The Brews That Screw.

     Carling, Coors, Cobra, Corona, Crap, Capitalism. More and more of the business world are using the "difficult times" as an excuse to rip-up employment agreements won over years of struggle and negotiation, and replace them with a take it or leave it crap new employment agreement. One that sees the workers' rights shredded and their wages cut, Molson Coors UK, is just the latest to indulge in this "screw-the-worker" campaign.  This is an appeal from Labour Start for solidarity.

Carling.  Coors.  Cobra.  Corona. 

 

     Famous brews all made by Molson Coors UK -- and that's just the "C"s. Molson Coors UK claims to make great beers and be a great place to work. One of those statements may not be true.

      Recently, the company has told its employees that half of them will face pay cuts of up to £9,000 per year, they'll need to work excessive shift hours and that the employer has decided to tear up an agreement with the union. Workers who don't accept the company proposals stand to be dismissed by 14 June. Workers at Molson Coors UK, represented by Unite the Union, are now balloting for industrial action.

     They are asking for all of us to support the online campaign launched by the IUF - the International Union of Food workers.

 

Please sign up to the campaign and spread the word to your friends, family and fellow union members.

 

You can learn more about this struggle from the IUF and Unite.

 

Want to know more about the IUF and global unions generally?  Order our brand-new 100 page book -- The Global Labour Movement: An Introduction -- for only £3.99.

 

Thank you!

 

Eric Lee

 

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Glasgow May Day.

 May Day, Glasgow Buchanan Street, 2013.

        Today, May 1st., May Day, has been celebrated across the planet, and rightly so. It is probably the most important day in the calendar of the ordinary people.  In some cities it was a massive display of workers solidarity, in others it was a more quiet affair, but there would be few cities that didn't have some sort of show. Though it should be held on May 1st. and is in lots of cities and towns, in others, Glasgow for example, it will be on the first weekend after May 1st.. That said, Glasgow had a small but colourful stall in Buchanan Street, put on by the Clydeside IWW and the Glasgow Anarchist Federation. The stalls attracted considerable interest from passers-by, and a lot of literature was handed out. There was of course, lots of old faces reappeared, just to be there and show solidarity, even if it was just for a few minutes and a few words with old comrades.

May Day, Glasgow Buchanan Street, 2013.

This report from Labour Start:

 

 

As I write these words, it's still morning in London -- and already LabourStart's front page is full of coverage of May Day 2013, the international workers' holiday.

• In Istanbul, police have used tear gas to try to block trade unionists from gathering in the city's central Taksim square, scene of an infamous massacre in 1977.

• In Jakarta, a massive workers' rally with more than 135,000 participants has shut down the Indonesian capital.

• In Greece, a general strike by workers protesting against the highest unemployment levels in Europe has shut down much of the country's transport system.

Your local newspaper or television station may be reporting all these stories -- but I doubt it. That's why we created LabourStart 15 years ago -- precisely for moments like this when we need to know what is happening in the labour movement all over the world.

Please make sure to visit LabourStart today and spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers and fellow union members.

Thank you -- and happy May Day!

Eric Lee

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Let The Turkish State Hear Your Voice.

    Good news and bad news from Labour Start:

      A few weeks ago I wrote to ask for your support for more than 100 public sector trade unionists who were arrested in Turkey. Your response was magnificent: more than 11,000 of you sent off messages of protest. Today I have some good news and bad news.

      The good news is that 72 members of the public sector union  were released from jail last week, some after nearly ten months of detention. The bad news is that the charges were not dropped and they all need to appear in court again in July.

      Another 15 union leaders, all of them women, are due to appear in court today.

      We've been asked by the international trade union movement to ramp up the campaign, to flood the inbox of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with thousands of new messages.

If you have not supported this campaign, please go here today and send off your message:

http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1742

     If you have already done so, please share this message with friends, family, co-workers and your fellow union members.

     If every one of you who has supported this campaign recruits just one new person to our cause, it will be the largest campaign LabourStart has ever done -- and I am sure that our voices will be heard in Ankara.

Thank you.

Eric Lee

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Victimisation.

 

An appeal from LabourStart:

 

      A labour rights activist, Andy Hall, is facing the possibility of years in prison and a multi-million dollar fine because he helped write a report exposing rights violations, including the use of child labour, by a fruit processing company in Thailand.

      The charge against him is that he broadcasted "false statements to the media" -- which is untrue.

      Two global union federations have launched an online campaign through LabourStart to mobilize thousands of protest messages demanding that the charges be dropped.

 

Please take a moment to send off your message - click here.
And then please spread the word to your fellow union members.
 

Thanks very much!

 

Eric Lee

 

P.S. There's a 7 minute long interview with Andy on Radio Labour this week - click here to listen to it. 

