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 On May 01, 2010 join with millions of workers around the world in celebrating International Workers Day. The authentic Labor Day! 
Race to the Bottom / Clearing the Hurdles LabourStart Solidarity Campaigns
Trade Union Advisory CommitteeThe Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an International trade union organization which interacts on behalf of trade unions with a consultative status when meeting with the OECD Secretariat, committees, and member governments ILO Labor StandardsThe International Labor Organization (ILO) labor standards take the form of International Labor Conventions which are ratified by member countries. Of the total number of ILO Conventions, eight are considered core labor standards, fundamental to the rights of workers 
Life and Legacy of Cesar Chavez
Global Labour UniversitySince its inception in 2004, the Global Labour University has welcomed trade unions in its Masters Programme in labour studies. The university is also a network of trade unions and universities aiming to facilitate research and spark debate. The application deadline for the Global Labour University programmes in South Africa is August 31, 2010, in Brazil, September 01, 2010 and in Germany and India, March 01, 2010 
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IUE-CWA Fights to Save 1,100 Whirlpool Jobs in IndianaIUE-CWA members are ramping up their "Shame on Whirlpool" campaign, urging the company not to carry out plans to close its Evansville, Ind., refrigerator plant and move their jobs to Mexico. The plant is scheduled to close this year, putting 900 IUE-CWA members plus 200 salaried employees out of work and harming the community. Whirlpool is spending $110 million to build a new facility in Mexico. Whirlpool's decision to shut down and move our work to Mexico is greed-driven and an atrocity, said IUE-CWA President James Clark. We know companies need to make money, but moving jobs out of the country during this economic crisis is shameful, he said. Whirlpool will remain eligible for some of the $300 million in taxpayer dollars available to companies that produce energy efficient appliances. IUE-CWA is keeping a spotlight on Whirlpool, putting up billboards with the shame message, and leafleting local stores that buy Whirlpool products, including Lowes and Sears and planning other community events. CWA contacted Indiana Senator Evan Bayh's office to ask what steps the senator was taking to keep the Whirlpool jobs in the United States, but his office failed to respond by the time this issue went to press. In an earlier letter to Bayh, Clark also expressed disappointment at the lack of response from Bayh's office on efforts to save the jobs. To send a message calling on Whirlpool to keep quality jobs in the United States to Whirlpool's CEO and Indiana's U.S. Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Luger, please go to Tell Whirlpool to Act Responsibly Call For Solidarity for Costa Rican Dockers4 February 2010: The ITF has urged affiliates to back dockers in Costa Rica who are facing anti-union repression at the hands of the government. The ITF this week called on unions to protest against attempts by the Costa Rican government to quash the ITF-affiliated Sindicato de Trabajadores de JAPDEVA (SINTRAJAP) and to privatise the state-owned port company JAPDEVA. The government has employed a series of anti-union tactics designed to undermine the union during its 10-year bid to sell off the port of Limon. The union has so far managed to stave off privatisation and has developed an economic plan for the successful operation of the port as a publicly owned body. JAPDEVA was created to operate the port and use the money raised to promote development in Limon, one of Costa Rica's poorest provinces. In a last-ditch attempt to force through privatisation ahead of a general election, JAPVEDA has stepped up its union-busting tactics. These have included, during a workers assembly called by the company itself, attempts to impose an employer-run union. It has also been reported that workers have been offered cash payments to leave SINTRAJAP. Such offers could constitute a breach of national law and International Labour Organization conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining to which Costa Rica is a signatory. ITF dockers section secretary Frank Leys commented: We are calling on our affiliated unions and the international trade union movement to protest against the Costa Rican government's undemocratic and potentially illegal plans to break the will of the SINTRAJAP union. ITF Americas regional secretary Antonio Fritz added: Now the president has become increasingly desperate to undermine the union and privatise the port. That apparent determination seems to be reflected in what appears to be increasingly unconstitutional behaviour by the Costa Rican government and JAPVEDA. For information about sending a protest letter visit: Protests Over Costa Rican Government's Anti-Union Tactics Japanese Prime Minister Welcomes UNI Ahead of Nagasaki World CongressJapanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama received a UNI Global Union delegation in Tokyo. UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings encouraged Prime Minister Hatoyama to put jobs and decent work at the top of his economic agenda and to engage with the trade union movement at a challenging time for the Japanese economy. The Prime Minister told Jennings, UNI Asia and Pacific Regional Secretary Christopher Ng, UNI Liaison Council of Japan Chairman Takaaki Sakurada and UNI staff members Eiichi Ito and Yoko Ogawa that he would do his best to attend UNI's World Congress in Nagasaki, Japan in November. The Prime Minister welcomed the choice of Nagasaki as the host city of the UNI congress as well as the global union support for a nuclear-free world. UNI will hold its congress from November 9-12, just prior to the APEC Summit that will bring heads of governments from the broad Pacific Region to Japan on November 13-14. With the world's union movement being in Japan just before the start of the APEC summit it is important to bring the voice of the working people to the summit, the Prime Minister said. In a discussion with the UNI delegation on the congress theme Breaking Through, Hatoyama said it is important to find a new form of capitalism that is more sustainable and to find new ways of organizing the world with new values and new thinking. Employment must be a high priority in those discussions, the Prime Minister said. His comments echoed a speech he made on January 29th on theme of protecting peoples lives where he said he would try to find new ways of creating employment in the Japanese economy. He said that it could not be done by relying on public works projects alone or market fundamentalism. Hatoyama called for job creation in the service sector and green jobs. Hatoyama was elected last August in a landslide election victory that dislodged the Liberal Democratic Party from power after more than 50 years of virtually uninterrupted control of the government. Jennings said Prime Minister Hatoyama's historic victory is also consistent with the congress theme Breaking Through. The Prime Minister told the UNI delegation of his concern about the dispatched workers system, where workers are employed in manufacturing jobs on a temporary and flexible basis without social protection. This is a huge change for Japanese workers brought up in a system of life-long employment. Japan has built its employment practices on life-long employment, Jennings told the Prime Minister. If there is a shift to a dispatching workers model there will be a negative impact on broader Japanese society. It places all the risk on the shoulders of individual workers and threatens the chance for them to have a decent job and a decent life. It