Israel and Palestinian unions call for solidarity for the fight for workers’ rights in the USA

Today is a nationwide day of protest across the United States as unions face the most serious attack on their rights in more than a generation.

Unions in many countries — including the newly independent unions of Egypt and Iraq — have issued strong statements of protest and solidarity.

So have unions in Israel and Palestine.

The leaders of Israeli public sector union UCAPSE sent an open letter to Wisconsin governor Walker, saying:

I am writing on behalf of UCAPSE, Israel to express our dismay over the developments regarding the collective bargaining rights for the public employees in Wisconsin. We have been informed that you will seek to have legislation passed over the coming days that will eliminate collective bargaining rights for the employees in public services. This will be a serious violation of international labour conventions. We regard your proposed unilateral action as an attack on one of the fundamental pillars in a well‐developed democracy, where social dialogue and collective bargaining through trade unions secures constructive relationships between employers and employees. This kind of relationship has proved its high value in many countries, both in times of economic growth and during crisis. We understand that you have refused to meet the unions to negotiate solutions that could contribute to balancing the budget ‐ this is not the way we expect democratically elected leaders to act. We have been informed that you have announced that you will call out the National Guard if public sector unions protest in what you may consider a disruptive way. The right to organise and the right to collective bargaining are part of human rights. The public sector employees are in the front line fighting for democracy. Instead of attacking the public sector unions and their members in your state, we urge you to choose a constructive path and stand by commitments that have already been set out in legally‐ negotiated collective agreements. Governor Walker, we ask you to show respect towards public workers and stop the unilateral attacks on their unions. A constructive relationship between your government and trade unions will most benefit the citizens of Wisconsin.
You can read the statement of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions here.