July 27—In a historic vote, delegates to the AFL-CIO's 25th Constitutional Convention in Chicago adopted Resolution 53, which “supports the brave men and women deployed in Iraq” who “deserve a commitment from our country's leaders to bring them home rapidly.” The resolution addresses the needs of returning veterans and union members and emphasizes the commitment of the AFL-CIO to support Iraqi trade unionists.
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Iraqi trade unionists at the
AFL-CIO Convention say conditions for forming unions in their nation are nearly as difficult now as under Saddam Hussein. |
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Iraqi trade unionists attending the Convention as guests, praised passage of the Convention action. The move is a step in the right direction, but much work remains to secure the rights of Iraq’s workers, said Abdullah Muhsin, the international representative for the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions. Labor leaders are being targeted for assassination and workers’ rights still are being denied under a 1987 decree issued by Saddam Hussein, which the Iraqi interim government has not lifted.
Still Hard to Form Unions in Iraq
Muhsin was one of five Iraqi trade union leaders taking part in a July 26 forum in conjunction with the Convention to describe conditions for workers seeking to form unions in Iraq.
“We are working diligently to create structures in difficult circumstances because of the occupation,” said Khalil Mashhadani, the general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions in the Republic of Iraq. Saying that war destroyed factories and left thousands of Iraqis unemployed, Mashhadani asked, “Is this the freedom we want to have?”
“It’s important to note the hypocrisy of the Bush administration that as we’re having a discussion on democracy in Iraq, they’re making it harder to form unions,” said United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, who kicked off the forum.
Workers in Iraq want a secular government that enforces internationally accepted labor standards, said Falah Hussein, president of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI).
Hangaw Khan, who leads the General Union of Workers Syndicates in Kurdistan, cautioned that ethnic Kurds must be guaranteed full labor and civil rights under any new Iraqi constitution.
“The central point of our debate is the rights of Iraqi workers. What will their rights be when the occupation is resolved?” AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy asked.
Houzan Mahmoud, FWCUI’s international representative and women’s rights activist, said the war is hurting U.S. and Iraqi workers and understands the Bush administration is using the war on terror to cut back on U.S. workers’ rights as well.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council International Affairs Committee and more than 100 delegates to the Convention attended this special session.
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