disseminated widely through presentations at academic and policy-oriented conferences as well as through written reports in publications for scholarly and more general audiences.