Union Letter

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Source Labourstart e-newsletter

Even though LabourStart has been based in London since 1998, no British union has asked for our help on a global campaign. Until now.

This week, the Merchant Navy officers union NUMAST has asked for our help in publicizing the anti-union practices of Hoverspeed, a cross-channel ferry company owned by a US-based multinational company.

It's important to turn this into one of our most successful campaigns not only to convince the company (Hoverspeed) to recognize unions, but also to convince British unions to recognize the importance of the Internet as a tool for global campaigning.

Please take a moment and send off your message to Hoverspeed:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=44 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=44)

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TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Where's the worst place in the world to be a trade unionist? Well, Colombia comes to mind. And the best? One tends to think of the Scandinavian countries, and Sweden in particular. Imagine my surprise at being asked by a Swedish union to rally global support for a campaign against a company which had sacked a union activist. For full details and to send off your message, please go to:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=43 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=43)

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2. Stop the murder of Nozad Ismail

In the last few weeks, we've reported on a number of murders of Iraqi trade union activists, most notably the killing in early January of Hadi Saleh, head of international affairs for the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), who was tortured and killed in his Baghdad home. We now have the chance to speak out loudly and clearly against the targeting of trade unionists by terrorist death squads by adding our names to the global appeal to save the life of one Iraqi trade unionist. His name is Nozad Ismail and he heads up the IFTU in the city of Kirkuk. Nozad's life has been threatened repeatedly, and there have been at least two attempts on his life. I strongly urge you to add your name to this appeal today:

http://www.labourfriendsofiraq.org.uk/nozadappeal.shtml

Source Labourstart e-newsletter

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Source Labour Start.

Sri Lanka: End union-busting at Workwear Lanka
The dispute at the Workwear Lanka (Pvt) ltd in the Biyagama FTZ in Sri Lanka is about the right to organise and bargain collectively in the FTZs in Sri Lanka. Since the formation of the branch union of the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union in December 2003 at the Workwear Lanka factory, the management have carried out union busting activities including intimidations, harassments, demotions and transfers of branch union members, and suspension of services of branch union office bearers. Since then the union complained to the Labour Department against the management's unfair labour practices, which are illegal under Sri Lankan law, but the inaction so far of the relevant authorities to resolve this dispute appears to indicate they also support union busting. The union has been trying to resolve the dispute through negotiations, but has not had any success. An international, regional and locally based campaign has received great support. It is placing pressure on management and the government, but it seems more pressure is needed.

You can send a letter by going to this site.

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=32 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=32)

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I hope that many of you are taking the oppertunity to act that these letter campaigns present. These campaigns do get results and many of the unions whove asked for the worlds support have thanked Labour Start crediting there involvement with helping acheive their goals. It only takes a minute or two of your time and can help save the lives and livelyhoods of thousands.

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URGENT APPEALS FROM COLOMBIA AND NEPAL

The Colombian Army has murdered three trade unionists and Justice for Colombia is calling for urgent email protests to be sent. Details are here:

http://www.labourstart.org/docs/en/000118.html

In Nepal, the national trade union center GEFONT has issued an alert following the arrest of one of its leaders.
More details here:

http://www.gefont.org/press_release/panta_arrested.htm


Source: LabourStart E-newsletter

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that "everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests."

But the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the United States doesn't agree. And in a recent ruling, it decided that graduate teachers at universities are not "everyone". They don't have the right to form and join unions.

Their decision reversed a four-year old ruling that did guarantee such rights. It is part and parcel of a much broader attack on workers' rights being carried out by the Bush administration.

The NLRB decision affects graduate teachers at all universities in the USA, including the ones at the school President George W. Bush himself attended -- Yale. Ironically, teachers at that university, together with their colleagues at Columbia University, have decided to challenge the government ruling in the most dramatic way possible: with a joint strike at both schools next week.

Their union, which is affiliated to Unite HERE, has asked us to help spread the word, and to launch a global campaign of support for the striking graduate teachers.

You can send your message to the two university presidents, and to President Bush, by going here:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=47 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=47)

Please do that today -- but don't stop there.

We need to send a loud and clear message to President Bush that workers' rights are human rights. Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions, period. No exceptions.

International pressure is particularly important, as universities like Yale have global ambitions. A flood of messages from all over the globe will have an impact.

