Solidarity Network

  • Support Fired Auto Union Leader Who Backed Visteon Sit-Down

    Body:

    Rob Williams, local convenor (chief steward) of the Unite union, was fired April 28 at the Linamar car parts factory in Swansea, Wales, for “irretrievable breakdown of trust”—that is, managers didn’t trust him to take their side. Williams had been active in supporting sit-downs at three Visteon plants in the U.K. (see page 16), and Linamar, which had bought the Swansea plant from Visteon, is now seeking pay cuts.

    As managers called police to escort Williams from the factory, he ran through the plant to the union office, which was quickly surrounded by workers who left their jobs on the line. The police backed off and management backed down—but only temporarily. They fired Williams again May 6 and removed the door to the union office.

    Expiration Date:
    Tue, 06/30/2009 - 11:59am

  • Vietnam Targets Leaders of Independent Unions

    Body:

    Human Rights Watch released a report May 4 calling on the Vietnamese government—and the Western multinationals that do business in Vietnam—to end suppression of the country’s independent unions.

    At least five of the most prominent activists organizing independent unions in the country are currently imprisoned on what HRW calls “dubious national security charges.” Some are thought to have been kidnapped by the government’s security forces.

    Between double-digit inflation and stresses caused by the global economic crisis, labor unrest in the country continues to escalate. Thousands of workers, most of them employed at foreign-owned factories, have joined wildcat strikes to demand raises and better working conditions. About 5,000 garment workers struck in January, saying they were docked a month’s pay for an absence.

    Expiration Date:
    Tue, 06/30/2009 - 8:59pm

  • Auto Workers Occupy Visteon Plants in UK

    Body:

    Workers at a Visteon plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, staged an occupation of their plant March 31 after management told them it would close in six minutes. Workers in two plants in England followed their lead, and soon 600 Visteon workers were occupying their factories.

    The plants were part of Ford Motor Company until a restructuring plan nine years ago, when Ford promised that Visteon workers’ contracts would always “mirror” Ford’s. Ford had promised “redundancy contracts”—benefits and pay workers would get if the plant were to shut down. Now Visteon is offering nothing, and workers fear they will lose their pensions as well.

    Expiration Date:
    Sun, 05/31/2009 - 9:59pm

  • Iraq Teachers Union Under Attack

    Body:

    The Iraq Teachers Union (ITU) has been actively working for greater union and organizing rights under the new Iraqi constitution. But in the last few weeks the government has attempted to seize the union from its members and leaders.

    The government appointed a special body to preside over the union and force it to hold elections. The ITU has had multiple conferences in which union leaders have been elected openly and democratically, the last one in late 2007 to elect a new president.

    The government is demanding that the union hand over the keys to its buildings and offices, as well as its records and membership information. It has told the elected leaders of the ITU to step down or be jailed.

    Expiration Date:
    Sun, 05/31/2009 - 8:59pm

  • Leaders of Independent Iranian Union Jailed

    Body:

    Leaders of an independent union at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Plantation and Industry Company were arrested by Iranian authorities in late February. The arrests come after the union’s successful protest of the election of the Islamic Labor Council at the plantation February 22. Only 30 of 5,000 workers voted. The government-controlled Councils are set up in every workplace in Iran, with employers’ help.

    Reza Rakhshan was arrested at an intelligence office after being summoned by the government. His home was then raided and many of his personal and union possessions were confiscated. Two leaders had their homes raided and possessions seized; one, Rahim Boshagh, also was arrested earlier in the week. The officials are charged with acting against national security, the usual accusation leveled against social, political, and labor activists in the country. Their trials were hastily conducted and verdicts are pending.

    Expiration Date:
    Thu, 04/30/2009 - 9:59pm

  • More Forced Labor Found in Florida

    Body:

    The U.S. Department of Justice reports a new case of forced labor in Florida agriculture. This is the seventh confirmed case of forced labor in the last decade in the state.

    The report describes poor working conditions as well as workers being chained to poles, beaten, robbed, and locked inside trucks. A 17-count federal indictment outlines how a dozen workers living on a farm were forced to sleep in trucks and shacks, went unpaid for their work, and had to pay for food and showers. The cases were reported at the Six L’s and Pacific Tomato Growers farms. Both the farms are certified by the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange Socially Accountable Farm Employers program, which is supposed to prevent labor abuses.

    Expiration Date:
    Thu, 04/30/2009 - 8:59pm

  • Ukrainian Machinists Take Over Company

    Body:

    More than 300 workers at the Kherson Engineering plant in the Ukraine occupied the plant’s administrative building in early February, protesting unpaid wages.

    Workers occupied the building and then established a patrol to maintain a constant workers’ presence there. The workers have refused to leave until the company pays the back wages owed to them and the government nationalizes the plant, without compensation for the plant owners and investors.

    The workforce, which numbers about 1,500, has not been paid since September. The total amount of back wages owed to workers totals between $550,000 and $630,000.

    Expiration Date:
    Tue, 03/31/2009 - 9:59pm

  • Honduran Apparel Workers Fired

    Body:

    Sportswear maker Russell Corp. fired workers in an apparel plant in Choloma, Honduras in October because of their unionization efforts. Russell is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm of Warren Buffett. One of the wealthiest men in the world, Buffett has stressed throughout his career the importance of ethical business practices.

    After pressure from many universities and colleges, organized by United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Russell offered to rehire the workers.

    Reinstatement talks broke down, however, after Russell offered only a 4-cents-per-day pay increase. Days after negotiations stalled, Russell said it was closing the plant.

    Expiration Date:
    Tue, 03/31/2009 - 9:59pm

  • Greek Union Leader Attacked with Acid

    Body:

    Konstantina Kuneva, a Bulgarian immigrant employed in Greece, was attacked outside her home in Athens with sulfuric acid in late December. Kuneva is secretary of the Panattic Union of Cleaners and Domestic Personnel and a cleaner in the Athens metro system. She is employed by OIKMET, a contractor.

    The attack is thought to be motivated by Kuneva’s activities in her union and devotion to protecting the rights of cleaners and housekeepers in Greece. Since becoming an active voice in her union, she has faced pressure to quit her job and threats on her life. The acid attack has left Kuneva blind in one eye and with only partial sight in the other.

    Expiration Date:
    Sat, 02/28/2009 - 8:59pm

  • Vietnamese Workers Fight Management Abuses

    Body:

    Close to 4,000 Vietnamese garment workers went on strike in northern Vietnam in early January. The workers protested mistreatment by management at the Taiwanese-owned Sun Jade Company shoe factory in the province of Thanh Hoa.

    Workers claim management has routinely dealt physical abuse and humiliation to workers, a majority of whom are women. Sun Jade management often punished workers for arriving late by refusing to pay the day’s wages, barring entry to the cafeteria for company-provided lunch, and cutting their entry cards in half. They have also been denied leave for an illness or death in the family, losing up to a month’s pay when these situations prevent them from working.

    Expiration Date:
    Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:59pm