Berlitz Ad "How to Strike in Japanese"

[BeyondThePale21]

Berlitz teachers were seriously underpaid in the 80s...and still are

[cellphonetrickery]

2005 salary freeze- Begunto struck & got a pay thaw for ALL instructors. (The parent company claims 5 years record profits in 2008 See Benesse site investor relations. Makes sense?)

In 1992 Berlitz Japan increased contract lesson burdens 30 lessons to 40 - de facto 33 % increase in required availability w/ little or no comp. The Union fought 8 years to return to 30 unit/week.

A new 40 unit contract teacher gets the same unit pay as back in the mid 1980s. The Union is fighting against it.

[cellphonetrickery]

Actually, there were some attempts at starting unions in America. Teachers' working conditions change country by country regarding Labor laws. Check local labor standards offices or a general union headquarters.

In 2005, Mr. Noda, President of Berlitz International froze salaries in 40% of the worldwide Berlitz schools. Berlitz Union Tokyo struck to get their wages unfrozen. Wages were unfrozen later in the year with a retroactive payback. It is now 5 months into the 2008 strike.

[who9and10]

Does Berlitz have a union in the US?  Do employees in the US have the same problems?