is not acceptable for Japanese employers to escape their employment responsibilities. Jennings told Hatoyama about recent European Union employment legislation on temporary workers and the need for a strong regulatory framework to eliminate abuses and for workers to be treated fairly. The Prime Minister spoke of his employment plan to provide skills, support for job seekers and strengthen the safety net for non-regular employees. He said the UNI Global Agreement with the top 6 temporary work agencies is also providing a framework for regulation and dialogue ITF Condemns Lockout of US Mineworkers3 February 2010: The ITF yesterday denounced a lockout in the US instigated by a multinational mining company, affecting nearly 600 mineworkers. The 570 miners, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), were locked out of a borax mine in Boron, California, by their employer, Rio Tinto, on 31 January. The company's provocative move came after negotiations to reach a deal over a new labour contract failed. Rio Tinto managers also further escalated the dispute by bringing in strike breakers to replace the workers. Over the years, the UK-based company has been reported not only to have perpetrated abuses of workers rights, but also human and indigenous land rights. In a message of solidarity sent to the ILWU vice-president Ray Familathe, ITF dockers section secretary Frank Leys condemned the lockout, stating: Lockout can be seen as the lowest reaction of the employer to a workforce that strives for dialogue. He also stated that he regarded bringing in strike breakers to be even worse. He continued: For the sake of immediate profit the company is willing to cut back and undermine the livelihoods of the workers and their families. He added: we acknowledge you and your families fight, your strength and courage to stand up together against a corporation that is doing all in its power to confront the workforce and weaken the union. Paddy Crumlin, national secretary of the ITF-affiliated Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and chair of the ITF international dockers section and Andrew Vickers, general secretary of mining and energy division of the Australian Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) also sent messages of solidarity. The MUA, CFMEU and the ITF are all part of an international mining and maritime initiative, which aims to foster solidarity collaboration between the sectors ICEM Pledges Support to Locked-Out Rio Tinto Workers in US State of CaliforniaThe Geneva, Switzerland-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers Unions (ICEM) announces that it gives its unequivocal support to the 560 miners of US affiliated union, International Longshore and Warehouse
Union (ILWU), who were locked off their jobs by the Rio Tinto subsidiary, US Borax and Chemical Corp., on Sunday, 31 January. The workers were refused entry to the mine and processing plant in Boron, California, when they showed for their work shift at 06h00 on Sunday. We note that all 500 members of ILWU Local 30 voted against the company's contract proposal on Saturday night, said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. This should have served as a message to Rio Tinto Minerals to continue negotiating, continue seeking the necessary compromises in order to achieve a mutually acceptable collective agreement. A prior contract expired on 4 November 2009. Management is seeking unprecedented changes to workers seniority, shift and overtime assignments, and the way in which promotions are made, as well as seeking unilaterally to impose flexibility changes that favour the company to the detriment of workers. The ICEM condemns the company for its announcement that it will continue production with replacement workers during the company-initiated lockout. The ICEM will use its role, as the leading Global Union Federation in the mining industry, to alert trade unions around the globe, particularly those representing Rio Tinto workers, of the lockout and urge them to take action on behalf of ILWU Local 30 in California. Borax, or sodium borate, is a mineral used in detergents, glass, building materials, and other uses such as an ingredient in chemicals In Davos, UNI Warns of Risks From Private Equity, CEO PayUNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings warned of gathering storms that could further destabilise the world economy and deal more blows to the world's working people. Trade union leaders sent a strong message to CEOs and bankers in Davos at the World Economic Forum: the global financial business model must change. We are not out of the woods yet and I would like to draw attention to a new weather front: the destiny of private equity owned companies, Jennings said. At the end of last the last private equity and merger boom, within 3 years 40 percent of those companies were bankrupt or in bankruptcy proceedings. Jennings warned that private equity was getting a free pass at Davos this year event though the job security of millions of people was in jeopardy. Trade union leaders are at the World Economic Forum to push their message of fundamental changes to global corporate and financial practice. Jennings joined International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) President Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary Guy Rider and John Evans, the General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, at a press conference in Davos. Jennings also warned that CEO pay needs to be reigned in drastically. This is a time where the CEO gravy train has to be derailed, he said. It is no longer acceptable that a CEO earns 100-300 times that of an average worker. CEO pay should be compared with that of the average Joe and that of the CEO around the corner. The bloated pay packers are a source of systemic risk, Jennings warned, adding that he supports the Drucker Principle, which says a CEO should make 20 times that of the lowest-paid worker. Another major risk is the money the banking industry is pumping into lobbying to prevent any kind of meaningful regulation of their business. Banks are short of funds for lending but they have fistfuls of dollars to fight reform, Jennings said. These bankers are going around Davos claiming regulation will be the source of the next crisis. This is an equation of the absurd. He pointed to a recent study by the International Monetary Fund that showed that the US banks that spent the most money lobbying US lawmakers were the ones that got the biggest bailouts and had the riskiest business practices. Parliamentary watchdogs should be on full alert and the political leadership must hold firm to show that they are serious about financial reforms. The union leaders also called for strong government programs to rebuild developed and developing economies and to foster long-term sustainable job growth in long-term sustainable industries. We need a fairer labour market coming out of this crisis, TUAC's Evans said. We don't need just redesign or rethinking, we also need redistribution. Those will be our messages to governments and employers in the weeks and months ahead. Evans said the measures must be fair and tackle the people hardest hit by the crisis and should create green jobs that help us tackle the climate crisis IUF Responds to Company Misinformation on ABI/SAB Miller South African Strike29/01/2010: As the strike by over a thousand FAWU members at ABI in South Africa enters its sixth week, the company has begun responding with false allegations and deliberate misinformation to the messages sent to the company by trade unionists around the world calling on it to enter into good faith negotiations with the union. FAWU and the IUF reject these allegations. They are a clumsy attempt to undermine international solidarity and part of the company's efforts to divert attention from the very real issues