US Teamsters back workers’ rights in Iran
Global Day of Solidarity with Iranian Workers to be held June 26
June 17, 2009
On Friday, June 26, a global day of solidarity will be held, calling for justice for Iranian workers. Four global labor organizations, representing more than 170 million workers, are joining forces to fight for the release of Iranian trade unionists who have been jailed for practicing their democratic rights to form trade unions. The global solidarity action will demand that jailed Iranian union leaders be released and that workers’ rights to form unions and bargain collectively in Iran be recognized.
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa has already expressed his support for trade unionist rights in Iran. President Hoffa recently wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her attention to the troubling matter of labor rights repression in the country.
One notable example of this repression is that of Mansour Osanloo, the President of the Tehran Bus Workers’ Union. Mr. Osanloo has spent more time in prison than he has in freedom since the union was formed in 1995. He is just one of a number of union leaders in Iran who have been jailed for standing up for worker rights.
For more information on how to participate in the global day of solidarity with Iranian workers, go to: www.justiceforiranianworkers.org
Click here to read the letter from President Hoffa to Secretary of State Clinton