You can do your bit by forwarding on this message to other members of your union, to colleagues at work, to students, to mailing lists you subscribe to. Spread the word!

Thanks -- and have a great weekend.

Eric Lee

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END HARASSMENT OF PALESTINIAN TRADE UNIONIST HASAN BARGHOUTHI

I met Hasan Barghouthi almost a decade ago when his organization, the Democracy and Workers Rights Center in Ramallah, was admitted as the first Palestinian affiliate to the International Federation of Workers Education Associations (IFWEA). Hasan was (and is) a committed trade unionist, dedicated to democracy and to an end to the cycle of conflict in the Middle East.

I saw him last at the IFWEA congress in 2003 when he was busy organizing the various affiliates in the Arab world into a regional organization of worker educators. Hasan is a well-known and respected figure in the international labour movement -- but this has not prevented Israeli authorities from harassing him and making it nearly impossible for him to do his work.

To read details of the harassment, and to send a strong message of protest to Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government, please go here today:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=48 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=48)

And make sure to spread the word -- forward this email to everyone you know.

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UNIONS GEAR UP TO TAKE ON WAL-MART

In the last week, LabourStart has run no fewer than 18 stories about Wal-Mart, the world's largest private employer. Those stories included one on Wal-Mart's secret fund to stop union organizing, and one on its efforts to block a union from putting up a billboard advertisement criticizing the company. We covered the chilling effect of the closure of the first unionized Wal-Mart in North America and we reported on a union win against the company in Maryland. In fact, over the course of the first half of April, we've reported on Wal-Mart and its workers in the USA, Canada, and Germany. As unions gear up for what promises to be one of the great struggles of the first decade of this new century, we've created what we think is the most comprehensive coverage of that battle, here:

http://www.labourstart.org/wal-mart/

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PICKET LINES AT COLUMBIA, YALE

Thanks to your efforts, the first-ever coordinated joint strike at two Ivy League universities in the USA has received support from thousands of trade unionists around the world. The offices of the presidents of Columbia and Yale universities, as well as the White House, have been flooded with messages demanding that graduate teachers be given the same rights as other workers -- above all, the right to form and join trade unions. If you have not yet sent your message, it's not too late (the strike is still going on). Please go here:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=47 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=47)

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April 28 is Workers Memorial Day -- a day now commemorated around the world.


AN EXTRAORDINARY APPEAL FROM ARGENTINA

The workers in the Zanon ceramic factory in Argentina were faced with a challenge which is familiar to so many workers these days. Their factory was closing down. They were about to lose their jobs. They took matters into their own hands, occupied the factory and began running it as a co-operative. Their heroic struggle was the subject of a recent film, "The Take".

But recently, the workers have come under increasing attack, with death threats now a part of their daily experience. The wife of one worker was kidnapped and had her face and chest slashed. And now the courts are considering ways to take the factory (and the jobs) away from the workers.

Please send your message of protest and solidarity today. Go here:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=49 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=49)


Source: Labourstart e-zine

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ARGENTINA: DEADLINE PASSES FOR ZANON

Last week we told you about the embattled workers at Zanon, whose response to
the closing down of their factory caught the imagination of the world. This
week, the deadline passed for the company's previous owners or anyone else to
buy the factory -- with no one making an offer. This has raised the stakes and
made your support for the Zanon workers even more important. To see the latest
updates and add your name to the thousands who have already sent off messages
please go here:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidar...mpaign.cgi?c=49 (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=49)

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CANADA: WAL-MART DAY OF ACTION

The Canadian Labour Congress is furious, and rightly so. Unions finally
succeeded in organizing a Wal-Mart store, and the company response was to shut
it down. The CLC has launched a web-based campaign to send protest faxes to
Wal-Mart. Please add your name:

http://action.clc-ctc.ca/action.php?submit=show&actionID=6

A National Day of Action by labour activists is planned for May 6th at various
Wal-Mart locations in Québec, and May 7th at Wal-Marts across the rest of
Canada.

