labor - Migrant workers take less for granted

A background article in the Washington Post suggest that the erstwhile docile Chinese migrant workers in southern parts of China might lost their patience. Jack Chiang, CEO of the Stella shoe manufacturer that was hit by a massive strike earlier this year sees three reasons in an interview with the Washington Post.
"On the one hand, he acknowledged, assembly-line wages have not risen in recent years nearly as fast as the cost of living. On the other, image-conscious U.S. retailers who buy Dongguan's shoes have demanded better treatment and human rights counseling for the workers, encouraging them to step up and make demands for change.
Finally, Chiang added, broader general freedoms in the country have reduced the Chinese people's traditional fear of authority, and not just among factory workers."
The official trade union ACFTU is not doing its job, says both managers and workers. "With no channels of communication from the assembly line to the manager's office, the only outlets for worker dissatisfaction have been walkouts and confrontations."