at the heart of the conflict which have convinced FAWU members to embark on the first national strike at ABI in twenty years. In response to the form letter being sent by ABI HR Director Steve Bluen, FAWU and the IUF point out that: Contrary to the claims made in the letter, there is nothing in FAWU's constitution or in South African legislation which obliges the union to ballot its members for industrial action. The company's arrogance in advising FAWU on matters of procedure and "democracy" is breathtaking. ABI has consistently claimed low support for the strike, cited fluctuating figures on the number of strikers and attempted to cultivate confusion in this regard rather than deal with the issues at the heart of the conflict. Not all FAWU members are in the bargaining unit, and are therefore not taking part in the strike. The strike has strong support at the company's manufacturing plants and attached depots, which is where the union's core membership is concentrated. ABI publicly acknowledges that 1,100 union members are on strike. Workers determination on the picket lines and at protest marches shows their determination to struggle for improved livelihoods. ABI ceaselessly repeats the allegation that FAWU members have participated in violent actions without, however, providing evidence of union members involvement. Apparently they believe that it is sufficient to repeat it loudly and frequently enough in order for it to be accepted as true. FAWU has repeatedly made clear its principled opposition to violence and issued repeated calls for peaceful conduct and discipline on the picket line. The only substantiated case of violence while picketing is one incident in Pretoria, where a manager appears to have provoked a shop steward, who responded violently but was restrained by union members. ABI management has used the police to build up its portfolio of allegations. Thus, for example, 79 FAWU members who were peacefully picketing at the ABI Devland plant were arrested on allegations of public violence, contempt of court order and damage to property after a single stone was allegedly thrown at a passing delivery truck. The union's condemnation of violence is clear, as is its position that allegations of violence cannot be used to prevent workers from returning to work when the strike ends, after which a disciplinary procedure based on due process would come into effect. ABI is now taking its allegations abroad, to those who are showing solidarity with the struggle, in under to improve its bargaining position. While the strike has forced the company to finally recognize that Saturday work needs to be remunerated as overtime work, ABI remains uncompromising on base wages despite the union's proposals, preferring to talk instead of vouchers and cellphone allowances. ABI claims that they pay better wages than some categories of private and public sector workers. We don't dispute this, but suggest that it only means that those other workers badly need a raise. On the urgent issues of precarious work, casual employment and owner-operators, what they don't say in their letter is this: crew members with "black empowered" drivers, who now carry out over 70% of company deliveries, earn as little as ZAR 1,200 (112 euros). Prior to this "empowerment", the prevailing wage was ZAR 6,600 (620 euros). Behind the talk about empowerment lies a savage attack on living standards. The Human Resources Director also fails to mention that up to 1,000 casual workers - more than 25% of ABI's workforce - are now employed by the company in production and distribution on a "temporary" basis. Some of these "casual" workers have been working on a daily basis for close to 19 years while being paid considerably less than permanent staff with no job security. Up to one-half of their substandard wage is skimmed by the labour brokers. So while "casual" becomes "permanent" and "empowerment" takes a hatchet to remuneration, ABI insists that the issues of precarious employment and labour brokers be dealt with separately from wages, in a nebulous "forum", and has even suggested that it be dealt with by the government, taking it entirely outside collective bargaining. While ABI is seeking to widen non-permanent, indirect employment and avoid responsibility for this growing category of insecure and poorly paid workers, FAWU is calling for a clear procedure for bargaining on these crucial issues. FAWU has clearly indicated its readiness to compromise while defending its members interests and believes that a negotiated solution can be achieved through constructive negotiations. ABI is encouraged to pursue this course rather than engaging in public relations exercises which seek to blackmail the union and its members UNISON Joins International Delegation to Protest at Sodexo's AGM25/01/2010: As Sodexo shareholders gathered for their annual meeting today in Paris, a delegation of the company's employees and their unions from the UK, France and the US, called for a global guarantee from Sodexo to improve pay and working conditions and guarantee the right of Sodexo workers to join a union without opposition. At a press conference at the Crowne Plaza Republique hotel, Sodexo workers and union leaders spoke out about a wide array of anti-worker practices by the company in recent years, including complaints of discriminating against minority workers, refusing to allow workers to form a union without company opposition, neglecting to pay some workers for all the hours they worked, and failing to pay nationally agreed-upon wage rates in the United Kingdom. We're trying to form a union, but Sodexo forced us into mandatory anti-union meetings, showed us anti-union videos, and brought individual workers in for one-on-one meetings with supervisors, said Brenda Espinoza, a food service worker at Doctors Hospital in Manteca, California. People are scared because the bosses have never come at us like this before. The unions representing Sodexo workers across the globe issued a joint statement calling on the company to act in a socially responsible manner, guarantee decent salaries, and ensure the freedom to join trade unions. Those unions include the CFDT, CGT, and FO in France; the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in the US; UNISON in the UK; and IUF, the global union federation for hospitality workers. Sodexo frequently fails to provide livable-wage jobs and too often interferes with workers who try to form unions in the US, said Mitch Ackerman, an executive vice president of the SEIU, who is traveling with the workers. We're calling on Sodexo to change its ways and allow all of their employees in the US to form a union without fear or interference so they can raise their living standards. Sodexo workers in France and their unions attended the event and expressed concern about the treatment of American workers. The CFDT Service Federation is in solidarity with the SEIU action, said James Bokongo, secretaire federale of the Fédération de Services CFDT. La Fédération de Services CFDT est solidaire de l'action SEIU. Said Jean Michel Dupire, secrétaire fédérale of CGT Commerce et Services, Les militants syndicaux CGT de Sodexo sont pleinement solidaires des revendications des salariés des Etat Unis et de l'action de leur syndicat SEIU. Sodexo doit entendre les revendications formulées par les travailleurs partout oúelle exerce une activité économique ! Les transnationales, Sodexo comme leurs concurrents du secteur doivent assumer leurs responsabilités sociales notamment dans cette période de crise conomique mondiale et accepter de reconnaitre et négocier avec les organisations syndicales et leurs représentants. In the United Kingdom, more than 200 Sodexo workers at an NHS hospital in North Devon started 2010 with successful strike action over the company's failure to abide by nationally agreed wage rates and terms