Texas Labor Against the War

(TxLAW note:  U.S. Labor Against the War played an active role in this conference, partnering with Iraqi union reps in a workshop on what’s going on in the Iraqi labor movement and its struggles with the Iraqi government.  Check out labourstart.org.)

Online Activists Gather from Around Globe to Jumpstart Labor Movement

By Stuart Elliott, from In These Times, July 13, 2010

Benedicto Martinez Orozco marches in support of McMaster University workers during the LabourStart conference, held from July 9 to 11 in Ontario, Canada.   (Photo by Stuart Elliott)

More than 200 people from 28 countries attend LabourStart’s first public conference

HAMILTON, ONTARIO—Sometimes it’s hard to understand the importance of an event or an organization when you’re involved in it. As a volunteer correspondent for LabourStart.org and a participant in its “Act Now”  campaigns, I obviously think LabourStart an important project. But I really didn’t really comprehend its potential until I attended the first public LabourStart conference at McMaster University’s School of Labour Studies in Hamilton, Ontario.

“As unions confront a 21st century global capitalism, which is imposing a race to the bottom to union-free environments, unions must use new technologies to create a new labor internationalism,” said Eric Lee, founding editor of Labour Start. “The mission of LabourStart is to promote those technologies and to practice a consistent internationalism.”

LabourStart is an international labor news and campaigning site, run on a shoestring and powered by nearly 800 volunteer correspondents. Every day  the site publishes links to labor news in 23 different languages, and its news feeds appear on more than 800 union websites. It conducts e-mail campaigns in eight different languages.

There was some trepidation among LabourStart leaders about whether an Internet-based, low budget union news and campaigning site could attract an audience of union activists oustide its most committed corespondents. Particularly since, unlike the recently concluded ICTU conference, this was not a delegated meeting.

But the conference was able to attract over 200 participants from more than 28 countries. Attendees ranged from presidents of national unions, to representatives of Global Union Federations, to local union officers, to staffers, to grassroots activists.

Adam Lee of United Steelworkers International thanked LabourStart for its “tremendously effective” campaign on behalf of Vale nickel miners strikers, who settled a year-long strike just days before the conference began. On the first morning of the strike, which began in July 2009, more than 1,000 emails were sent to the Brazil-based multinational company. Two-thirds were from outside Canada, in eight languages from 80 countries, Lee said, It provided a “real boost” to the workers. And Brazilian workers for Vale were able to win a better than expected contract because the company didn’t want to take on two international campaigns at the same time.

Robin Alexander, director of international affairs for the United Electrical workers union, said that when she got an appeal from workers at PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, the first place she turned for help was LabourStart.

As Lennon Ying-Dah Wong, a union leader from Taiwan, spoke on a panel about China, I loooked to my left and saw Benedicto Martinez Orozco, co-president of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo. Michael Eisenscher of US Labor Against the War, Amjad Ali of the General Union of Oil Employees in Basra (Iraq), and Erin Radford of the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center spoke on a panel about unions in Iraq. Other panels were devoted to Mexico, Eastern Europe, and Iran.

Unfortunately, some people were unable to attend the conference—but the reasons why are enlightening. A leader of Bangladeshi textile workers union canceled his visit because of a monumental campaign in his home country—more than 50,000 workers there are on strike, protesting the lowest wages in the textile industry.

Representatives of independent unions in Egypt and Algeria were, at the last moment, denied visas by Canada. (AFL-CIO Solidarity Center representatives  ably filled in at a workshop on the revival of unions in those countries.) The ham-handness of Canadian authorities may backire. Derek Blackadder, national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said that there was so much outrage at the exclusion of the Egyptian and Algerian unionists and so much excitement about their pioneering work that Canadian unionists will be exploring ongoing solidarity work on their behalf.

Of course, connecting disparate unionists, spread across different levels of different unions, to unite in international solidarity is no easy task. But LabourStart’s global network of 800 correspondents and 70,000 Act Now e-mail activists will continue to be a part of that effort, which must be a central component of the future of the labor movement.

Joint resolution for International Workers’ Day (Labor organizations of Iran)

Written by Saeed Valadbaygi Editor’s Choice, Videos, Workers’ Rights Apr 27, 2010

Link to the video at http://www.astreetjournalist.com/2010/04/27/joint-resolution-for-international-workers-day-labor-organizations-of-iran-2/

May 1st is the day of international solidarity of the working class and a day for laborers to protest global poverty and inequality. On this day millions of workers around the world stop working, to conquer the streets and show their anger and disgust with the announcement of the numerous disasters that capitalism has inflicted on humanity, and scream for liberation from oppression and exploitation.

