Iraqi Leader: "We Can Take Care Of Ourselves, We Don't Need A Baby Sitter

[Itsthetruth]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 22, 2005

Iraqi duo says unions needed in their homeland
By Jim McKay,

In the midst of daily car bombings, power outages, food shortages and rising prices, Falah Alwan is pressing for a union movement in Iraq that he hopes will help improve living and working conditions made worse by the military conflict.

But the fight is uphill, the president of the Federation of Workers Councils & Unions in Iraq said yesterday, moments before he addressed an audience at the United Steelworkers headquarters, Downtown.

"It is not only uphill, it is slippery. There is no rock to hold," Alwan said, his words translated into English by Amjad Al Jawhary, who represents both the federation and the Union of the Unemployed in Iraq in North America.

"It has been two years of this occupation, and we have been promised a lot of democracy, and we have been promised a lot of freedom, a lot of prosperity," Jawhary said. "However, we have seen everything but democracy, but freedom, but prosperity."

The pair called for an end to the U.S. and British occupation of Iraq and for the right to form and join unions that are democratic, free of government control and free of religious, political and other discrimination. "We can take care of ourselves," Jawhary, an Iraqi exile who currently lives in Canada, said in arguing for the end of the current military occupation. "We don't need a baby sitter."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05173/526162.stm



Falah Alwan, president of the Federation of Workers Councils & Unions in Iraq, (far left) Amjad Al Jawhary, (middle), of the Union of Unemployed Iraqis, take part in a press conference at the United Steelworkers of America building with USWA attorney Dan Kovalik. The two Iraqis said foreign troops should withdraw from Iraq.

[Itsthetruth]

1. Interview With Iraqi Labor Leader

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
June 21, 2005

Amjad Ali Aljawhry 'Takes Five'
Labor leader seeks solidarity for Iraqis

On Monday, two Iraqi labor leaders, Falah Alwan and Amjad Ali Aljawhry, came to Milwaukee to discuss the Iraqi labor movement. Both men are with the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq, and they stopped in several U.S. cities. The group opposes the U.S. and British military occupation of Iraq. It also stands against privatization in the war-torn country. Aljawhry talked with Journal Sentinel reporter Nahal Toosi before speaking to a union crowd Monday night.

Q: Why do you oppose privatization in Iraq?

A: At the present time, the number of unemployment is really high. And in terms of when privatization occurs in Iraq, a lot of layoffs will occur again. Many people will be laid off. This will add extra challenges to the labor movement when they try to bargain for their rights because this will create cheap labor.

Q: What can American unions do, if anything, to help your cause?

A: We are working in order to gain solidarity for our labor movement and to support our workers. We try to build a movement that is able to end the occupation immediately. The occupation today, which was the other difficulty I was supposed to answer to the previous question . . . the occupation deprives Iraqi people from all kinds of freedom, deprives workers from having their own democratic society. Without free trade unions, because the workers form more than 80% of the society, not having free trade unions will lead to a non-democratic society.

Q: Are you worried about civil war if the occupying forces leave?

A: No. Iraqi people will take over the lead. We keep saying that. We don't need no baby sitters. We can manage our issues. We can go on on our own.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jun05/335516.asp



Amjad Ali Aljawhry

[Itsthetruth]

2. Articles On The Union Tour

Click On This Link

http://uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=8330

[LynnTheDem]

3. Now, now *pat*...WE know what's best for Iraq *pat pat* so you just sit

down and be quiet, there's a good boy. *pat*

[donsu]

4. more power to them with their union work

Union is not a dirty word

[cthrumatrix]

5. of course they don't .... the NEOCON plan doesn't care about

democracy