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Sweets That Leave a Bitter Taste in Your Mouth.

       Sweet tasting, but leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. A call for solidarity from Labour Start:

      Chances are you've never heard of Mondelez.  But you know the company. Mondelez is the new name for Kraft, one of the world's largest food companies. They make Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Toblerone, Green & Blacks, and Cadbury chocolates -- familiar brands around the world.

      The company says it exists to “create delicious moments of joy for our consumers, employees and communities around the world.” Actually, its record on workers' rights is somewhat less than stellar.

       According to the IUF -- the global union federation representing food workers -- union leaders in Egypt and Tunisia have been unjustly fired in the performance of their duties and a worker was fired after losing his thumb in an accident in the factory in Alexandria. The IUF has asked Mondelez CEO Irene Rosenfeld for a meeting to discuss this.

But she's refusing to even talk about the issues.

       I realize that it's still a holiday weekend for many of you, but please take a moment to join me in sending a clear message to Ms. Rosenfeld demanding that she engage with the IUF, rectify the human rights abuses at her company, and reinstate all unjustly fired workers.

Click here to send off your message.

Thank you -- and have a great Easter and Passover.

Eric Lee

P.S. Want to know more about the Mondelez workers and their fight for justice?  Visit the new Screamdelez website.

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Dangerous to be in a Union.

      We should never take for granted that which our forefathers suffered and struggled to gain. So many things in today's society that we take as part of a civilised society, weren't there a generation or so ago. Most of what the ordinary people fought and struggled to achieve has to be guarded or it will be taken away from us. In this type of society it is an endless fight to move forward and to hold onto what we have achieved. Here in the UK being a member of a trade union is accepted as your choice, and once a member you don't expect to be punished. However in some parts of the world, being a union member can mean beatings, torture, prison and in some cases even death. The state will go to great lengths to crush any attempt by the people to organise to control their own lives, such ploys as labelling them terrorists, or shouting "national security", allows them to repress such movements. We don't have to go to the darkest corners of the world to find an example of how the state will try to destroy attempts by ordinary people who organise to improve their conditions. Most people see Turkey as a modern civilised country, but being a union member there is fraught with danger.

This from LabourStart:

       In the early morning of Tuesday, 19 February, Turkish police targeted members and leaders of the public sector union KESK, arresting at least 100 of them, including members of the teachers union.  

      Overall, 167 arrest warrants were issued for trade unionists.  The police have accused the trade unionists of links with terrorist organizations.

      This is not the first time that the Turkish authorities have used anti-terrorism laws to crack down on trade unionists. On 10 April, the a trial will begin against 72 additional KESK members and leaders who were arrested in June 2012.

       The International Trade Union Confederation, the Education International, Public Services International and the European Federation of Public Service Unions, representing tens of millions of organized workers around the world have launched a major new campaign demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all the arrested union members.  They also demand that the Turkish state stop harassing and labeling trade unionists as terrorists. 

 

Please take a minute and add your name to the online campaign - click here.

 

        And please make sure that your union shares this message with thousands of its members -- this is the only way to grow this campaign into something so massive that we cannot be ignored. If thousands of us send off messages, and soon, we may be able to get the Turkish government to back down and to release our brothers and sisters from jail.

 

Thank you.  And - solidarity forever!

 

Eric Lee

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SOLIDARITY WINS BATTLES.

The world is our battlefield, solidarity is our weapon. It is a weapon that can't be beaten. People power will change the world.

 

 

 

This from LabourStart:

       A month ago, I wrote to tell you about Said Elhairech, leader of the dockers union in Morocco. Said was arrested in June on unfounded charges relating to "national security". You responded in your thousands -- to be precise, 5,657 of you sent off messages of protest as part of a world-wide campaign coordinated by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). And last week we learned that Said has been released and all serious charges against him have been dropped. (Full details here.)
     And last week, I wrote to you about the case of IUF representative and human rights activist Yacine Zaid, in neighboring Algeria, who had been abducted by unidentified men. I asked you to support the IUF's global campaign to get Yacine released. Over 11,000 of you responded and the result was immediate: the Algerian authorities decided his crime was "insulting a police officer"; he was fined the equivalent of 100 Euros and let go. (Full details here.)
     Yacine and Said, who are both outstanding leaders of independent trade unions in their countries, are now free men thanks to the efforts of thousands of trade unionists around the world.
       This is therefore an opportunity to remind you of seven things you can do right now to keep up the momentum, and to help us build a global network of activists who can be mobilized at a moment's notice in cases like these.
        If you have the time, please do all seven. But if you can do even one of these things, you'll be helping.
       1. See which other campaigns are still live and show your support. Workers in Guatemala, Pakistan, Swaziland, Turkey and Zimbabwe need our help today. Click here to see the five current campaigns we're running.
      2.  The fastest way to learn about new campaigns like these is by following LabourStart on Twitter,
       3. You can also show your support for the campaigns by liking LabourStart on Facebook.
      4. Encourage your fellow trade union members to sign up to our mailing list.
      5. Make a secure online donation to LabourStart to allow us to continue with our campaigning work. Does your union support LabourStart? Find out and encourage your union to donate as well.
     6.  Get your union to show a list of live LabourStart campaigns on its website. Full details are here,
     Finally, spread the word to your fellow trade unionists -- pass on this message!

