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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Labor Groups Aim to Build Unions in Iraq |
| 2004-03-12 |
| Source: AP Organized labor, with support from the Bush administration, is trying to build more unions in Iraq and help those already there to function free of government and employer control. Slowly building civil society The U.S. government, through the National Endowment for Democracy, has allocated about $15 million to form employer groups and unions in Iraq. Groups that will actually fight about things like wages and working conditions, NOT whose beard is longer!!! International labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, are using some of those grant funds to help Iraqi workers and leaders create a labor code and organize. AFL CIO was firmly pro-democracy throughout the cold war years "We had an interest in seeing what we could do both in the reconstruction as well as the ... healing process that had to go on," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Good to see that Sweeney, who has made a point of being more "left" than George Meany or Lane Kirkland were, is still taking action to support democracy Labor leaders, meeting at this seaside resort, on Thursday ended a three-day session of discussing politics, organizing and the situation in Iraq. Organized labor has had a historical role in "postwar activities in every war since World War II" with backing from the U.S. government, Sweeney said. Notably in Germany and Japan - despite MacArthur’s conservativism, the occupation of Japan was largely staffed by New Dealers The AFL-CIO opposed the Iraq war in a resolution at last year’s winter meeting. Yup, thats Sweeney and the new AFLCIO - Meany or Kirkland would have supported the war - still its good to see Sweeney being sensible in the aftermath While labor and the Bush White House are locked in a political battle at home, they are working together to rebuild Iraq and create stable, independent unions. Anyone else here old enough to remember when partisan politics stopped "at the waters edge"? "Republican administrations tend to see trade unions as part of a civil society that is dedicated to democracy and building democracy abroad," said Harry Kamberis, executive director of the AFL-CIO’s American Center for International Labor Solidarity. "They see it as important to U.S. strategic interests." makes sense to me - you may not like labors agenda, but they raise the kind of issues that belong in the public sphere in a secular democracy, not the issues of religion that more properly are private. |
| Posted by:Liberalhawk |
| #4 As long as they make Iraq an Open Shop country, okay. I happily voted "Nay" on joining the god-damned Teamsters 6 times, myself, while working nights at UPS sorting packages. I got shitloads of merit raises because I was fast and made very few mistakes, instead of paying dues for 2 or 3 layers of lard-assed union officials -- who would then donate what was left of my god-damned dues to some shit-for-brains Jackass Party candidate like Skeery. Texas. Open Shop. YES. I don't have any strong opinions about unions, though. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-3-12 5:38:49 PM |
| #3 i originally posted in Short Att Span, by mistake, then posted the comment. The "authorities" :) moved the post, but left the comment. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-3-12 11:47:16 AM |
| #2 This IS the Iraq section. Sections have been merged and split and generally rearranged. |
| Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-3-12 10:52:13 AM |
| #1 oops - belongs in Iraq section, of course |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-3-12 9:01:26 AM |