The Global Labour Movement: a review

Here's a book review I recently posted on Amazon and Good Reades The Global Labour Movement: An Introduction: A Short Guide to the Global Union Federations, the Ituc, and Other International Bodies by Edd Mustill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Workers of the world unite" is a phrase that most every leftist knows, not to mention. plenty of non-leftists. Today, more than 175 million workers are members of unions affiliated with the ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation), This short guide to the global union federations (GUFs) of the ITUC belongs on the bookshelves of union activists, CLCs, state feds, international unions, and their equivalents outside the US. It is particularly important for US Americans who are not as exposed to the international cooperation of unions as our European comrades to have this knowledge.

In addition, to profiles of the GUFs, there are enlightening interviews with union campaigners from the UK and Nepal and short contributions from the head of the UK TUC's international department, Dave Spooner of the Global Labour Institute, Amnesty International's labor adviser, and the director of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights.

There are longer books on global unionism, but this short guide contains the basics. I think it would be a natural not only for labor educators, but also for many international studies classes.

If you've ever said or thought that unions need to respond to capitalist globalization by going global themselves, you owe it to yourself to get this book.

View all my reviews

Labor Journalist Mike Elk at WSU SLAP

In These Times staff writer Mike Elk spoke to a meeting of the Wichita Sate Universtity Student Labor Project and Young Democratic Socialists on February 16, 2012. Elk is a prolific reporter who has broken many important stories.

Carl Finamore's Egyptian revolution photos

Bay area union activist Carl Finamore is just back from his second trip to Egypt. The first was a year ago; he arrived the same day that Mubarak was deposed. He has written a number of reports on Egypt, the working class and unions in Egypt for Talking Union, most recently Generals Still in Charge Tough Days Ahead in Egypt

Carl took lots of great photos on his last trip, here they are.


               

Occupy Wichita October 8, 2011

It was a rainy Saturday in Wichita on October 8, but there was still a decent turnout for the Occupy Wichita event on E. Douglass. There were about 50 to 80 people there. Perhaps a little more than the previous Sunday. The crowd fell short of the 500 that some of the OW activists were hoping for. But itw as a spirited gathering. It didn't seem to be just the same people as on Sunday. For one thing, there were a number of union folks present, from the SEIU, IAM, APWU, IBEW, and Teamsters. Also members of Move-on, Wichita Democratic Socialists, Sunflower Community Action, and the Tequila Party.

Verizon Mobilization Wichita

45,000 CWA and IBEW members are on strike against Verizon. It has been called the "private sector's Wisconsin."  The striking workers are on the East Coast, but CWA is organizing information and solidarty actions at Verizon stores all across the country .

Yesterday afteroon, Paul Hendrix and myself from the APWU joined members of Wichita's CWA 6402 local outside the Verizon store on North Rock Road.  The temperature here in Wichita peaked at 105.

Here are a few photos from the mobilization. (If the slideshow, doesn't play automatically, hover over the lower left corner and click on the arrow.)



Please take a moment and sign the CWA's petition

Despite record profits, Verizon is refusing to bargain and is demanding that its workers add to those profits from their own pockets. In the last four years alone, Verizon made more than $19 billion in profits and compensated their top five executives more than a quarter of a billion dollars. But apparently that’s not enough.

Now they’re refusing to bargain. Starting on June 22 Verizon pushed proposals that would let them outsource more jobs, including sending jobs overseas, slash sick days, eliminate benefits for workers who get hurt on the job and cut the healthcare benefits they promised retirees. And they haven’t budged.

Who Needs a Pension When You Can Have a Pizza Party?

Why Is Everyone So Down on Child Labor?

We've got a winner: LabourStart Video of the Year contest

From the IBEW



LabourStart is one of the best sites around,anyone interested in unions, workers struggles, and solidarity should take a look.

Conference of new independent union federation in Egypt

Class War in Wisconsin

Don Taylor has a great report on Wisconsin on the Talking Union blog

As I write this, we are in our fourth day of demonstrations against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s “budget repair” bill and its’ provisions to effectively eliminate public sector collective bargaining. Today, the Democrats in the senate have fled the state, leaving the Republicans one vote short of a quorum to pass the bill. The Democrats say they will not return until the anti-union provisions are off the table.


