Bahrain’s Anti-Union Crackdown

As people protest the corrupt and repressive monarchy of Bahrain, the government has responded with violence and mass arrests. Labor Notes reports that they have also fired over 1,300 workers in retaliation for their involvement in the democracy movement, including 12 of the 15 officers of the oil union. Furthermore, they have been examining photos from the demonstrations and marches and are asking employers to fire anyone they can identify from the photos. The government intends to bring oil union leaders before a military court, where they could face the death penalty. Union members have held two general strikes in February and March in response to state violence against demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Democracy Now reported today that the Saudi royal family has been recruiting Muslim nations everywhere for a Sunni alliance against Iran and the Shiite protesters in Bahrain. Saudi officials have already made overtures to Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and many of the former Soviet states of Central Asia, not only to join the alliance, but also to provide military assistance to the beleaguered Bahraini regime.

Oaxaca Teacher Occupation Against Education “Reform”

Teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico are occupying the main square of the state capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez, in opposition to neo-liberal education reform. The teachers are members of section 22 of the SNTE union. They are resisting US-style Ed Deform being imposed on them by the Alliance for Quality in Education (ACE) law. According to the Teacher Solidarity website, this law would increase standardized testing, consolidate curriculum and makes teachers’ jobs temporary.

On May 21, the union voted to strike. On May 23, they began their strike with protest marches converging on the Zocalo (main square) of Tuxtla. (From Riseup.net) Teachers have also set up blockades at several government buildings and corporate businesses. They are demanding the repeal of ACE, an expansion of the free meal program for students, salary increases, and the return of teacher Carlos Rene Roman Salazar, who was disappeared in April.

Section 22 is organized as an industrial union, rather than a trade union, as it includes teachers, psychologists, janitors and others in the education industry. As such, the union is much more powerful than a trade union, since trade unions have a tendency to promote competition between workers in different trades, rather than the solidarity that is required to fight the larger battles that affect all workers. Furthermore, it is much easier to get all members of an industry to participate in direct action when they are all members of the same union. Thus, teachers, psychologists and janitors can all be found together at the barricades and the Zocalo.

Section 22 has been engaged in ongoing struggles against the state, including an uprising in 2006 that included a 6-month work stoppage and occupation of Oaxaca city. During the uprising there were numerous assassinations of teachers and their supporters. An American journalist who was covering the movement was also shot and killed by vigilantes. (See here and here)

Dock Bosses Sue Over Solidarity Action

On April 4, thousands of longshore workers shut down the ports of San Francisco and Oakland for 24 hours in support of the national day of actions in defense of collective bargaining. According to Working in These Times, over 90% of the members of ILWU local 10 took part in the work stoppage. Their employer, The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), filed a federal lawsuit against Local 10, arguing that their leaders deliberately violated the no-strike clause of their contract by promoting the action. ILWU members argue that their leaders had nothing to do with the action, which was organized by members during a general membership meeting. Working in These Times quoted Trent Willis, chair of the Local 10 Defense Committee, who said "Our officers, whether they supported it or not, were powerless."

There are several lessons in this for teachers and other workers. Local 10 has been one of the few unions in recent years to engage in solidarity strikes. They have shut down the ports in order to block weapons shipments to the repressive Salvadoran regime in the 1980s. They shut down the ports in solidarity with Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is being threatened with execution for a crime he most likely did not commit. They shut down the ports in solidarity with the anti-Apartheid movement. (For more, see here)

The problem is that while such actions are a necessary part of any attempt to change state or employer policies, they are unlikely to be successful in isolation. Large numbers of workers from across the private and public sector must join in such solidarity actions for them to be successful.

Another lesson is that the ILWU rank and file not only understands the importance of solidarity and the power of the strike, but they are willing to take great risks in carrying them out on a regular and ongoing basis. Each time they strike, workers risk arrest, injury, and possibly even death, should the state or company goons choose to unleash the full force of their power, while their union risks lawsuits and penalties. Indeed, during a port shut down protesting the war in Iraq in 2003, the Oakland police fired upon ILWU members and their supporters with rubber bullets, wooden dowels and bean bag rounds. They also threw concussion grenades at them, and used tear gas and “sting balls,” which spray BB-like pellets. (See here and here).

When a union refuses to stand up for what is right or to use the only effective weapon they have out of fear of jail, injury, lawsuit, or any other excuse, they become impotent and irrelevant. The fact that unions and strikes were once illegal, did not stop workers from forming unions and taking strike actions.

The current lawsuit against the ILWU is not simply about recouping corporate losses from the April 4 shutdown. More importantly, it is about intimidating ALL workers so that no one else considers solidarity actions, general strikes, or even actions to defend their own members in local disputes. It should be noted that the April work stoppage by Local 10 was in solidarity with the public sector workers of Wisconsin, who had shut down their state capital with demonstrations and an occupation, and who were on the verge of a general strike. Nothing terrifies the ruling elite more than a general strike, not only because it has the potential to cause huge losses in profits, but also because general strikes have a tendency to radicalize workers and encourage them to increase their demands.

Unfortunately, the mainstream unions in Wisconsin backed down and told all their members to go home, thus undermining the chances of a general strike or even localized strikes. It is also unfortunate that the rank and file listened and followed their union bosses’ orders, as it would have been relatively easy to parlay their existing demonstrations and occupation into a general strike, with so many already skipping work and with the support of Wisconsin’s South Central Federation of Labor.

PMA has recently reached out to Local 10 to discuss an out of court settlement. According to the Working in These Times article, PMA has offered to drop the lawsuit without damages, though they did not mention what, if anything, the ILWU would have to concede. It is also unclear why the PMA is backing down, except that numerous organizations and unions have come to the defense of Local 10, including Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the San Francisco Labor Council, Wisconsin’s South Central Federation of Labor, and the World Federation of Trade Unions.

School Girls, Teachers, Targeted in Middle East Violence

As pro-democracy uprisings continue throughout North Africa and the Middle East, students and teachers continue to be targeted in the violent crackdowns by local governments. Democracy Now reported today that school girls as young as 12 were abducted by Bahraini government forces and beaten severely and threatened with rape. A 16-year-old girl told Al Jazeera that she and three classmates were taken from school and savagely beaten with rubber hoses.

Sanaa, Yemen (Image by Saliam)

The Teacher Solidarity website reported that Yemeni police fired upon demonstrating teachers this week with live ammunition and tear gas. Three teachers have been killed in recent weeks. Thousands had been occupying the education ministry in Taez, Yemen’s second largest city, demanding a pay raise and the removal of President Saleh from office. Several students have also been killed. Overall, 150 people have been killed in the Yemeni protests.

Teachers, Students Attacked in Mid-East Uprisings

Bahraini Protest (Image by Ryan Bayona)

Teachers have been at the forefront of the Bahraini uprising and many teachers have been seized by security forces as a result. According to the Teacher Solidarity website, 6 female teachers were seized last week from a school in Muharraq. Teachers and students were also arrested in Hamad. The government has also arrested head teachers and administrators.

Meanwhile, in Yemen, schools and other public buildings are being shut down twice a week in towns all over the country until the President Saleh steps down. 12 protestors were shot to death in the capital Sanaa, on Wednesday, while 190 were wounded. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. 45% of the population live on less than $2 a day.