Mollie\'s Job William Adler\'s Mollie\'s

Mollie's Job

William Adler's Mollie's Job exposes the dark side of globalization: its social, economic, and political ramifications. Adler focuses specifically on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in a thorough and thought-provoking analysis. The exploitation of workers like Mollie James, Dorothy Carter, and Balbina Duque remains the central theme of Mollie's Job. Free trade has led to "fundamental changes in the economy," as well as dramatic shifts in political, economic, and social norms (Adler, 2001, p. 16). Mainly, the pretense of free trade has enabled a rise in "plutocracy," and a demise of democracy according to Adler (2001, p. 16).

Workers like Mollie James and Balbina Duque have been systematically disenfranchised, both as citizens of their respective countries of residence and as workers of companies that ostensibly value their labor. For Mollie, the loss of livelihood is more than just a loss of wages. Mollie James was the first female union steward at her company, and her job was a source of "great pride" to her and her family (Adler, 2001, p. 15).

Central to the problems facing Mollie and Balbina is the issue of organized labor and the ways that NAFTA and other free trade agreements undermine the legal rights of workers to organize. The labor market has become far too exploitable under NAFTA, which allows companies to usurp their ethical responsibilities by capitalizing on undervalued labor in countries like Mexico. It is certainly not up to Balbina Duque to extricate herself from a situation in which she has no political, social, or economic power. To overcome her situation requires the cooperation and collaboration of other workers in her position. Yet if labor unions are squelched by governments as well as by corporate management, the result is basically a form of slavery. "The disposability of workers and the portability of work" might not be overt forms of slavery but they are means by which to exploit workers and maintain income disparity (16).

An increased stigma against organized labor has led to diminished democratic rights for American citizens. Citizens of Mexico like Balbina Duque might never have known the power of unions as Mollie James knew. Moreover, Adler (2001) points out that the prevailing political party in Mexico, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, (PRI) was complicit in stymieing organized labor. If organized labor is an expression of democratic ideals, then the governments of the United States and Mexico are acting in overtly tyrannical ways.

What needs to happen to remedy situations like that of the three women Adler profiles in Mollie's Job is a rapid infusion of ethics into the modern political system. Yet in order for that to happen, massive, widespread social change is required. The current Occupy Wall Street protests are a promising example of how awareness is being raised about the pitfalls of capitalism. Without dismantling capitalist enterprise, organized labor can at least make business more accountable to humanitarian ideals. The owners of the means of production have been exploiting human labor since societies shifted from being hunters and gatherers to being sedentary and stable. Workers have periodically been successful in garnering back some of their rights. The past several hundred years have revealed the power of the people in overcoming despotic rule. However, the democratic revolutions that gave rise to the United States of America have lost their meaning. Capitalism has overridden many of the benefits that have been gained by workers, such as during the early phases of organized labor in America. The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) had once gained great political power but that power has since been wrested away by corrupt governments in collusion with big business.

Adler reveals that poverty is systemic: a sign of a corrupt system. Mollie James' and Balbina Duque's only chance of extricating themselves from poverty is to inject more political power and energy back into the formation of labor unions. The power of the people to overcome and overthrow corrupt regimes has been proven time and again throughout human history; the struggle is not an easy one but there is no way that Duque or any of her colleagues around the world are going to achieve any upward social mobility within the current system. Besides just the suppression of labor unions and the collusion between the PRI and big business, other examples of how systematic and systemic the problem is include the glaring idiocy of the bailouts. The Clinton administration arranged a record-breaking fifty billion dollars to the very people who were creating the problems that James and Duque faced. As wealthy investors enjoyed the fruits of what Adler calls a "bitter bailout," the workers who provide the sustenance for companies watch their lives be destroyed (p. 294).

As long as free trade is touted as a panacea for the failing economy, situations like that of James and Duque are bound to persist. As long as the media is complicit in presenting free trade agreements as being beneficial for everyone, stories like that of James and Duque are going to continue. Stories like those of Duque can be seen all around the world, as large companies located in the United States and Western Europe exploit cheap labor from beyond their political boundaries. Free trade agreements allow businesses to ignore issues like social justice and accountability to environmental ethics and ethical standards.

The international economic relationship between countries like the United States and Mexico should become healthier by being rooted in shared ethical standards. Businesses should be allowed to flourish but within the boundaries of ethical duty and moral responsibility. Governments are elected by the people; and it is the government that ultimately has the power to remedy the situation. However, government officials that are corrupt will continue to pander to big businesses rather than focus on the needs of the people.