Disguised as a bill to fix a shortfall in the current budget, this bill would:

• Abolish public sector collective bargaining on all topics except wages. There would be no more negotiating leaves of absence, health and safety, discipline for just cause, or anything else. Negotiated wage increases would be capped at CPI; in other words, no real negotiation could occur.
• Prohibit public employers from deducting union dues via payroll deduction. This measure is one of several that demonstrate the bill’s true intent, because it represents no savings whatsoever for the taxpayer.
• Require all unionized units to hold annual decertification elections. Again, this relates to the budget in no way whatsoever, and is the most blatant example of the ideological agenda behind this bill.
• Impose higher employee costs for health care and pensions for state employees.
• Institute “right to work” for public employees.

In other words, an existing unionized unit would have to collect hand dues, would be unable to collect payment from free riders, and would be prohibited from negotiating anything except wages at some level below the rate of inflation. Then, as employee discontent grows over a perception that “the union can’t do anything,” along would come the state-mandated annual decertification vote.

World Trade Unions Mobilising for Democracy in Egypt: February 8 Action Day

Trade unions around the world will join a Day of Action for Democracy in Egypt on 8 February, following a decision by the ITUC General Council meeting in Brussels. Unions will organise demonstrations at Egyptian embassies, and continue to press their governments to demand democratic transition in Egypt and to ensure that those responsible for the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations are brought to justice.

“We will continue to push the international community to put pressure on the regime of Hosni Mubarak to respect the wishes of the Egyptian people. Our support for Egypt’s independent trade unions and the other forces for democracy is unwavering, and we are determined that there shall be no impunity for the people responsible for the killings, assaults and intimidation of innocent people,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

Urgent appeal: Jailed woman trade union leader in Bangladesh

It has now been more than five weeks since the illegal arrest of Moshrefa Mishu, President of the Garment Workers Unity Forum in Bangladesh (pictured).

There was no warrant for her arrest at the time that heavily-armed plainclothes officers took her off to jail, where she remains - in poor health and badly treated.

Her real crime was leading a protest campaign to demand the implementation of the legal minimum wage.

I'd like to ask you to take a moment to send off an urgent message of protest to the government of Bangladesh demanding her release.

Please click here to do so. 

If you're on Facebook, please also sign up to support the cause there.

Eliseo Medina, SEIU VP, on immigration and civil rights at Netroots Nation

Eliseo Medina, international vice president of the Service Employees International Union, spoke at a panel on “civil rights in the modern era” at the just concluded Netroots Nation convention in Las Vegas.  Medina reviewed the impact of Arizona’s SB 1070.

Eliseo Medina at Netroots Nation: Unite to Defeat anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic movements from Talking Union on Vimeo.

LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference

LabourStart, the international union news and campaigning site, held its first-ever public conference last weekend in Hamilton, Ontario. More than 200 participants from about 30 countries attended. The AFL-CIO blog had apre-conference round up, Working In These Times had a post conference report, and another report was here.

Here is the plenary talk from LabourStart's founding editor, Eric Lee.

World’s unions reject boycotts, embrace Israeli-Palestinian cooperation

[Positive news from TULIP.]

The international trade union movement has just delivered a stinging rebuff to advocates of the campaign to boycott Israel.
At its second world congress which just concluded in Vancouver, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) rejected calls to support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign targetting the Jewish state.
A vehemently anti-Israel resolution submitted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions never made it to the floor.
And in a stunning blow to pro-Hamas activists in some unions, the Israeli national trade union center Histadrut was honored by the global trade union movement.
Its leader, Ofer Eini, was elevated to the ITUC’s 25-member Executive Board as well as its General Council.  Eini was also elected as one of the organization’s Vice Presidents.
The ITUC has 312 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories representing 176 million workers.
Eini’s election followed calls by major unions in the UK and elsewhere for the Histadrut to be boycotted.  Instead, the international trade union movement has embraced the Israeli unions, understanding them — correctly — to be important partners in building peaceful relations between Israelis and Palestinians.
In a resolution adopted by the ITUC congress, the positive role of the Histadrut was made explicit:
“Congress welcomes the landmark agreement between Histadrut and the PGFTU on the rights of Palestinian workers, which was finalised with the assistance of the ITUC in August 2008, and initiatives by Global Union Federations in their sectors to support cooperation in defence of workers’ rights. This agreement, and other actions to promote decent work and end discrimination, are crucial to building the basis for just and equitable economic development.”
For the future, the ITUC resolution declared:
“Congress commits the ITUC to continue to support the strengthening of cooperation between the Palestinian and Israeli trade union movements and calls upon the international community to support Palestinian economic reconstruction and development, including through the ILO Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection.”
In addition, the world’s trade unions