Resounding protest against the hardship of capitalism and inequality of workers will be heard all around the world on May 1st while prohibition of celebration of this day in Iran is in effect, and many organizing workers of the May 1388/2009 event have been convicted  and imprisoned and subjected to heavy sentences. Labor leaders and activists and are languishing in prison for defending their basic human rights.

Imposing such appalling lack of social rights for workers in conditions that in three decades of a capitalist system in Iran after the 1957 (1979) revolution, has reduced the minimum wage to a quarter below the poverty line and lack of timely payment of these wages and the firing of masses of workers, temporary contracts, have imposed hellish conditions on millions of workers families. Today more than ever to ensure the profitability of capital, factories are closed and subsidies cut in determination to cut the last threads of survival for millions of worker families and pour them into the pockets of investors.

But as we workers showed in the 1957 revolution as well as in recent years, we will not tolerate this misery and despite prison and repression will stand ahead with the people against violation of our most basic human rights and will not allow them to ruin our existence more. We are the main producers of all wealth and products in society and are entitled to human life in accordance with the highest standards of human life today.

In this context we also protest against circumstances since last Labor Day , since the masses in Iran have been exposed to suppression of their rights. We make the following demands and with immediate effect:

1 – We are free to act – independent of the government and our employers -to strike, protest, march, assemble and speak freely. This is our right and must be unconditional in recognition of the social rights of workers and the people of Iran.

2 – We see the plan to cut subsidies (by targeted subsidies) and the minimum wage of 303 Tomans as a gradual imposition of death of millions of working class families and demand immediate suspension of plans to cut subsidies and increase the minimum wage to one million Tomans.

3 – Workers wages in arrears are to be paid immediately and with no excuses. Non-payment should be prosecuted as a crime and damages caused to the workers must be paid for.

4 – The Dismissal of Workers by any excuse must be stopped and those who are unemployed or have attained the age of employment and are prepared to work must be given suitable unemployment insurance until employed.

5 – We want to eliminate temporary contracts and the signing of blank contracts and demand employment security for all workers and wage recipients in accordance with the highest standards of health and safety. We ask for the elimination of state governed environments from all facilities.

6 – We demand the eradication of the death penalty and the immediate and unconditional release of Ebrahim Madadi, Mansour Osanloo, Ali Nejati and all labor activists and other social movements and protestors from prison and a stop to the persecution against them.

7 – We condemn any aggression towards protest against violation of our rights and view this type of freedom expression as an irredeemable right of the public.

8 – We want to eradicate all laws that are discriminatory to women and to ensure full equality and the unconditional rights of women and men in all areas of social, economic, political, cultural and family life.

9 – We want all pensioners to enjoy a prosperous life without economic concern and to eliminate any discrimination in the payment of retirement pensions and benefits from their social security and health care.

10 – Child labor must be eradicated and all children must be entitled to educational facilities, health and welfare, independent of gender and race, religion, or social and economic status of their parents.

11 – We hereby announce our support for all liberal social movements, and strongly condemn arrest, trial and imprisonment of activists of any movement.

12 – We also announced strong support for the demands of teachers, nurses and other working classes of society and united with them, want to achieve their immediate demands

13 – We are part of the world’s workers and strongly condemn the dismissal and imposition of any discrimination of Afghan migrant workers and other nationalities.

14 – We appreciate all the support from international workers in and strongly support the protests and demands of workers worldwide and are united with them more than ever with emphasis on international solidarity of workers to escape the capitalist system.

15 – May 1st must be declared an official holiday in the country and included in the official calendar and any restrictions regarding recognition of the anniversary of this day will be abolished.

Long Live May 1st

Long live the international solidarity of workers

May 1, 2010

Ordibehesht 11, 1389

Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company

Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company

Liberties Union of Workers

Staff of Open Metalwork and Mechanics Union

Inaugurated Board of the Syndicate of Painters

Association of Kermanshah Electrical Workers and Metalworks

Committee in Pursuit of Free trade Associations

Coordination Committee for the Creation of  Labor Organizations

Association for the Defense of Dismissed and Unemployed Turpentine Workers

Women’s Council

Translated by Street Journalist

Reprinted from Street Journalist, http://www.astreetjournalist.com/