That's a lesson Mercedes is learning. In 2023, Germany's Supply Chain Act went into effect, which bans large corporations with a German presence from using child labor, violating health and safety standards, and (critically) interfering with union organizers:

bafa.de/EN/Supply_Chain_Act/Ov…

3/

Across the ocean, in the USA, Mercedes has a preference for building its cars in the American South, the so-called "right to work" states where US labor law is routinely flouted and unions are thin on the ground. As *The American Prospect*'s Harold Meyerson writes, the only non-union Mercedes factories in the world are in the US:

prospect.org/labor/2024-04-08-…

4/

American Workers Get Some Help From an Enlightened German Law

As the UAW seeks to unionize an Alabama Mercedes factory, a new German law requires the company not to go union-busting.

^{Harold Meyerson (The American Prospect)}

But American workers - *especially southern workers* - are on an organizing tear, unionizing their workplaces at a rate not seen in generations. Their unprecedented success is down to their commitment, solidarity and shrewd tactics - all buoyed by a refreshingly pro-worker NLRB, who have workers' backs in ways also not seen since the Carter administration:

pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/pro…

Workers at Mercedes' factory in Vance, Alabama are trying to join the UAW, and Mercedes is playing dirty, using the tried-and-true union-busting tactics that have held workplace democracy at bay for decades. The UAW has lodged a complaint with the NLRB, naturally:

commondreams.org/news/alabama-…

But the UAW has *also* filed a complaint with BAFA, the German regulator in charge of the Supply Chain Act, seeking penalties against Mercedes-Benz Group AG:

uaw.org/uaw-files-charges-in-g…

6/

UAW Files Charges in Germany Against Mercedes-Benz: Company's Anti-Union Campaign Against U.S. Autoworkers Violates New German Law on Global Supply Chain Practices - UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America

The UAW filed charges today against Mercedes-Benz Group AG for violating Germany’s new law on global supply chain practices.

^{Justin Mayhugh (UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America)}

That's a huge deal, because the German Supply Chain Act *goes hard*. If Mercedes is convicted of union-busting in Alabama, its German parent-company faces a fine of 2% of its global total revenue, and will no longer be eligible to sell products to the German government. *Chomp*.

7/

Now, the German Supply Chain Act is new, and this is the first petition filed by a non-German union with BAFA, so it's not a slam dunk. But supermajorities of Mercedes workers at the Alabama factory have signed UAW cards, and the election is going to happen in May or June. And the UAW - under new leadership, thanks to a revolution that overthrew the corrupt old guard - has its sights set on *all* the auto-makers in the American south.

8/

As Meyerson writes, the south is America's onshore offshore, a regulatory haven where corporations pay minimal or no tax and are free to abuse their workers, pollute, and corrupt local governments with a free hand (no wonder American industry is flocking to these states). Meyerson: "The economic impact of unionizing the South, in other words, could almost be placed in the same category as reshoring work that had gone to China."

9/

The German Supply Chain Act was passed with the help of Germany's powerful labor unions, in an act of solidarity with workers employed by German companies all over the world. This is that unexpected benefit to globalism: the fact that Mercedes has extrusions into both the American and German political spheres means that both American and German workers can collaborate to bring it to heel.

10/

The same is true for antitrust regulators. The multinational corporations that are in regulators' crosshairs in the US, the EU, the UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea and beyond use the same playbook in every country. That's doubly true of Big Tech companies, who literally run the same code - embodying the same illegal practices - on servers in every country.

11/

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has led the pack on convening summits where antitrust enforcers from all over the world gather to compare notes and collaborate on enforcement strategies:

eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-te…

12/

CMA Data, Technology and Analytics Conference 2022

Join us on 15-16 June. Sign up now to attend virtually or register your interest for in-person attendance (limited availability).

^Eventbrite

And the CMA's Digital Markets Unit - which boasts the the largest tech staff of any competition regulator in the world - produces detailed market studies that turn out to be roadmaps for other territories' enforces to follow - like this mobile market study:

assets.publishing.service.gov.…

Which was extensively referenced in the EU during the planning of the Digital Markets Act, and in the US Congress for similar legislation:

congress.gov/bill/117th-congre…

13/

It also helped enforcers in Japan:

asia.nikkei.com/Business/Techn…

And South Korea:

reuters.com/technology/skorea-…

Just as Mercedes workers in Germany and the USA share a common enemy, allowing for coordinated action that takes advantage of vulnerable flanks wherever they are found, anti-monopoly enforcers are sharing notes, evidence, and tactics to strike at multinationals that are bigger than most countries - but not when those countries combine.

14/

Japan to crack down on Apple and Google app store monopolies

Antitrust curbs to require tech giants to allow third-party app platforms and billing

^{Staff Writer (Nikkei Asia)}

This is an unexpected upside to global monopolies: when we all share a common enemy, we've got endless opportunities for coordinated offenses and devastating pincer maneuvers.

15/

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel *The Bezzle*! Catch me TODAY (Apr 10) at UCLA, then Chicago (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/nar…

eof/

We're starting to see enshittification parasitation:

youtu.be/VZHPMxZQKM0

Third parties taking advantage of the unequal power relationship to pull off some kind of arbitrage. Punching people while they're down, for profit.

Amazon sellers see increase in scam returns, Wall Street Journal reports

Returning Amazon packages may be an easy process for customers, but sellers are reporting growing problems. The Wall Street Journal reported that vendors are...

^YouTube