ISC Monthly Updates Bulletin - June 2008
Submitted on Sun, 06/01/2008 - 6:26pm
Greetings from the International Solidarity Commission (ISC) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and welcome to the second digest of our monthly international news letter.
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep our allies around the world informed of our activities, solidarity campaigns, and relevant international labor struggles. It is our hope that this newsletter will contribute to building worker-to-worker solidarity through strengthened communications and exchanges of information.
If you would like to contribute story ideas or news for the bulletin, or wish to contact the ISC, you can email [email protected].
In this digest:
- 1. ISC News and Activities
- 2. IWW News
- 3. Solidarity Statements and Appeals
1. ISC News and Activities
ISC Delegates return from Haiti
On May 5th, the four ISC delegates returned home from the two-week IWW solidarity delegation to Haiti. This trip was very effective in publicizing the plight of our fellow workers in Haiti through a variety of media, including an article about the trip in the monthly IWW newspaper, the Industrial Worker, a longer article slated to appear in Z Magazine, and a video documentary being produced by IWW filmmaker Diane Krauthamer. The delegation’s blog, which includes day by day reporting and photographs, can be found at: iwwinhaiti.blogspot.com.
ISC prepares for union delegation to Japan
The ISC has authorized a delegation of 3 workers to visit Japan in late May and early June. The delegation was invited by the All Freeters Union, an organization of precarious workers with whom we’ve been in close contact with over the past few months, and the G8 Action Coalition. The delegation coincides with demonstrations and conferences against the Group of Eight (G8) summit, a meeting of the 8 richest and most powerful nations on the planet. The IWW and other militant labor organizations will form a part of an international labor contingent during the G8 Summit.
2. IWW News
Truckers throughout U.S. demonstrate against rising fuel prices
Truck drivers throughout the U.S. participated in scattered mass actions across the country between April 1st and May 5th, spurred primarily by rising fuel costs. An article in the Industrial Workers states that “the price of diesel across the United States has risen by 21 percent since the end of December 2007, from $3.35 to $4.05 per gallon, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A month before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the price of diesel was $1.71 per gallon.” The burden of rising fuel costs is carried by the truckers themselves rather than the shipping companies or major business interests who rely heavily on this sector. IWW organizers have addressed mass rallies, where they’ve received a warm reception, and pledged assistance for future actions.
Leicester IWW (UK) campaign against the corporatization of adult education
The IWW job branch in Leicester Adult Education College have begun taking action against a clear attempt by vested interests in the city to transform the adult education centre into a training facility for shopping mall workers. As Leicester falls behind the national average employment rate, the City Council has formed a partnership with a major shopping mall and property development corporation to try and change this trend. The aim is to bring down the unemployment rate by employing targeted groups within the retail sector. To these ends, an employment centre was established in the shopping mall, but relocated into the Leicester Adult Education College premises; a publicly funded space where this private employment centre operates rent free. This move displaced one of the arts studios whose workers were not only not consulted, but only given two days notice of the move. IWW members are demanding that the art studio be restored to its former location and that all non-vocational adult education courses be maintained at this centre. For more details visit: www.geocities.com/savelaec/
3. Solidarity Statements
Solidarity with Dave Kerin and Union Solidarity
The ISC issued a statement in support of embattled Australian union organizer Dave Kerin, coordinator of the rank-and-file labor coalition, Union Solidarity. The Australian Workplace Ombudsman has issued Kerin with a “notice to produce documents” in relation to a recent strike at Boeing. If he refuses to give the government information that they intend to use against Union Solidarity and other rank and file union members by May 8th, he faces as much as six months in prison. The ISC pledged its solidarity with Dave Kerin and Union Solidarity, while demanding that the Australian government call off this legal harassment.
Solidarity with Iranian tire workers
The ISC wrote a letter to the government of Iran expressing outrage at the arrest and beating of hundreds of Alborz Tire Manufacturing Company near Tehran on April 12, 2008. The workers had been protesting five months nonpayment of wages. As a condition of release, workers were forced to sign letters guaranteeing that they would not protest again. The ISC condemned this gross violation of basic human rights. The ISC declared support for the workers and demanded that the government of Iran immediately release all remaining detained workers and withdraw the conditions on released workers. The ISC also insisted that the Alborz Tire Manufacturing Company and its corporate partners must be held accountable for violating workers rights.
Pascua Lama: Barrick Gold Corporation in Chile
Abstract from “Barrick in Pascua Lama” by Javier Karmy
In May 2008, Barrick Gold Corporation commemorated its 25th anniversary. The multinational company founded in 1983 and chaired by Peter Munk in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has initiated works in the Huasco Valley, Atacama, Chile. Environmental concerns made public against the Pascua Lama-Veladero mining project on the Chile-Argentina border caused changes to the original planning to remove Andean glaciers for gold extraction and the company started promoting "sustainable mining" since it became active in June 2006. Recently, on January 2008, Barrick received an award from the national agency in charge of labour security, the Mutual de Seguridad, for 1,000 days with no work-related accidents. Information regarding unsafe labour conditions, including the accidental death of 15 workers, was not exposed because it would further damage the image of the gold corporation. The most recent accident occurred in February 2008 when a helicopter crashed killing Canadian Derek Ilsks (32) and injuring Chilean pilot Osvaldo Carrasco (58), without much national media coverage. The International Solidarity Commission (ISC) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is in support of worldwide demonstrations in May 2008; no changes can be made until Canadian government recognises mandatory and not just voluntary regulations for mining. Leaders of affected indigenous communities from Wiradjuri Australia, Nevada USA, Papua New Guinea, and Huasco Chile continue on a speaking tour to pressure Canadian government.
More info at www.protestbarrick.net, www.noapascualama.org