Labor Notes - Solidarity Network

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In Bangladesh, workers are engaged in a protracted battle for the restoration of union rights, which were suspended more than a year ago when the government declared emergency rule. Interim authorities used that power earlier this year to file criminal cases against dozens of union members, including leaders of the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers’ Union Federation.

In a Dhaka shop operated by garment-maker RM Sweater, workers mourn the loss of a fellow worker, a 25-year-old man they called Russell. Though he complained of severe chest pains, management refused to let Russell leave work, where he collapsed and died April 1.

Expiration Date:
Sat, 05/31/2008 - 9:59pm

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An Iranian bakery worker and co-founder of the Bakery Workers Trade Union, Mahmoud Salehi, was released from prison in early April after a year of incarceration. Imprisoned for breaches of “national security,” he had organized a rally on International Workers’ Day (May 1) in 2004.

During his prison stay, protesters rallied outside the high-security facility in the Kurdish capital of Sanandaj. Their voices were soon joined by activists with LabourStart, the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Transport Federation, and Amnesty International, which all launched solidarity campaigns in the last year. Salehi was released to crowds celebrating his freedom, and promised to continue his decades-long struggle for labor rights in Iran.

Expiration Date:
Sat, 05/31/2008 - 8:59pm

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The Gaza Strip is a difficult place to hold down a job, and recent violence against the main Palestinian union federation only worsened the lot of workers there. One and a half million Palestinians live in Gaza under an Israeli economic siege that has closed borders and ports, and restricted access to water, electricity, and basic goods. The resulting conditions have been dire. According to the UN Relief Works Association, unemployment and poverty rates have soared to 80 percent since the economic blockade ramped up three years ago.

Conditions deteriorated even further when Israel initiated military raids in late February, killing more than 100 civilians, a third of them children.

Expiration Date:
Wed, 04/30/2008 - 10:59pm

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Workers at the Hishi Plastics factory in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, have waged a five-year organizing and bargaining battle with the company. Ninety percent of the plant’s 50 workers voted to join the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE) in 2003, but their campaign was tied up by legal challenges from the employer, who claimed that some of the employees were supervisors.

The vote was suspended for four years while the NLRB decided the Kentucky River case, which established an expanded definition of supervisory work and denied many workers bargaining rights. Nevertheless, the National Labor Relations Board counted the ballots last January and granted collective bargaining with the UE to Hishi workers.

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Wed, 04/30/2008 - 9:59pm

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Coal miners have launched the largest underground strike in Polish history. Since early January 500 workers have occupied the Budryk mine, 3,000 feet underground. The original strike action began in mid-December but was escalated further when workers took over their workplace.

They seek equal pay with the employees of the Jastrzebska Coal Company, who have recently begun a similar mine occupation. Jastrzebska is looking to buy up the state-owned Budryk mine this year. Budryk workers say they labor under the lowest wages in all of Polish industry.

The two unions leading the action, August 80 and Kadr, are coming under attack from right-wing politicians and business — but also from the trade unions Solidarnosc and ZZG, which have joined bosses in calling for state intervention to break up the strike. Motivated by last year’s methane explosion in the Halemba mine, workers are demanding better safety standards and wages, along with control over their workplaces to prevent more privatization of mining sites.

Expiration Date:
Fri, 02/29/2008 - 10:59pm

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Seventy-seven appliance repair technicians in metro Vancouver, British Columbia, have been locked out of work since October 1. Their employer, Sears Canada, has 3,800 retail stores and more than $50 billion in annual revenue in its North American operations.

More than three months after the initial lockout, the company refuses to allow the technicians to return to work without adhering to certain conditions. Their terms rule out wage increases for the next four years and eliminate some overtime premiums and paid holidays. The new terms, which technicians are challenging, would also let Sears schedule workweeks without two consecutive days off.

Expiration Date:
Fri, 02/29/2008 - 10:59pm