ITHACA, N.Y. -- Tony Ehrenreich, a South African labor leader who helped dismantle apartheid, called for an end to "globalized apartheid" when he spoke on campus April 7.

While "globalization is a reality and has many positive benefits, it is structured so the benefits go to the wealthiest countries, at the expense of the poorest," said Ehrenreich, the keynote speaker at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations' Union Days, April 6-8.

"We must find a way to respond that ensures [globalization] builds a better life for all people. We've got to seize the day and make sure we confront it." If we do not, inherent inequalities will tear the world apart, he warned.

Ehrenreich is regional secretary, Western Cape, of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and labor leader in residence at the ILR school.

"In South Africa we draw our inspiration from one of the greatest citizens of the world -- Nelson Mandela," noted Ehrenreich. The South African leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize taught that "the quest for building a world predicated on social justice is central to everyone," said Ehrenreich. "We try to inculcate those values in our trade union and extend it to trade unions around the world."

For unions, the legacy of the battle with apartheid is not only to respond to shop-floor issues but to whatever affects all members' lives, said Ehrenreich. And the lesson for poor countries struggling to survive in the era of globalization? "We must be careful never to get into a situation where we see each other as antagonists," he said.

Although South Africa has come a long way since the days when politics decreed that blacks and whites must live separately and vastly unequally, "we've unfortunately done little to change people's economic circumstances," noted Ehrenreich. Unemployment is at 40 percent in South Africa, and the country has "no social security system to blunt the edge of poverty." It also is saddled with huge international debts inherited from the apartheid regime.

Globalization only adds to the problem. "Countries like ours, with rich raw materials, are forced to export those materials and import costly products," at a net loss, said Ehrenreich. The end result: people at the bottom of the economy (more than half the population) have 70 percent less than they did 10 years ago, and people at the top have 12 percent more than a decade ago. What is needed are fairer trading arrangements and access among poor nations to low-cost versions of medicines that treat such deadly diseases as AIDS, he told the audience.

Ehrenreich believes that Mandela's vision for a better, more inclusive society holds the answer, both for South Africa's and the world's economic inequalities. "We must avoid talking about differences. Our main weapon is social solidarity and the ability to find empathy for each other's needs," he said.

"Unions in the Global Economy" was the overall theme of the ILR School's 2005 Union Days events. They included a panel discussion on international union campaigns, in which Ehrenreich took part, along with representatives from UNITE HERE, the United Auto Workers and Service Employees International Union. They also included a Social Justice Career Fair for Cornell students interested in careers in the labor movement and with labor-related nonprofits. In addition, ILR Professor Maria L. Cook and Assistant Visiting Professor Mark S. Anner led a discussion following the Cornell Cinema showing of "The Take," about autoworkers in Buenos Aires who occupy bankrupt businesses and create jobs. Organizers were ILR Associate Professor Risa Lieberwitz, chair of the Department of Collective Bargaining, Labor Law and Labor History, and department administrative assistant Rhonda Clouse.