ILR Hosts ILERA Conference on Transition to Electric Vehicles
ILR's New York City conference center hosted a two-day ILERA conference, beginning on May 9, that explored labor and the transition to electric vehicles. Organized in part by Ian Greer, director of the Ithaca Co-Lab, Professor Harry Katz and Art Wheaton, director of labor studies, the conference and its 35 attendees aimed to develop a global understanding of the EV shift and its consequences for workers.
Academic researchers from Asia, Europe, North America and South America, as well as union representatives from three countries, and two global unions, presented round-table discussions and papers on the restructuring of the auto industry, labor market policies, union strategies and the social and ecological impacts of mineral extraction for EV production.
Click here to watch the recorded sessions and to see the corresponding slides
Central to the event was the call to submit papers, from which roughly 20 papers were selected for consideration in an upcoming Cornell University Press publication.
The program was as follows:
Session 1: Bargaining over the transition (Harry Katz, moderator)
“Uneven and unequal EV transitions: Cases from Benelux car, truck and component plants,” by Lynford Dor, Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), Marco Hauptmeier (Cardiff University), Yennef Vereycken (KU Leuven)
“The ecological transition as ‘green restructuring’? Concession bargaining in a French OEM 2013-2021,” by Juan Sebastian Carbonell (Université de Liège - Pragmapolis, GERPISA), Armanda Cetrulo (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies - Pisa, CEET), Angelo Moro (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia).
“Reinforcing the status quo or sparking a new industrial order? The EV transition and labor market dualism in Korea,” by Seongjae Cho (KLI) and Dongwoo Park (Cornell-ILR).
“Transformation or lock-in? How automotive suppliers and trade unions in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe are preparing for the transformation to electromobility,” by Martin Krzywdzinski (WZB), Patrik Gazo, Stefan Guga, Monika Martiskova, Tibor Meszmann, Katarzyna Rakowska.
Session 2: Union experiences in collective bargaining (Art Wheaton, moderator)
Roundtable: Thorsten Groeger (IG Metall), Christian Christen (RETRANETZ Berlin), Ray Jensen (UAW), and Georg Leutert (IndustriALL).
Session 3: Challenges for trade unions and labor movement (Mathieu Dupuis, moderator)
“The United States: A weak and unjust transition,” by Evren Dincer (Abdullah Gul University), Ian Greer (Cornell-ILR), Tobias Zimmermann (FU-Berlin).
“Power resources and union strategies in the transition to EV - Evidence from two Italian suppliers,” by Laura Leonelli (Milan).
“Industrial relations at the lithium mining in Chile,” by Lucas Cifuentes (Manchester).
“Trade unions in the age of disruptive transformation - Germany as a case study,” by Christian Christen (Retranetz Berlin-Brandenburg).
Session 4: Workers and workplaces (Ian Greer, moderator)
“Just transition in practice at an automotive supplier plant in Germany,” by Jule Klink and Anja Kirsch (FU Berlin).
“Green transition and Chinese investments: The emergence of hybrid labor regimes in the Hungarian automotive industry,” by Natasa Szabó (CEU Vienna).
“EV transition in the making - Impacts on workers and engineers in the German automotive industry,” by Sabine Pfeiffer (Erlangen-Nürnberg).
Session 5: The politics and policy of just transition (Art Wheaton, moderator)
Roundtable: Will Tucker (Jobs to Move America), Bruno Dobrusin (International Transport Workers Federation), Max Fazeli (UAW), Angelo DiCaro (UNIFOR).
Session 6: Industry policy and global production networks (Mathieu Dupuis, moderator)
“Caught in the low-end ICE trap: Turkey’s struggle for direction in the global EV transition,” by Evren Dincer (Abdullah Gul University).
“Government policies shaping automotive sector restructuring in North America and the EU: A labor-centered approach,” by Grzegorz Lechowski (WZB); Christian Pépin (UQ Outawais).
“Battery production and working conditions in the light of competitive Europeanization and global production networks,” by Stefanie Hürtgen (Salzburg), Stefan Schmalz (Jena) & Màrton Czirfusz.
Session 7: Skills and worker mobility (Ian Greer, moderator)
“The transformation of the auto service technicians in the electric vehicle value chain,” by Gregor Murray (Montreal), Julie Hagan (Montreal), Mathieu Dupuis (Laval).
“Just transition? Regimes of production and skill formation in the Chinese electric vehicle industry,” by Boy Luethje (Frankfurt) and Siqi Luo (Sun Yat-sen University).
“The electrification dilemma facing public transport workers,” by Bruno Dobrusin (International Transport Workers Federation).