• Called for a two-state solution — and “universal recognition of Israel’s right to exist, next to an independent viable Palestinian state”
• Rejected “the extremist policies of Hamas“
• Condemned the Egyptian “decision to impose heavy restrictions on its border with Gaza”
• Acknowledged that Israeli’s December 2008 attack on Gaza came “in response to rocket attacks”
• Supported the 2002 “Road Map” for peace proposed by the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union

The resolution adopted was highly critical of many Israeli policies, calling for an end to illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories, rejecting the blockade of Gaza and the building of a security fence, and so on.
But what stands out clearly is the commitment by the vast majority of the world’s trade unions to a two-state solution and to strengthening Israeli-Palestinian trade union cooperation.
This is welcome news for Israelis and Palestinians and a blow to the supporters of Hamas who have tried hard to isolate and demonize Israel within the trade union movement.

June 8: Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn

It’s been dubbed the “suicide express” by Chinese media. Twelve workers, all between 18 and 24 years old, have committed suicide, at the production facilities of Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwan-owned enterprise based in Shenzhen, southern China. Foxconn is a key supplier to various leading brands including Apple.

SACOM (Students & Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior) and labor organizations based in Hong Kong and Taiwan, is calling for a Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn for June 8th, to coincide with Apple’s global launch of its fourth-generation iPhone. The Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed the Global Day of Remembrance.

They are also appealing for a one-month June boycott of Foxconn’s products (Foxconn supplies major electronic products not only for Apple, but for Nokia, HP, Dell, Sony, Erikson, Motorola and others).
Update:  Apple has announced that the new iPhone 4G is scheduled for release on June 24. This would be an excellent day for a small symbolic action.
Here are some ideas on how you can support the Global Day of Remembrance:

• Sign the LabourStart email campaign, which will go to officials at Apple and Foxconn.

• Sign the on-line petition from SACOM.

• Link to the SACOM petition on your website with this code Online petition – 強烈要求富士康停產整頓  倡議6月8日為「全球悼念富士康自殺工人日」 June 8th: Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn

• Observe a minute of silence at your next union or political meeting.

• Include the Foxconn victims in prayers if you are active in a religious group.

• Organize a few people to hold a respectful, non-disruptive remembrance outside an Apple or ATT store. (It doesn’t have to be on June 8.)

• Farhad Manjoo suggests

Next time you visit an Apple Store, ask an employee about where the iPad is made. Ask about the suicides there, and if Apple has pressed Foxconn to improve conditions at the plant. Are you an Apple shareholder? Attend the company’s annual meeting and ask executives whether their production practices are sustainable over the long term.

Better, ask to talk to the store manager. Better yet, take a small group of people with you and talk to the manager.

Bumpersticker of the week (an ocassional feature)

A good reason to strike

Scores of Carlsberg A/S workers walked off their jobs Thursday to protest the Danish brewer's new limits on beer drinking at work

.
Carlsberg spokesman Jens Bekke said 250 warehouse and production workers and truck drivers went on strike Thursday on the second day of a rebellion against the new rules, which state workers can only drink beer in the canteen during the lunch break.

Hat tip: Jonathan Tasani

Union Label Chili Feed

I have no idea why my Flickr account suddenly is in Portuguese. Regardless, hereis a slideshow from the Feb 13 Union Label chili and hobo stew feed in Wichita.

SPEEA gets improvements from SPIRIT, recommends contract

With membership rising and pressure increasing, management at Spirit AeroSystems today presented a new and improved contract offer to 783 engineers represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.

If ratified by a union member vote, the new 3 ½-year contract will provide a 3 percent bonus, annual salary increases and ensure engineers are compensated for all overtime hours above the regular 40-hour workweek. Employees will see medical premiums increase from 10 to 15 percent, for the life of the contract.

Union negotiators are unanimously recommending engineers accept the offer.

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