and conditions. Staff working as cleaners, porters and cooks walked out at midnight on January 4, for 48 hours. Before serious talks began between UNISON and Sodexo, the company was refusing to pay hospital cleaners sick pay. This meant that ill, already low-paid staff, had the choice of going to work or not getting paid. UNISON members at Sodexo work in key jobs. Without their hard work, hospitals, schools and councils across the country could not function, said Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary. But Sodexo must pay workers what they deserve, and not undercut national agreements on pay, terms and conditions. UNISON is here today to show Sodexo that the combined strength of some of the world's biggest unions is behind these workers Mr. Prentis said. Together we will stand up for our members right to decent pay and fair terms and conditions. After the press conference, the delegation communicated with shareholders inside and outside of the company's annual meeting in Issy-les-Moulineaux. U.S. Sodexo workers delivered petition signatures from thousands of Sodexo employees across 10 American States telling Sodexo management that it's time to raise standards for all Sodexo workers and we want the freedom to form a union. The SEIU General Fund, a Sodexo shareholder, submitted written questions per the French Code de Commerce regarding the company's progress in addressing issues of discrimination in the United States and its willingness to enter into discussions to sign a global agreement to respect employee and union rights. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, Sodexo often states that its employees are amongst its most important assets, said Ron Oswald of the IUF. In practice the reality for Sodexo workers, in an economic sector where workers are too often insecure and woefully remunerated, can fall short of both Sodexo's own stated standards and the standards we would expect from a global company. To allow Sodexo workers the opportunity to advance their working and living standards, the IUF calls on Sodexo to guarantee their employees access to the fundamental rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining and to do so across the entire company operation worldwide through engagement with workers and representative unions at national and international levels, Oswald said. Sodexo's global track record calls into question their commitment to social responsibility, as the examples below show: Working without pay - United States - Given the low wages many Sodexo workers are paid, it's especially remarkable that they sometimes don't even receive everything the company owes them. For example, at a school in New Jersey, Sodexo janitors were awarded back pay and Sodexo was fined after the U.S. Dept. of Labor found that the company had employees working off the clock, and was having employees use 2 time cards to keep track of overtime. The investigation found that 13 employees were owed 24 hours of overtime each. According to the case narrative, Employees in some schools came into the workplace and started to work and then did not punch in until their scheduled time or they would punch out and then go back to work. Disrespecting nationally - agreed wage rates - United Kingdom - There have been a number of cases across the UK's National Health Service, where Sodexo has held down wages, terms and conditions. In late 2009, 40 Sodexo staff at Liverpool Women's Hospital had to threaten strike action to get the pay raise and back pay they had been waiting for since 2006. At South Manchester University Hospital Trust, more than 600 Sodexo workers had to threaten to walk out in December 2007 to get their pay raise and back pay. Racial Discrimination - United States - In April 2005, Sodexo agreed to pay $80 million USD to settle a race-bias suit filed by thousands of African American employees who charged that they were barred from promotions and segregated within the company in one of the biggest race-related job bias settlements in the U.S. However, a news story in the United States, which aired on 12 January 2010, reported that about a quarter of the company is African American. Only about 12 percent of the managers are African American, which is not changed very much from 5 years ago when the lawsuit was settled Obama Bank Reforms: Time for All Governments to Stand Up to the BanksBrussels, 22 January 2010: US President Barack Obama's announcement of plans to restructure banks as a key component of comprehensive financial regulatory reform is a major step in the right direction, which other governments must rapidly commit to match through similar laws, according to the international trade union movement. Linking the banking sector's binge of irresponsibility to the deepening unemployment crisis, Obama has proposed a series of urgently-needed reforms, including an end to the practice of banks using depositors money to engage in the kind of high-risk speculative operations, such as hedge funds and private equity, which helped plunge the world into recession. While tens of millions of people are losing their jobs, the very same bankers and financiers who poisoned the global economy with their greed and arrogance are once again playing their dangerous game of financial roulette. They show no interest in helping solve the crisis, only in lining their own pockets with even bigger bonuses than before. This has to stop, and other governments must also move to take them on quickly and with the same determination as President Obama is showing, said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder. News of multi-billion dollar bonuses, even in banks which had to be rescued by taxpayers, is a particularly ugly feature of the financial economy and has caused widespread outrage. On top of this, the leveraged buyout, where corporate takeovers are financed through massive debt, and employees often lose their jobs as a result, remains a feature of the world economy. There is an urgent need for governments around the world, and in particular the European Union, to act fast and in step with the US plans. Otherwise, bankers will simply move to take advantage of inadequate regulation in other jurisdictions, said John Monks, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. The ETUC calls upon the EU to step up to the challenge and resist the anti-reform fightback which the financial sector has already launched. The US proposals are aimed at tackling one of the key causes of the world recession, and need to be implemented quickly and as a central pillar of overall reform, including action on bonuses and measures to limit purely speculative practices across the finance sector. While government stimulus packages have saved millions of jobs, at least in the short term, private sector demand remains weak and governments need to continue recovery measures despite the fiscal pressures. We need a clear and globally coherent regulatory framework to make sure that banking practices serve the real economy. A financial transactions tax to reduce speculation and provide funds to help pay the costs of the crisis and generate sustainable and decent jobs and development must also be part of the package, said John Evans, general secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD Saudi Airline Attempts to Quash Moroccan Aviation Workers UnionA Saudi Airline is attempting to suppress a trade union established by its aviation employees based in Morocco. Management at Saudi