Thank you very much!

Eric Lee

 

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DHL, ANTI-UNION.

An Appeal from Labour Start:

        DHL is the world's largest courier company and one of the largest employers, with well over 470,000 workers. It's owned by Deutsche Post, the privatized former German postal service. As you can imagine, the company in Germany recognizes trade unions and bargains with them. Many would consider them to be a good employer and DHL is very proud of its "corporate responsibility" record. On their website, they say "we promote a corporate culture based on dialogue."

But not in Turkey.
        There, members of the transport workers union Tumtis tried to organize DHL workers -- but the company has sacked 24 of them. Those workers are now standing outside the company warehouses, resisting the unfair dismissals, demanding their right to join and form trade unions. Local DHL managers have told other employees that unless they quit the union, they will lose their jobs.
      The International Transport Workers Federation, representing over 4.5 million members in 153 countries has called for world-wide solidarity with the DHL workers in Turkey. They've launched an online campaign on LabourStart to call on DHL to engage in exactly the kind of dialogue they claim is part of their corporate culture. It's important to tell companies like DHL that it's not enough to treat workers with respect in countries that already have powerful unions.
      The right to join and form unions is universal -- and DHL must respect it even in Turkey.Those workers standing outside the warehouses of DHL need our support today.

It will take you only a minute to send off your message - please do so now.

And please help us mobilize thousands of others - forward on this message to your friends, family, co-workers and your fellow union members.

Thanks very much.

Eric Lee

 

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ASTURIAS MINERS STRIKE.

 This from LabourStart.

      This week, over 1,000 trade unionists representing 50 million workers in manufacturing and mining founded a new global union federation: IndustriALL.
IndustriALL's first online campaign -- hosted by LabourStart -- aims to pressure the Spanish government to negotiate with coal miners who have been on strike, and occupying their mines, for several weeks now.

Please take a moment to learn more and show your support for the miners:

http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1441

Thanks very much!



Eric Lee

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TRADE UNION RIGHTS.

An appeal from Labour Start.

       Every June, trade union leaders, employers and government officials meet in Geneva for the International Labour Conference. And every year since 1926, that conference has set aside some time to discuss the worst violations of trade union rights. But not this year - because this year employers have put down their foot and said "no". As I write these words, unions have issued some strong statements (here's one example) and we're monitoring the situation.

         To coincide with the conference, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has just issued its annual report on violations of trade union rights -- and it makes for chilling reading.

        "Colombia is once again the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists," says the ITUC. "Of the 76 people murdered for their trade union activities, not counting the workers killed during the Arab Spring, 29 lost their lives in Colombia. And in Guatemala yet again trade unionists paid a heavy price, with 10 assassinations committed with impunity. A further eight trade unionists were murdered in Asia."

You can read the report in full here.

As if to highlight those issues, two of the global union federations have launched major appeals in the last 24 hours.

1. One is in support of oil workers in Iraq - please make sure to add your name to the online campaign here.
2. The other supports nine trade union leaders in Algeria, five of them women, who have been on hunger strike since 6 May. They too need your urgent support - please click here.

The employers' representatives in Geneva may want us to stop talking about workers rights, and maybe they'll succeed in doing so at the ILO conference. But they can't stop us from campaigning -- as we will show them in the next few hours. We are going to fill the inboxes of political leaders in Iraq and Algeria with our messages of protest. And we're going to show the world once again what solidarity means.

I know that I can count on your support - thank you!

Eric Lee

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WHOSE SIDE ARE THEY ON??

Not everybody is enjoying the holiday weekend. It is the measure of a any society when those who struggle to improve the conditions of the ordinary people are victimised hounded and imprisoned. It is these cases that make it glaringly obvious on which side the powers that be stand, it is a display of their real intentions. An appeal from Labour Start.

        It's a long holiday weekend for many of us, a chance to celebrate the holidays with our families and friends.  I hesitate to write to you, to interrupt the festivities, but this is urgent.

