http://themilitant.com/2015/7923/792332.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 23 June 22, 2015
—ON THE PICKET LINE—
Maggie Trowe, Editor
Militant/Tony Lane
Workers from three New York-area airports rallied for $15 an hour
outside World Trade Center, where Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey board was meeting May 28.
Help make this column a voice of workers’ resistance!
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resistance that is unfolding today. It seeks to give voice to those
engaged in battle and help build solidarity. Its success depends on
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— Maggie Trowe
Textile unionists in Egypt: ‘Reinstate fired worker!’
ATHENS, Greece — Leaders of the independent trade union movement in
Egypt’s textile industry are fighting for reinstatement after being
fired by the state-owned Mahalla Textile Company.
The workers at this mill, who were prominent in organizing mass strikes
in 2006, 2008 and 2011, were in the vanguard of the fight to overthrow
the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. They were also part
of mass nationwide demonstrations pressing the military to oust the
repressive Muslim Brotherhood government of Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
“There was a strike Jan. 13 addressing management corruption and
demanding that our yearly bonus be paid,” said fired union leader Kamal
Fayoumy in a May 30 phone interview. “The bonus is an important part of
the workers’ yearly income. The strike was peaceful and had broad
participation. The company’s response was to fire two strikers, Gamal
Gad and Nagi Heidar, on Jan. 26. On April 20 I was fired as well. The
aim is to silence workers who speak out and organize.”
The Egyptian government refuses to recognize independent trade unions,
Fayoumy said, and will only negotiate with the “official unions,” many
of whose leaders were put in place under Mubarak.
“The question here is not about simply defending three workers who were
unjustly dismissed,” he said. “This is about the rights of workers to
organize unions, to speak out and to defend their rights. We have
steadfastly fought for these things for years. Many workers in the
factory understand this and support us.”
—Georges Mehrabian
NY-NJ airport workers: ‘We need better pay!’
NEW YORK — “We work long days with no breaks,” said Dominise Wright, a
cabin cleaner at Ultimate Aircraft Appearance at JFK Airport. “We need
better pay, better everything. I’m down for the $15 an hour. We deserve
it, and we just need to see people fighting for it.”
Wright was one of half a dozen airport workers who spoke at a May 28
rally of more than 100 workers from the three New York-area airports and
supporters in front of the World Trade Center headquarters where the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey board was meeting. A Domino’s
Pizza worker from Brooklyn also addressed the rally. According to the
Daily News, cleaners from Newark and JFK airports spoke before the board.
“The Port Authority has approved a $3.6 billion project to refurbish
LaGuardia Airport,” said Michael Carey, a security guard at Aviation
Safeguards at JFK, who emceed the event. “Workers have been waiting nine
months for the Port Authority to improve our wages and benefits package.
How can they refurbish the airport and not refurbish workers’ wages and
benefits?”
There are 12,000 contract workers at the three airports, according to
Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which organized the
protest. Two City Council members and Sen. Charles Schumer spoke at the
rally.
— Tony Lane
Related articles:
LA raises minimum wage, but at snail’s pace
Keep up fight for $15 and a union!
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