Arabian Airlines in Morocco has threatened workers with dismissal if they refuse to sign a petition demanding the dissolution of a union they established in June last year. The union, Syndicate of Saudi Arabian Airlines Workers in Morocco, is a subsidiary of the ITF-affiliated Federation Nationale du Transport Aerien. The airline took the heavy-handed anti-union steps after the union stated that, as it operated in Morocco, Saudi Arabian Airlines was subject to provisions outlined in the Moroccan fair labour standards act and laws guaranteeing trade union rights. The company had been falsely claiming that it enjoyed diplomatic status exempting it from the labour laws governing Morocco. The union reminded airline management that Moroccan law did not permit the dissolution of a union by means of a petition and prohibited employer interference in union affairs. Bilal Malkawi, ITF Arab World office, said: Workers should have the right of freedom of association regardless of the company they work for or their nationality. Transport workers in the Arab world will campaign and fight for their rights. They belong to the ITF; that is why they feel they are stronger European Trade Union Organisations Condemn GM Decision to Close Opel Plant in Antwerp21/01/2010: The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Metalworkers
Federation (EMF) condemn today's decision by GM management to close its Antwerp factory. This will affect 2,600 workers on the site and as many as 10,000 in the supply chain. John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC stressed, This is a massive blow to manufacturing in Belgium and I would urge GM to reconsider its decision and to do all it can to save these jobs in Antwerp. The decision is based on political grounds, rather than sound economic logic since the small SUV, which GM promised would be manufactured in Antwerp, is now going to be produced in South Korea said Peter Scherrer, General Secretary of the EMF. The European metalworkers stand by their firm commitment to fight against any plant closures and forced redundancies in the GM Europe group Global Labour Audiocast Starts SoonAs of February 1, 2010 the web-based resource RadioLabour will start broadcasting a weekly 20 minute programme called "Solidarity news". The programme will go live every Monday morning. According to RadioLabour, the new web service will help to promote global communication between labour organizations of the South and the North and will focus primarily on union and workers issues and activities around the world emphasizing the situation in emerging economies and developing countries. The audiocast is presented by labour educator Marc Bélanger. The reports will be based on materials created by RadioLabour reporters and interested unionists will be also given the opportunity to supply their materials for audio reports. The scripts of the audiocasts will be stored on the website and will be available for unionists who want to improve their English speaking skills as an additional language in the international labour movement. For further information about the news service, reporting and time of audiocasts please visit: www.radiolabour.net/ (USA) Organizing 31 Million Jobless AmericansThe International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and partners launched Ur Union of Unemployed - nicknamed UCubed - on January 15, 2010 to assist the more than 31 million jobless Americans. By registering on the website, UCubed connects the unemployed by postal code and then builds "cubes" of six people to end that sense of being all alone. UCubed aims to bring people together - the unemployed and underemployed alike - to build a community of jobs activists who will create local networks, support one another and help in the campaign for jobs. Inviting the unemployed to join, R. Thomas Buffenbarger, IAM International President explains why the Machinists have established UCubed. More than 35,000 members of our union have been laid off. Others are working fewer hours each week because their employers simply do not have orders to fill. And the real recovery, not the false one on Wall Street, still seems years away, said Buffenbarger. By creating UCubed, IAM hopes to ease the burden of being unemployed and organize job activists in the political campaign for the creation of jobs in all sectors of the U.S. economy. Everywhere we turn we see the personal devastation this Grave Recession has caused. And we hope UCubed provides a measure of relief - an end to the sense of being all alone, a chance to build something useful and unique, and an opportunity for the unemployed to change things for the better, said Buffenbarger. For more go to: www.unionofunemployed.com/ BWI Moving Forward in 2010The past year was one of economic turmoil and instability. The international trade union movement responded quickly and effectively to address the enormous difficulties faced by millions of workers who were basically victims of corporate mismanagement. Although we have yet to fully recover from the financial crisis, we enter 2010 with the energy, unity, and momentum garnered from the 2nd Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) World Congress held this past December in Lille, France. At the Congress, we unveiled a strategic plan that outlined our road to recovery, to rebuild, and our road to move forward. We will start 2010 with some initial campaigns on addressing the economic crisis, organizing multinational corporations, climate change, migration, trade unions rights, and youth. Millions of workers are still reeling from the most severe economic crisis. In 2010, BWI with solid leadership will campaign in coordination with the Global Unions for international financial institutions to implement effective financial regulatory mechanisms to ensure a democratic global governance of the international market. BWI affiliates should mobilize and campaign their national government to ensure that workers issues are included in economic development and recovery programs as well as all forms of stimulus packages. These recovery programs should also address the specific concerns of women workers who due to their historical marginalization are one of the most vulnerable in times of economic crisis. Despite the efforts of trade unions, and broader civil society groups at the recent COP 15 in Copenhagen, governments failed to reach a legally binding agreement to succeed or complement the Kyoto Protocol. In 2010, with strong tenacity we will campaign for the international trade union movement to push governments to not only formulate a binding agreement but more importantly implement policies and programs that will ensure sustainable development, decent work, and just transition. BWI affiliates should advocate and dialogue with national governments to implement programs in upgrading energy effectiveness and renovation of existing buildings, develop vocational trainings programs linking the new technology with creation of jobs for workers in transition both in the construction and forestry sector, and advocate for inclusive sustainable forest management policies from the nursery to the finished product. Globalization has resulted in uneven global economic grown and phenomenal increase in transnational migration, particularly in our sectors. In 2010, with self-assurance we will institute a Global Campaign on Migrant Workers Rights that will push for a rights-based approach to labour migration internationally and regionally as well integrate migrant workers rights in International Framework Agreements and promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Global Campaign will supplement and support the work of BWI affiliates developing and implementing organizing campaigns focused on migrant workers, advocating and promoting the rights of migrant workers, and providing much needed services to migrant workers. While workers are restricted from borders, multinational corporations are not. In the same way we follow workers, we will follow multinational corporations and continue our organizing campaigns. In 2010 BWI with incredible zeal will continue to campaign for the implementation of International Framework Agreements (IFAs) to organize workers. BWI affiliates should utilize