Reply #13: Those powers are based on treaties

[anigbrowl]

The WTO isn't some external thing that goes around strongarming individual counties. It's more like an economic version of the UN. WTO rules are set by negotiation among the member countries. Naturally, this means the bigger economies carry somewhat more weight in setting policy (just like at the UN) but nations of all sizes have equal access to the dispute resolution process (again, just like the UN).

To be honest, I think the best route for labor is to argue for free movement of labor as well as capital, so that workers in WTO member countries are eventually able to compete on an equal basis, just as importers and exporters are able to compete on an equal basis (eventually; in practice countries at different stages of economic development have some flexibility in how the trade rules apply).

I have found myself wondering lately why more unions don't adopt a corporate structure, set up their members as shareholder-employees, and rent their members' services to companies who need staff, with the 'UnionCorps' taking on things like safety and skill training; the buying company gets the benefits of assured base skills and reduced administration, and the cost of these activities is built into the price.

To a certain extent, many unions are already structured this way legally speaking; for example, unions are treated as legal persons, same as corporations.