        A week ago, the leader of the metal workers union of Kosovo, Hasan Abazi, was travelling to a meeting of European trade unionists in Zagreb, but on his way was arrested by the Serbian government. He was held for 50 hours without even the chance to talk to a lawyer. Now, he's being held in solitary confinement.

        Serbia has committed itself to allow free movement of Kosovars through its territory. That's part of what it needs to do to become a full member of the European Union.

        The International Metalworkers' Federation has issued an urgent appeal for his release. [*]

        Amnesty International has condemned the arrest. [**]

Please take a moment to send off a message of protest to the Serbian authorities:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1338&src=lsmm

         Then, please publicize this to your friends, workmates and fellow union members by email, Twitter, Facebook, and word-of-mouth. If we can flood the inboxes of Serbian government ministers this weekend with our protest messages, they might be compelled to re-think this outrageous arrest and to let Hasan go. They don't want to risk Serbian membership in the EU -- a point we mention in the message to them.

Thank you -- and a very happy Easter and Passover to all of you.

Eric Lee

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KILLED FOR BEING UNION MEMBERS.

An urgent appeal from Labour Start, the struggle is global.

          Most trade unionists have had experience with difficult employers at some time in their lives. But have you ever had an employer who did this?

Sacked 51 people from their jobs - just because they joined your union

Then ignored court rulings and ILO decisions that backed the union case

Assassinated the union's lawyer

Made repeated death threats against the union president -- and killed eight other union members

Forced fifteen members of the union into exile

And finally in December, provoked workers to launch a hunger strike as a last, desperate act to get justice

I hope not. But that's exactly what has happened to the municipal employees in the city of Cali, in Colombia.

Support justice for the workers of Cali - send a message now.

        Please have a look at the photo above. That shows two of the union's leaders -- one who has repeatedly been threatened with death -- meeting with one of the hunger strikers. Those workers have reached out through their global union federation, Public Services International (PSI), to ask all of us to take just a minute and send off messages to the Colombian government saying enough is enough - it's time for justice for the municipal workers of Cali.

         Please do this today -- and please tell everyone you know, especially public sector workers, that our brothers and sisters in Cali need our help.

And while we have your attention ...

       Locked out meat workers in New Zealand are also appealing for your help. Please take a moment to learn more and to send off your message.

       LabourStart's campaign in defense of Abdolreza Ghanbari, the Iranian teacher trade unionist who has been sentenced to death, is the largest we have ever run, with more than 14,000 people having sent off messages so far. But we can do better than that. This is indeed a matter of life or death, and if you've not yet done so, please send off your message today.

       Finally, the fastest way to learn about a new LabourStart campaign or breaking news stories is to follow us on Twitter -- with your help, we'll have more than 6,000 Twitter followers today.

Thank you!

Eric Lee

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DEMOCRACY VIA THE ARMY? I DON'T THINK SO!!

       At the time of the "Arab Spring" in Egypt I wrote up a little post stating that if the Egyptian peole are relying on the army to deliver democracy, they will be sorely disappointed. Think of the authoritarian regime with all its cronies discussing the control of the country with all those high ranking officers, they would be discussing crackdowns and surveillance, and imprisonment of the opposition. Then suddenly when the people rise up, the top ranking military are there defending democracy, it doesn't happen. They are all buddies in the same gang. The army by its structure is an authoritarian machine, democarcy is an anathema to its top brass, they live by power and authority.

To prove a point, this from Labour Start.

        Kamal Abbas, a leading figure in the fight to create independent democratic trade unions in Egypt, has been sentenced to six months in prison for the "crime" of insulting a Mubarak-era hack at an International Labor Organization conference. Abbas is used to such treatment at the hands of the Mubarak regime, which jailed him and tried to crush the Center for Trade Union and Worker Services (CTUWS) which he headed. But the Mubarak era is supposed to be behind us. After all, we are now one year into the Arab Spring.
       The world's trade unions are calling for a massive online mobilization to demand that the charges be dropped.

Please take a moment to click here and then spread the word.

Thank you!

Eric Lee

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LOCK-OUTS, PAY-OFFS, THEY'RE ALL AT IT.

An appeal for solidarity from Labour Start:

       Workers locked out by a French-owned company in Canada need our help today. It's now been three months since Acadian Coach Lines, a subsidiary of French multinational Keolis, locked out their employees because of a labour dispute. This has resulted in no intercity bus service in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, leaving many who rely on buses to get to and from cities in these provinces stranded.

Being locked out of work is always bad. For an employer to do this in mid-winter is positively cruel.

Please show your support for these workers today -

click here. It will take you less than one minute to send a strong message to Keolis demanding that they return to negotiations.

And to see what recent campaigns you may have missed,

click here.

Thanks very much!

Eric Lee

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