the IFAs as a tool for organizing and incorporate it in their overall organizing campaigns. Every day workers are harassed, fired, jailed, and some are even killed for exercising their fundamental right to organize. In 2010 BWI with great bravery will campaign to defend and promote trade union rights and further demonstrate the positive Union Effect in achieving sustainable development and decent work. BWI affiliates should continue to actively participate in our solidarity campaigns. Today young workers need trade unions more than ever as they find themselves employed in non-permanent, temporary work that often barely pays living wage and with no or minimal benefits. In 2010 BWI with daring passion will campaign to commit resources and develop focused organizing campaigns aimed at organizing young workers. Leadership, tenacity, self-assurance, zeal, bravery, and passion are all qualities of the tiger and according to the lunar calendar, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger. These are all qualities that BWI and its affiliates will need to adopt to ensure that we are successful in the initial campaigns that will move our strategic plan forward--Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary A Call to Action / Climate ChangeExploring Alternatives to PrivatizationThe municipal services project (MSP) is an inter-disciplinary project made up of academics, labour unions, non-governmental organizations, social movements and activists from around the globe. PSI participates through its Research Unit, PSIRU, based in Greenwich University and directed by Profesor David Hall. The MSP website, accessible in English and Spanish, provides a valuable resource for those working to protect and improve public services. It features a diversity of publications and materials, from academic journal articles to video and audio documentaries. An interactive map allows visitors to see what's happening in the world of alternatives. The events listing will keep you up to date on engaging conferences, workshops and meetings. We encourage you to visit the website. By becoming a member (www.municipalservicesproject.org/) you can access all of the interactive features of the website, add your own publications and research material and create links to your own organisations New publication: 2010 World Cup and The Construction SectorA new booklet has been published for the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) Campaign for Decent Work Towards and Beyond 2010. This booklet is a resource for construction trade unions, shop stewards, workers and allied organisations engaged in the struggle to improve working conditions for those involved in FIFA World Cup 2010 construction projects, and those working in the construction sector. As with the first booklet, this booklet may be seen as a campaign tool for unionists as they fight for gains to set standards for South African workers in the sector. It will also set a benchmark for decent work for the Euro Cup in 2012, as well as for the time when Brazilian workers construct the stadiums and infrastructure for the 2014 World Cup. This booklet provides profile snapshots of the major construction companies involved in 2010 World Cup construction projects. We also provide information on the minimum wages in the civil engineering sector, which are contrasted with the remuneration packages of executives in the industry. We take a look at how the campaign was forged and coordinated,and explore some of the key challenges and successes of the Campaign for Decent Work Towards and Beyond 2010. As the campaign also has an international character, we include feature articles looking at the campaign from an international perspective. The information in this booklet is intended to arm those involved in the struggle for decent work with information to be used in discussion, debate and action amongst workers. The booklet is also intended to contribute to building the independent knowledge of the working class. After all, knowledge is too important to be left in the hands of the bosses. Full report can be downloaded here 2009 Leaves One of Worst Records for Targeted Killings of Journalists, Says IFJThe International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called for more action from governments and the United Nations to protect media as it announced a grim total of 137 journalists and media personnel killed during 2009. The number of targeted killings at 113 is one of the highest ever recorded says the IFJ, despite calls by the United Nations for governments to put an end to impunity. In a year that ended with a rush of media killings, the Philippines, Mexico and Somalia are designated the most dangerous countries for journalists. Last year's drop in the murder rate of journalists has been short lived, said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. The devastating massacre of 31 journalists and media staff in the Philippines in November and fresh violence against colleagues in Mexico and Somalia have made this a year of terrible bloodshed for media. The IFJ list of work related media killings is coordinated with the International News Safety Institute (INSI) and contains 137 journalists and media personnel who died during 2009 against 109 killings recorded in 2008. Of these, 24 were accidental deaths while journalists were at work. In Iraq which has been for most of the decade the most dangerous country for journalists media deaths are down to five killings in 2009 against 16 last year as the country's political crisis has eased. But the shocking statistics of the year are found in the Philippines where 38 journalists and media staff were killed in 2009 - most of them victims of a massacre in the Maguindano province on 23 November which claimed 31 media casualties. The IFJ says this unprecedented attack and continued violence against media in other hot spots is a challenge to governments which in 2006 were told by the United Nations Security Council to take steps to protect journalists and media in conflict zones. The question is whether governments are listening or ready to take their responsibilities seriously, said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. There is no room for complacency and indifference. The crisis facing media threatens innocent lives and democracy itself. As of 31 December, the IFJ recorded the following information on killings of journalists and media staff in 2009: Targeted killings: 113, Accidental deaths: 24, Overall killed: 137 The deadliest region, for the second year running, was Asia Pacific with 52 journalists and media personnel killed. The Philippines have the region's highest death toll, following the 23 November Maguindano province which claimed 31 lives of media victims. Other countries with high numbers of media fatalities are: Mexico 13, Somalia 9, Pakistan 7, Russia 6. In 2008, Iraq, India and Mexico were the most dangerous countries in the world. Russia has this year broken into the top five most dangerous countries. The IFJ is supporting a campaign against impunity in the country and has launched an online database on cases of journalists murders in collaboration with two leading Russian monitors of abuses against journalists; the Glasnost Defence Foundation and the Centre for Journalism in Extreme Conditions. The full IFJ report on journalists and media staff killed in 2009 will be published mid January 2010 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Elected 2009's National Scrooge of the YearThe Chamber's narrow, radical agenda advocating for anti-worker, profit-focused solutions to the broken health care, labor, and environmental systems garnered them the most votes for the national Jobs with Justice "Scrooge of the Year" award. Thousands of votes were cast in the Jobs with Justice annual contest to determine which greedy, cold-hearted organization