US labor speaks out against warUS caves on labor rights in Ecuador

By Independent Media Center Staff

Oct. 29— Organized labor, with its 13 million members, has the potential to become one of the most powerful voices for peace and justice.

Though AFL-CIO, hasn’t taken a stance for or against a unilateral invasion of Iraq, it has allowed room for local and regional affiliates to take independent stances.

Most rank-and-file union members don’t think Bush has justified the need for an attack. Like most Americans, they are taking the middle road. While they may not like Saddam Hussein many do not see enough reason to intervene in the affairs of a sovereign nation.

That very few unions have taken a stance in support of the Bush administration is also important. Even among those unions that have, there isn’t a vocal, pro-war section of organized labor, as there was during the Vietnam War.

Many union members are waiting to see how the next few months play out. But in an encouraging trend, some have come out against the war.

An example of a labor-led initiative to oppose war came from the Washington State Central Labor Council (CLC) AFL-CIO. The Washington State CLC, representing close to half a million trade unionists, held its convention Aug. 19 ­ 22, in Spokane, Washington.

At that convention it was resolved that the Washington State CLC “opposes the US government’s open-ended ‘war on terrorism’ and [urges all its affiliates] to pressure Bush and Congress to stop the war… assist laid-off workers, restore and expand services, and promote global justice by providing humanitarian and economic aid.”

The California Federation of Teachers (CFT) at a recent State Council meeting passed a resolution against war on Iraq. The resolution said, “the CFT goes on record as strenuously opposing the Bush administration’s march toward war with Iraq…” The resolution also urged all affiliates to encourage their members to do the same.

The CFT, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), represents over 100,000 teachers and school employees and has a history of being involved in social, political and economic struggles.

In a phone interview Margaret Shelleda, Assistant to the President of CFT, said, “Bush has shown no evidence that Iraq posses a threat to the US and a war would only exacerbate the situation in the Middle East.” She added, “unilateral action is a violation of international standards.”

On the top of Shelleda’s priorities list were domestic issues. “Twenty five percent of California’s budget is in deficit,” she said. “Education isn’t getting enough money. Hardly any schools have nurses. And Bush is on the brink of committing billions of dollars and thousands of lives without attempting a diplomatic approach.”

And most recently on Oct. 1, the Executive Committee of the AFL-CIO Pride at Work, a constituency group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender union members, passed a resolution against “pre-emptive war strikes on Iraq or any other country.”

The list of official AFL-CIO bodies openly taking a stance against war is small now. But the list is growing.

Independent bodies, comprised of union officers and rank-and-file union members, seeking official recognition from their local, regional and national unions, are forming much more quickly.

New York City Labor Against the War (NYCLAW) is a perfect example. The peace movement has found an important ally in NYCLAW, which formed weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. According to Michel Letwin, President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW 2325, it has been “both an anti-war pole within labor and a labor pole in the anti-war movement.”

Detroit Labor for Peace and Justice (DLPJ) is another example. Originally formed in response to the bombing of Afghanistan, DLPJ issued a Labor Day statement in the Metro Detroit Labor News. It said, “We condemn the horrific terrorist attack on September 11. Yet the war in Afghanistan has brought further suffering... We therefore oppose the expansion of the War on Terror to include military action in Iraq... or any other country.”

In a phone interview Paul Felton, of DLPJ, said, “Bush’s foreign policy has little to do with helping the American people. It is designed to further corporate interests.”

Felton, a 22-year member of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) area local 480-481, suggested that the labor movement as a whole has been “cautious” and added, “This is the perfect opportunity for labor to break from the legacy of un-critically supporting US foreign policy.” He continued, “Sometimes labor participation in the peace movement seems too small,” but the growing response many unions and union members have shown is “certainly a healthy beginning.”

Source: The Indypendent

US caves on labor rights in Ecuador

The US has granted Ecuador enhanced trade benefits under the US Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) even though Ecuador failed to comply with the Act’s labor rights requirements. According to US law, before granting ATPDEA benefits, the US must take into account “the extent to which the country provides internationally recognized worker rights, including … the right of association; the right to organize and bargain collectively … [and] [w]hether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.”

Ecuador has inadequately investigated cases of labor rights violations, such as May 16, 2002 when two hundred armed individuals attacked striking banana plantation workers, which went largely uninvestigated. Also, inadequate is the government’s decree of a new “System for the Inspection and Monitoring of Child Labor.” This initiative is insufficient to address the country’s egregious failure to enforce its child labor laws because it does not provide for new labor inspectors, but shifts existing inspectors charged with enforcing other labor laws to this new bureaucracy. (Human Rights Watch)

Unemployed Taipei
workers protest

Over 1,000 angry workers took to the streets in Taipei, Taiwan yesterday, demanding the resignation of Chen Chu as chairperson of the Council of Labor Affairs. The demonstrators protested against Taiwan’s rising unemployment, which hit a record high of 5.35 percent in August. From the Council of Labor Affairs the demonstrators marched to the Presidential Plaza, where two garbage trucks ditched tons of trash. Under a banner reading “Can’t Afford to Live,” the protesters said most of them have lost their factory or office jobs in the past year. The organizer of the protest rally, the Union of Laborers, complained that government policy has favored businesses, making the gap between rich and poor all the wider. A survey done by the 1111 Job Bank, a Taipei-based human resources firm, shows about 65 percent of the employees said their wages had been cut over the past year. (China Post)

New group seeks to protect free speech, civil rights

In response to growing pressure on the rights of professional employees, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Newspaper Guild-CWA and the Department for Professional Employees of the AFL-CIO are joining forces to launch the Professional Rights and Opportunities (PRO) Network.

Speaking at the first PRO forum, William Scheuerman, AFT vice-president said journalists, professors, engineers and other professional employees increasingly feel threatened by corporate influences in classrooms and newsrooms, technology used to monitor workers, and challenges to academic freedom and intellectual property rights.

Guild president Linda Foley said that in the news media, changes in newspaper ownership have affected the quality of news and the ability of reporters to cover stories. “Our society is built on the premise that a free press is composed of many voices. Having a few large corporate conglomerates control news is potentially dangerous to our democracy,” she said. (American Federation of Teachers)

Students call for holiday Gap protest

The United Students Against Sweatshops started a campaign that urges shoppers to avoid Gap clothing stores this holiday season by placing ads Nov. 7 in newspapers at several leading universities. They said they are acting in response to anti-union activity at factories manufacturing Gap products in El Salvador and South Africa. Ben McKean, the group’s spokesperson, said Gap suppliers in those two countries have used physical harassment, termination and blacklisting to impede organizing efforts. He called the group’s action a two-month “holiday campaign” meant to convey a message from foreign factory workers to the US public. (AP)