Two trade unionists from Iraq will be in the Twin Cities Thursday, June 16, to educate local union members and the public about the conditions faced by Iraqi workers and to gain support for Iraqi trade unionists in their effort to build a progressive, secular Iraq.
The highlight of their visit will be a free, public forum sponsored by a coalition of human rights and labor organizations, at 7 p.m. June 16 at the Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters and Joiners hall, 700 Olive Street, St. Paul.
Falah Awan, president of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI), and Amjad Ali Aljawhry, a FWCUI and Union of the Unemployed in Iraq (UUI) Representative for North America, will be in Minnesota as part of a six-member team of Iraqi labor leaders taking part in a 20-city tour.
Even though Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, the United States and the new Iraqi government continue to enforce Hussein's laws banning most unions and Iraqi union leaders still face intimidation, torture, arrest and death threats.
Iraqi unions want a labor code to guarantee workers' rights included in the new constitution. They also are resisting the privatization and outsourcing of many government services to U.S. corporations holding government contracts in Iraq. Some 400,000 Iraqi jobs have been "outsourced" since the war began.
"Under the Bush administration, America is exporting its anti-labor policies to Iraq," according to David Foster, director, United Steelworkers District 11 and chair of the Minnesota visit. "This only adds to the violence and every day struggles taking place in Iraq, where there is 70 percent unemployment. Of those with jobs, over 70 percent work in the public sector, where union organizing is forbidden. In order for democracy and stability to take root in Iraq, people need jobs and the basic human right to organize unions."
The delegation will begin their tour in Washington, D.C., where they will spend six days meeting with U.S. Congressional members, AFL-CIO leaders and other union officials and members, African-American community leaders and the community-at-large. From Washington, they will divide into three delegations to tour the East, Midwest and West Coast. Awan and Aljawhry will also make an appearance at the United Steelworkers international headquarters in Pittsburgh on June 21.
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Two trade unionists from Iraq will be in the Twin Cities Thursday, June 16, to educate local union members and the public about the conditions faced by Iraqi workers and to gain support for Iraqi trade unionists in their effort to build a progressive, secular Iraq.
The highlight of their visit will be a free, public forum sponsored by a coalition of human rights and labor organizations, at 7 p.m. June 16 at the Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters and Joiners hall, 700 Olive Street, St. Paul.
Falah Awan, president of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI), and Amjad Ali Aljawhry, a FWCUI and Union of the Unemployed in Iraq (UUI) Representative for North America, will be in Minnesota as part of a six-member team of Iraqi labor leaders taking part in a 20-city tour.
Even though Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, the United States and the new Iraqi government continue to enforce Hussein’s laws banning most unions and Iraqi union leaders still face intimidation, torture, arrest and death threats.
Iraqi unions want a labor code to guarantee workers’ rights included in the new constitution. They also are resisting the privatization and outsourcing of many government services to U.S. corporations holding government contracts in Iraq. Some 400,000 Iraqi jobs have been “outsourced” since the war began.
“Under the Bush administration, America is exporting its anti-labor policies to Iraq,” according to David Foster, director, United Steelworkers District 11 and chair of the Minnesota visit. “This only adds to the violence and every day struggles taking place in Iraq, where there is 70 percent unemployment. Of those with jobs, over 70 percent work in the public sector, where union organizing is forbidden. In order for democracy and stability to take root in Iraq, people need jobs and the basic human right to organize unions.”
The delegation will begin their tour in Washington, D.C., where they will spend six days meeting with U.S. Congressional members, AFL-CIO leaders and other union officials and members, African-American community leaders and the community-at-large. From Washington, they will divide into three delegations to tour the East, Midwest and West Coast. Awan and Aljawhry will also make an appearance at the United Steelworkers international headquarters in Pittsburgh on June 21.