or person deserves the title "Scrooge of the Year." Voters chose the Chamber of Commerce as their winner this year as it's became increasingly clear that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has developed into a front group for a few narrow interests, not a membership association that represents the voice of mainstream American businesses. The Chamber has spent millions of dollars lobbying against legislation that would benefit workers and families like the Employee Free Choice Act, health insurance reform, paid sick days, and environmental regulations. Their extreme positions have led some companies and local chapters of the Chamber to disaffiliate from the national group. This year's Scrooge contest pitted the Chamber of Commerce against Bank of America, nominated for their role in the sub-prime lending crisis and failure to extend credit to small businesses, Hyatt Hotels for their Scrooge-like firing of 100 housekeepers in Boston and other anti-worker actions, Publix Supermarkets for their resisting the call to be part of the solution to human rights violations in Florida fields by continuing to buy tomatoes from growers prosecuted for modern-day slavery, and student loan lenders Sallie Mae and Citibank for their expensive, variable rate loans for students. An impressive write-in campaign was also waged for United Airlines, for their slashing of workers wages and pensions while continuing to award lavish bonuses to top executives. There was plenty of competition for the award this year, said Jobs with Justice Executive Director Sarita Gupta. But the similarities between Scrooge and the Chamber of Commerce were hard to beat. The ghost of years past would show that the policies they've promoted including deregulation and maximizing profits at the expense of workers are directly connected to the destruction of America's middle class. Throughout the country, many people remain unemployed and more are working harder and longer than ever before to make ends meet, as highlighted in our recently released report examining the impact of the economic crisis on working people. Over the holidays and in the coming weeks, Jobs with Justice will begin a campaign to engage working people in the fight for the creation of a national jobs program. We fully expect the Chamber of Commerce to come out in opposition to our demand for good paying and family sustaining jobs, said Gupta, but we will not cede this moment nor shy away from this fight. The ghost of future years will show that in this time of crisis, it was our efforts that helped put people back to work (USA) Wisconsin Governor Signs Historic Labor in the Schools BillGovernor Jim Doyle made it official Thursday, Dec. 10: He signed into law AB 172, the Labor History in the Schools bill, culminating 12 years of efforts by key legislators, workers, unions and others to pass legislation to assure the teaching of labor history and collective bargaining. More than 50 persons crowded into the governor's conference room as he used four pens to sign the historic bill that will make the teaching of labor history and collective bargaining part of the state's standards for public schools in Wisconsin. Once again Wisconsin leads the way in progressive labor legislation, commented Steve Cupery, president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. As far as we can tell, Wisconsin is the first state to have enacted such a law. We expect others will follow our example. John Wagnitz, on the staff of Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), said that the senator's office has been getting inquiries from around the nation about the bill. Sen. Hansen and Rep. Andy Jorgensen (D-Fort Atkinson) co-authored the bill. It passed both houses of the legislature, with most Democrats in support, along with a few Republican members. Much of the work in developing the current bill was done in the Assembly's Committee on Labor, chaired by Rep. (and former school board member) Christine Sinicki -Milwaukee). In signing the bill, Gov. Doyle cited the importance of elections to achieving legislative goals. He recalled the lengthy effort to pass the bill, with it often passing one house of the legislature, and being stranded in the other. He said for the first time in the last dozen years both houses of the Legislature, and the governor's office, were in control of Democrats, nearly all of whom support legislation calling for teaching of labor history and collective bargaining in the schools. I'm happy to sign this bill so that Wisconsin students understand how important the labor movement was in creating some of the most basic workplace rights that Wisconsin families enjoy today, Governor Doyle said. The Wisconsin Labor History Society has made the teaching of labor history in the schools one of its key objectives since its founding in 1981. As early as 1985, the WLHS worked with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bert Grover to involve labor history in state instruction plans. The long battle to pass legislation that urged the teaching of Labor History in the Schools began with a dedicated effort in the 1997-98 Legislative session when the first bill was introduced. To implement the new law, WLHS will assist teachers, school districts, parents and students in accessing materials that will provide information about union history and collective bargaining. WLHS has established a curriculum committee, chaired by Jim Lorence, emeritus professor of history at UW-Marathon County, to work on providing additional materials to assist teachers and students to fulfill the purpose of the new law. We look forward to working with DPI on developing their materials for our public schools, Cupery said. The annual conference of the WLHS which will be held April 17, 2010 in Milwaukee will focus on providing both community and teacher support for implementing the new law. Membership in the WLHS will go toward supporting these efforts. Also instrumental in attending hearings, offering testimony, making legislative contacts and doing other activities in support of the bill through the 12 years were: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, David Newby, president; Phil Neuenfeldt, secretary-treasurer; Joanne Ricca, legislative representative; Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) and many of the state's unions and members USW, Vale Spar Over Picket Line, Scab Threats in Canadian Nickel StrikeWith pressures mounting on Brazilian-based Vale to return to bargaining in the Canadian nickel strike now entering its sixth month, the company and United Steelworkers (USW) are fighting battles in the courtroom and before the public in what has become a pitched, bitter dispute between working-class Canadians and a rich, profitable multinational. If the public war of words over who first must amend its position so bargaining can resume is not enough, the two sides are now belligerent combatants in face-to-face side dramas, including changes to a picket line protocol agreement and grievances and unfair work practices before the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The latter is over Vale's intent to make non-striking USW members perform struck work. Canadian management of Vale has also deployed divide-and-conquer tactics by trying to drive a wedge between striking steelworkers, as well as giving the false public perception that its social rollback proposals to USW branch unions are a necessary ingredient to sustainable mining in Canada. Some 3,250 miners and metalworkers went on strike at Vale's nickel mining, smelting, and processing operations in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, on 13 July 2009, while another 350 copper and nickel miners from Goose Bay and Voiseys Bay, Labrador, joined the strike on 1 August. Vale, which bought Canada-based Inco's assets late in 2006, is seeking