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To the barricades? Rising worker anger boils over in France – What about in U.S.?

Alliance@IBM wants a 'silent' strike on March 31

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — The world’s labor markets are a power keg ready to explode, and IBM is only making matters worse with the layoffs it is making today despite the international giant's being in the black. Did you catch the story out of France where workers basically took a 3M executive hostage after a round of layoffs?

Five times in recent weeks, workers went to the barricades by taking executives hostage in layoff situations.

Here’s how The Associated Press described what’s happening as the recession drives more people to unemployment:

“Anger has been growing markedly on both sides of the Atlantic over job cuts and high bonuses for executives whose companies were kept afloat with billions of euros (dollars) in taxpayers' money.

“In France, that anger has led to kidnappings, marches and strikes in a country with a long tradition of labor unrest.”

Other incidents making headlines, from violence to vandalism, make bus tours of rich AIG executives’ estates pale in comparison. But there can be no doubt that populist anger over corporate layoffs, bonuses, bailouts and compensation packages is reaching a boiling point.

Look at bankrupt Nortel, for example. The company is going to pay more than $40 million in bonuses to keep what it calls key employees and executives while refusing to pay severance to laid-off workers.

Now comes the latest batch of layoffs at IBM.

How Alliance@IBM, the union seeking to represent Big Blue workers, is reacting to the latest “resource action” is tame compared with what’s happening in France.

“Take action on job cuts and offshoring!” Alliance says on its Web site.

The action, set for March 31:

• Wear black and blue to signify the pain caused by job cuts.
• Take a 15 minute “silent” break at 1 pm EDT (Noon Central, 11 am Mountain and 10 am Pacific). No work, no sametime, no e-mails, no meetings.
• Spouses of terminated employees e-mail or write to IBM CEO Sam Palmisano detailing the effect that the job loss will have on their family.

The Alliance includes the CEO’s e-mail address: sam@us.ibm.com

Palmisano can expect some flame mail, but compared with the goings on in France and elsewhere, a few electronic bits is nothing.

The Skinny

WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…