Iraq/Wisconson Labor Solidarity: Two Statements

In the wake of the threat posed to what remain of labor rights in Wisconsin, and the public’s powerful response, two Iraqi labor leaders, Hassan Jum’a and Faleh Abood, penned solidarity statements in late February on behalf the 26,000 member strong Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, and the 15,000 member Worker’s Front Against War and Occupation, respectively. You can read translations from Arabic into English here and here. Two of Iraq’s most prominent labor organizers, both Mr. Jum’a and Mr. Abood were served with charges June of last year, in the Iraqi government’s attempts to stifle their activity. As movements against repression continue to spread in the Middle East (including in Iraq) and austerity clamps down on the US, finding ways to build bridges and create concrete solidarity becomes more and more vital.