China Empowering Unions

China has had considerable problems with unrest among it's people related to the widening gap between the very rich and the poor. They are now embarking on labor reform allowing union organizing and the empowering the worker to demand better working conditions. The "Ugly" American businessman is protesting and threatening to stop building factories. Horrors of horrors, WalMart has had to accept a union shop in China.
Class warfare in globalization is as prevalent as it is in American politics.
New York Times

China is planning to adopt a new law that seeks to crack down on sweatshops and protect workers’ rights by giving labor unions real power for the first time since it introduced market forces in the 1980’s.


The move, which underscores the government’s growing concern about the widening income gap and threats of social unrest, is setting off a battle with American and other foreign corporations that have lobbied against it by hinting that they may build fewer factories here.


The proposed rules are being considered after the Chinese Communist Party endorsed a new doctrine that will put greater emphasis on tackling the severe side effects of the country’s remarkable growth.


Whether the foreign corporations will follow through on their warnings is unclear because of the many advantages of being in China — even with restrictions and higher costs that may stem from the new law. It could go into effect as early as next May.


It would apply to all companies in China, but its emphasis is on foreign-owned companies and the suppliers to those companies.


[...]The Chinese government proposal, for example, would make it more difficult to lay off workers, a condition that some companies contend would be so onerous that they might slow their investments in China.


[...]On Friday, Global Labor Strategies, a group that supports labor rights policies, is expected to release a report in New York and Boston denouncing American corporations for opposing legislation that would give Chinese workers stronger rights.


“You have big corporations opposing basically modest reforms,” said Tim Costello, an official of the group and a longtime labor union advocate. “This flies in the face of the idea that globalization and corporations will raise standards around the world.”