Over the past few weeks, Turkey has been rocked by unrest. The protests were sparked by peaceful resistance to the destruction of Istanbul’s Gezi Park in Taksim Square, the only green public place in central Istanbul, which was to be turned into a shopping mall and historical recreation of Ottoman Artillery Barracks. 

A harsh response from the state, characterized by extreme police brutality, has ensued in response to what have become the largest demonstrations the country has seen for decades. Protests have now spread to 77 cities in Turkey.

Spreading the word here from our friends at LabourStart, who sent this action request (and plug for its conference this year).

They’re calling it the “uprising of the invisible.”

While T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, respects workers’ right to bargain collectively in Germany, T-Mobile’s U.S. management has fought workers’ attempts to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) with campaigns of delaying tactics and interference to intimidate workers.

Max is in deep trouble. His bosses have seen him meeting with “union types” and they want a word with him. Privately. Behind closed doors. Now!

The union movement around the world and in the United States is calling on the government of Bahrain to lift its state of emergency and halt its the all-out attack against union members.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reports that thousands of workers have been dismissed for taking part in trade union activities in support of the peaceful calls for greater democracy and reform. More than 750 union members and half of the leaders of the General Federation of Bahraini Trade Unions (GFBTU) also have been dismissed from their jobs.

Stuart Elliott, senior correspondent for LabourStart, the global online labor news service, reminds us it’s time to nominate videos for the Labor Video of the Year competition.

For the second consecutive year, LabourStart is sponsoring the Labor Video of the Year competition, open to trade unionists and filmmakers from around the world.

LabourStart subscribers from around the world selected Gerardo Correa’s photo of a Canadian farm workers’ march as the winner in the news service’s 2010 Labor Photo of the Year contest.