Six Iraqi labor leaders will be touring the US to speak with the labor movement to both educate US trade unionists about the conditions faced by Iraqi workers and their struggles and to build direct worker-to-worker, union-to-union solidarity and support for Iraqi trade unionists in their effort to build a progressive secular Iraq. Their meetings will be open to the general public. Be there!
These trade union leaders from Iraq’s most important union federations will be on tour. Here is some biographical information.
IRAQI FEDERATION OF LABOR (IFTU)
Abdullah Muhsin, International Representative, fled Iraq in 1978 in the wake of a reign of terror waged by Saddam Hussein against all civil society organizations not under Ba’athist control. As a student activist, he has been targeted by the regime. He worked against Hussein from Italy and England in an underground trade union organization, the Workers Democratic Trade Union Movement. He resided in England until he returned to Iraq after the fall of the regime. He serves as the International Representative of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions.
Adnan A. Rashed, Executive Officer, Union of Mechanics, Printing and Metals Workers
FEDERATION OF WORKERS COUNCILS AND UNIONS OF IRAQ (FWCUI)
Falah Awan, President. The federation was founded after its first conference on December 8, 2003 which had included representatives of several syndicates, elected councils, and preparatory committees in several plants, enterprises, and factories.
Amjad Ali Aljawhry, Representative of the FWCUI and Union of the Unemployed in Iraq (UUI) for North America, was born in Baghdad in 1966. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology at Mosul University in 1989. Because of his political views, and organizing among sewing workers, he was blacklisted by the regime and was unable to find employment in any state enterprise. With his family, he fled to Turkey in 1995 and was active among Iraqi refugees there. Since 1996 he has lived in Toronto, Canada where he has spoken widely on Iraqi issues and has been active in the anti-sanctions and anti-war movements. He was invited to deliver lectures and hold conferences in Japan, France, United States, and Iraq regarding the labor movement before and after the US led war on Iraq. He is currently the FWCUI’s official representative in North America.
GENERAL UNION OF OIL EMPLOYEES (Basra)
Hassan Juma’a Awad Al Asade, Chief of the Executive Bureau, was born in Basra, Iraq, in 1952. He lives in the Jhoumouria neighbourhood with his wife, three daughters and three sons. He was an opponent of the Ba’athist regime, a human rights activist, and unionist who was imprisoned by the Ba’athist regime three times for “subversive” activity. He has served for thirty-one years as a technician in the Basrah Petroleum Company, the National Oil Company, and the Southern Oil Company. He is a founding member of the Oil Sector Union, and was elected its Chief Executive in July of 2004. This year, he traveled to Britain to meet with labor unions and British PM’s.
Faleh Abbood Umara, General Secretary, is 46 years old. He is married with two sons and two daughters. He is a founding member of the oil workers union and worked for the Southern Oil Company in Basra for 28 years. He is also a member of the local council in the Al-Hadi district in Basra. In 1998, he was detained by the Hussein regime for his activities on behalf of his coworkers. He as served on the union’s negotiating team with both the Oil Ministry and British occupation authorities to defend the rights and interests of oil industry workers in the post-Saddam era.
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TOUR SCHEDULE
Washington DC: Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI), and the General Union of Oil Employees (GUOE)
June 10-15
Contact: Denice Lombard
denice@ap.net
East coast: IFTU
June 15: Baltimore
Contact: Fred Mason
fmason@mddcaflcio.org
June 16-17: New York City
Contact: Bill Henning
cwabhenning@aol.com
June 18-19: Vermont
Contact: Dawn Stanger
upsyours@adelphia.net
June 20-21: Boston
Contact: Russ Davis
russdavis@comcast.net
June 22: Hartford
Contact: Steve Thornton
homefront1@hotmail.com
June 23: Stony Brook, NY
Contact: Michael Zweig
mzweig@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
June 24: Philadelphia
Contact: John Braxton
morbraxton@aol.com
Midwest: FWCUI
June 16: Minnesota
Contact: Tara Widner
twidner@uswa.org
June 17-18: Chicago
Contact: Thomas Bacon
thomasbacon@uslaboragainstwar.org
June 18-19: Atlanta
Contact: Ajamu Dillahunt
ardillahunt@igc.org
June 19: Detroit
Contact: Mike Parker
mparker00@rts-tech.com
June 20: Madison and Milwaukee
Contact: Carol Weidel and Sue Ruggles
carolaweidel@aol.com
ruggless@matc.edu
June 21: Pittsburgh
Contact: John Lacny
lacnyj@seiu1199p.org
June 22-23: Buffalo
Contact: Tom Johnson
trj3@cornell.edu
June 24: Cleveland
Contact: Gabe Kramer
labor.of.love@juno.com
West Coast: GUOE
June 16-18: Los Angeles
Contact: Andy Griggs
LAUSLAW1@aol.com
June 16 and June 19-21: SF Bay Area
Contact: Michael Eisenscher
m_eisenscher@uslaboragainstwar.org
June 22: Portland
Contact: Bob Marshall
Bobm@seiu49.org
June 23: Seattle
Contact: Kathy Lipscomb
kathylipscomb@juno.com
June 24: Philadelphia
Contact: John Braxton
morbraxton@aol.com
For more information go to:
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/
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