to strip away a production bonus from Canadian steelworkers, impose a two-tiered pension plan, and gain contract language to allow it greater flexibility on using sub-contractors, which ultimately jeopardizes job security and the sustainable future of workers themselves. For ten weeks now, Vale has made threatening moves that it would re-start production at its mines and processing facilities in northern Ontario near Sudbury, something never before done in a labour dispute at Sudbury. The company most recently posted notices that it will re-start the massive Copper Cliff smelter using a selected contractor. The union has filed an unfair labour practice with the Ontario labour board because Vale insists on using USW Local 2020 members - clerical, admin, and technical workers - to perform mining and processing work. Local 2020 itself has filed serious safety grievances against Vale for assigning its members work they are not trained for. A picket line protocol agreement signed on 29 July has been a subject of contention, primarily due to Vale's desire to amend it. The company wants to include in the protocol the transfer of buses carrying replacement workers across strike lines. This courtroom conflict also involves how long USW Local 6500 strikers can delay vehicles upon entry to company property, as well as lesser issues such as Vale's failure to supply strikers firewood, as stipulated in the original agreement. Those and other picket-line issues are before an Ontario Superior Court justice, who is expected to rule on revised picket-line conduct before the end of December. Vale has also made an overture to the 200 USW Local 6200 members in Port Colborne, 400 kilometres south of Sudbury, to resume negotiations without Local 6500. This move is a blatant effort to divide the two workforces. Locals 6500 and 6200 share the same labour agreement. Local 6200 President Wayne Rae says separating the two workforces will never happen. And last week, Vale's Canadian managers circumvented official union structures by sending a letter directly to all workers on strike. The letter urged workers to call on their unions to return to bargaining and accept Vale's concessions because the company intends moving ahead on business, meaning a return to production using replacement workers and contractors. The USW responded in an 11 December press release, stating that it has already put forth a good-faith invitation to Vale to return to talks under no pre-conditions. We are publicly reiterating our position today because Vale's letter attempts to misrepresent our willingness to resume meaningful discussions, read the statement. We are ready and willing to get back to the bargaining today, unconditionally. Given the impact this dispute is having on our working families and our community as a whole, it is incumbent on the union and the company to drop all preconditions and start talking to each other again. Unfortunately, Vale Inco continues to stick by its preconditions and its argument that it needs concessions to maintain its sustainability, when its demands such as cutting the nickel bonus do not affect its sustainability whatsoever. Vale had to win a bidding war to purchase this profitable company. Inco made profits each year with nickel prices lower than today's. Vale has reaped huge profits under the current contract. No one can say Sudbury's rich nickel mines are not sustainable. USW branch locals in Ontario and Labrador have been buoyed by a private member's bill in the Canadian Parliament by MP Claude Gravelle. The proposed legislation would give transparency to all deals made within the Investment Canada Act, a haunting lesson on democracy to many Canadians since details between the federal government and Vale were kept secret when the company bought Inco. Gravelle has also submitted two additional bills aimed at making public all facts surrounding Vale's purchase of Inco and Xstrata's buy-up of Canadian-based Falconbridge, a deal that also included valuable copper-nickel assets in northern Ontario. For Sudbury Local 6500, the 3,100-member union continues promoting solidarity within its own ranks through unity, fraternity, and an acute community awareness that says successfully resisting Vale's take-aways is the real path for a sustainable future. From 10 to 15 December, Local 6500 embarked on a Week of Action that include several activities in Sudbury. Those activities included a 10 December, International Human Rights Day candlelight vigil and march done in unison with the Sudbury District Labour Council of the Canadian Labour Congress. The next day, 11 December, students and the faculty union association of nearby Laurentian University conducted Out of the Classroom and Onto the Picket Lines, in which class sessions were moved to the picket lines of the Copper Cliff smelter in order to study the causes and effects of the strike. A Families Supporting the Strikers fundraiser was held on the weekend, 12-13 December, while a Steelworker Solidarity Support caravan from Toronto also visited picket lines on 13 December. Today, 14 December, union veterans and retirees will conduct a symposium entitled Lessons From the Past - What We Have Won, complete with reflections on a strike in 1978 and the necessity to retain what has already been gained. And tomorrow, 15 December, Local 6500 members and their families will hold a Fair Deal for Our Families march and manifestation at Vale-Inco's Copper Cliff offices. On 3 December, in another outpouring of support for the striking Canadian miners, scores of members from the US-based union Unite-Here joined Local 6500 and Local 6200 members who bused to New York City to protest an award by the Business Council for International Understanding to Roger Agnelli, Vale's CEO. The joining of hands by Unite-Here, who recently returned to the AFL-CIO, with the USW was symbolic of renewed unity inside the American trade union movement, solidarity now extending into Canada. The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Unions (ICEM) has been joined by the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) in waging a global campaign in support of Canadian miners. The miners own English-language website gives complete and up-to-date details of the bitter strike. It can be found here US Transport Workers File Labour Violation ComplaintTransport workers in the US have filed a complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO) concerning New York state legislation, which bans strike action among public sector employees. The International Transport Workers
Federation-affiliated Transport Workers Union (TWU) submitted a complaint to the ILO's committee on freedom of association over New York state's Taylor law, which bars public sector workers from embarking on strike action. Flouting the law is punishable by extensive fines, imprisonment and suspension of union subscription payments. The TWU faced the brunt of the law during a 60-hour strike action in 2005, during a dispute over attempts to reduce pension rights for new employees. Despite the parties reaching a tentative agreement following the action, New York courts fined the TWU US $2.5 million, deducted the equivalent of two days pay from workers wages for every day of the strike and imposed fines on three union officers. In addition, the president of TWU Local 100 was also given a jail term and the union's subscription payments were suspended; they were only restored more than a year later. The complaint to the ILO states that the law seriously infringes on core trade union rights, which are protected in international law. It also calls on the ILO to recommend that the Taylor law be amended to ensure it complies with international labour standards and that the union receive a full reimbursement to cover the fines they were forced to pay |
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