LabourStart: Zimbabwe union leaders arrested & more!

[Omaha Steve]

In today's mailing:

* Zimbabwe union leaders arrested
* Vale campaign takes off
* The Union Member's Complete Guide
* Are you on Facebook?

Zimbabwe union leaders arrested

The International Trade Union Confederation has strongly condemned the arrest of Lovemore Matombo, the president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, as well as four members of his staff. LabourStart is featuring full coverage of this breaking news and we'll let you know when and if there's a call for an online campaign. Stay tuned.

Vale campaign takes off

The campaign we launched last week in support of Vale workers in Canada and Brazil is one of our largest ever. As I write these words, over 4,400 of you have already sent off messages, making it the largest of our active campaigns. Those messages -- in seven languages -- are sending a loud and clear message of protest to the company, and solidarity to the workers who have been on strike since mid-July.

We've done well, but we can do so much more. If every person reading this message were to take 30 seconds and send a message, Vale executives would have more than 50,000 messages in their email inboxes. Think about that. Please spread the word!

The Union Member's Complete Guide

What are unions? How do they work? What are the rights and responsibilities of union members? Many people first coming into the labour movement have no idea how a contract is negotiated, or what a grievance procedure is. Indeed, many of us who've been trade union members for a long time could sometimes use a bit of a refresher course. This week's labour book of the week is one of our all-time best-sellers -- The Union Member's Complete Guide. Every union branch and local should have copies to give to new members. To learn more about this book and to order your copies, click here. Remember that every book you order helps support LabourStart's campaigning activities.

Are you on Facebook?

According to our recent survey, 75% of you may have Facebook accounts. If so, please check out LabourStart's group on Facebook. You can meet other trade unionists there and post items to the Wall where they'll be seen by the thousands who have already joined the group.

Eric Lee.

Eric Lee