Where trade unionists start their day on the net.
In this week's mailing:
* Wal-Mart supports workers' rights (sort of)
* Zimbabwe: Crisis deepens
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WAL-MART SUPPORTS WORKERS' RIGHTS (SORT OF)
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is known to be one of the world's most anti-union corporations. But that doesn't mean it's immune to pressure.
(You might want to sit down now -- the next paragraph may come as kind of a shock.)
Campaigners supporting strikers at a Wal-Mart supply factory in the Philippines managed to get the Arkansas-based giant to call for the immediate reinstatement of 117 unjustly-fired union members. That's right -- Wal-Mart has actually backed a union call for justice.
It's a great step forward, but it's not enough. Unions are now calling on Wal-Mart to use its influence with its supplier to pressure it to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the union representing its workers. Meanwhile, the workers at Chong Won Fashion remain on strike, still walking the picket line they set up back in September 2006. The workers are on strike because management will not negotiate with their union.
Frankly, I'm amazed that we've gotten this far. You may remember that we already campaigned in support of these workers back in December.
If our pressure has gotten Wal-Mart to push for the re-hiring of sacked union members, more pressure might compell the company to push a bit harder. If we can get the employer to talk to the union, the strike can end.
Please send off your message to Mr. Rajan Kamalanathan, the Director of Compliance, Global Procurement at Wal-Mart, today:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=222
And please pass this message on!
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ZIMBABWE: CRISIS DEEPENS
Two weeks ago we wrote to ask for your support for an online campaign to protest the repression against Zimbabwe's unions. We're very pleased that 2,976 of you have done so. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe the repression has intensified and unions have called for a mass "stay-away" on 3-4 April.
Our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe are putting their lives on the line. The very least that we can do is mobilize our union memberships in solidarity with them.
There is full coverage of the crisis in Zimbabwe on LabourStart, here:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Zimbabwe
Britain's Trades Union Congress is organizing a demonstration next week:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-13126-f0.cfm
Is your union doing anything? Let us know and we'll publicize it.
Finally, it's important to get thousands more of you to send off messages today. Three thousand messages is not nearly enough -- we need to make it clear to the Mugabe government that the international trade union movement is united and backs the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. Spread the word -- and send off your own message today:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=212
Thanks very much. Have a great weekend.
Eric Lee
Texts appearing here are often press releases sent to us by unions and other organizations which do not appear elsewhere on the web. LabourStart takes no responsibility for their content.