Full coverage can be found on LabourStart's special Wal-Mart page:

http://www.labourstart.org/wal-mart/

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Not all our campaigns involve trade unionists jailed in secret prisons in developing countries. Sometimes, we get appeals from unions in rich countries which need our help to bring pressure to bear on companies which refuse to negotiate. One such company is Telus, in British Columbia and Alberta, and we've been asked by the Telecommunications Workers Union to help convince the Canadian government to force that company to accept binding arbitration. Your support for this campaign would be much appreciated by our brothers and sisters in the TWU. The campaign is here:

http://www.labourstart.org/telus

Finally, there's been some movement around the Zanon factory in Argentina, which has been run by the workers quite successfully since the previous owner ran away. Despite missing a court-set deadline, the former owner has now moved to regain control of the factory. The latest news and a chance for you to send off your message if you've not yet done so, is here:

http://www.labourstart.org/zanon

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Well all here's the latest. From Labourstart.


BUILDING INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY, ONE CAMPAIGN AT A TIME

Two of the recent campaigns we've run on the LabourStart website are what one might consider success stories. And yet the results -- so far -- could not be more different.

One of the campaigns -- in support of workers in the Bahamas who lost their jobs -- resulted in a big victory. The other -- in support of imprisoned trade union leaders in Eritrea -- has produced no concrete results; the union leaders are still in prison. And yet both campaigns, the Bahamas one and the Eritrean one, have been successful. In some senses, the second one -- even though the union leaders are still in jail -- may be even more of a success story than the first.

Let me explain what I mean.

http://www.ericlee.me.uk/archive/000117.html

TRADE UNIONISTS MURDERED, ARRESTED IN BURMA AND SOUTH KOREA

Ko Moe Naung, an organiser for the Seafarers' Union of Burma (SUB), was arrested on 19 May and was dead three hours later, after being tortured by members of the Burmese army's Light Infantry Regiment 431. The SUB is affiliated to the International Transport Workers Federation, who have issued an urgent appeal for people to express their disgust at this outrage. For more information, visit the ITF site:

http://www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/solidarity-557.cfm

Meanwhile, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has issued an urgent appeal calling for the release of Anwar Hossain, president of the Migrant Trade Union, who was arrested on 14 May by 30 police officers while on his way home at 1:00 in the morning. During his arrest, Hossain suffered injuries to his head and hands, and is currently being held at an immigration detention center in Chungjoo, two hours south of Seoul. Details are here:

http://www.kctu.org/maybbs/pdsview.php?db=...eng_action&n=25 (http://www.kctu.org/maybbs/pdsview.php?db=kctuinfo2&code=eng_action&n=25)

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Here's the latest from Labourstart, some sad news from Columbia.

PEASANT ORGANIZER MURDERED IN COLOMBIA; CALL FOR PROTESTS

A paramilitary death squad in Pondera, Colombia assassinated peasant organiser Jose Maria Maldonadoon the morning of 17 May. Justice for Colombia has issued a call for worldwide protests. See their statement here:

http://www.labourstart.org/docs/en/000128.html

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WORLDWIDE CONDEMNATION OF NEW INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LAWS IN AUSTRALIA

The re-election of the right-wing Howard government in Australia has turned out to be just as much of a disaster as many predicted. In a statement issued this week from its headquarters in Brussels, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions said "these new laws would constitute a flagrant violation of Australia's international obligations through the International Labour Organisation" -- and will be briefing on this subject at the ILO Annual Conference in Geneva starting this week. LabourStart has full coverage of the Howard government's assault on trade union rights and the unions' fightback, here:

http://www.labourstart.org/australia/

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SOLIDARITY APPEAL FROM INDONESIAN HOTEL WORKERS

Management of the Jakarta Sofitel refuses to recognize the legitimate, legally-registered trade union affiliated to the IUF and is engaged in a classic union-busting campaign. When bribery and the promise of promotions failed to persuade the union leadership to drop their demand for a collective agreement, the hotel set up a phony employee "association" and is challenging the union's legal right to represent Sofitel employees. The union needs your support now. Tell the owner and management of the Gran Mahakam to respect trade union rights: http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=82

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A NEW WAL-MART CAMPAIGN ONLINE

ChangeAmerica.com has just launched with an appeal by actor Danny Glover to help stop Wal-Mart's "drive-to-the-bottom" behavior. Our readers in the USA will certainly want to add their names to the pledge to buy back-to-school supplies somewhere else this year. Please visit: http://www.changeamerica.com/