DEMOCRACY AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS

WHEREAS, today, we see that while many repressive regimes and ideologies were discredited and deposed, they have not automatically been replaced by liberal democracy.  While many countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe continue to advance on a democratic path, the backsliding of other counties such as Russia toward dictatorship and the continued resistance to democratic reform in other countries such as China and Syria have caused many to doubt the potential for democracy to take root in vast regions of the globe. Additionally, the use of “democracy building” as a rationale for the disastrous invasion of Iraq has given the phrase a pejorative meaning in certain circles in the Middle East and other parts of the world, including the United States; and

WHEREAS, support for the advance of democracy in the world has been a cornerstone of American foreign policy. In recent years, however, many Americans have become skeptical of the validity of democracy promotion as a foreign policy objective.  Moreover, Americans have grown cynical about an administration that gives lip service to promoting democracy in other countries while undermining worker rights and civil liberties at home; and

WHEREAS, for the American labor movement, however, abandonment of support for democracy and human rights at home and abroad is not a viable option. The simple reality for working people in any country is that free and independent trade unions cannot exist without democracy.  Without the right to organize and negotiate collective bargaining agreements, working people lack the tools needed to assure security and economic fairness. Conversely, democracies need independent trade unions to ensure a strong civil society and to defend the rights of all citizens against those who would exploit them. As former AFT president Al Shanker said in a 1990 interview, “There is no freedom or democracy without trade unionism"; and

WHEREAS, it is not surprising, therefore, that workers and unions were leaders in many of the classic struggles against dictatorships in the late 20thcentury.  Dockworkers in Poland, teachers in South Africa and Chile and mine workers in Russia were examples of labor movements at the center of inspirational movements for democracy. Since then, the world has changed, and not all for the better.  The battlegrounds for democracy and human rights have shifted to other parts of the world and new forms of repressive ideology have replaced the old discredited dogma. What remains constant is labor’s stake in democracy; and

WHEREAS, workers and unions remain in the forefront of the fight for democracy and human rights.  In Zimbabwe, for example, the opposition to the Mugabe regime is led by Morgan Tsvangirai, the former head of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.  As Zimbabwean people faced the prospects of a violent crackdown by Mugabe’s militia after elections did not go his way, it was the dockworkers’ union in South Africa that blocked a shipment of arms from China meant to help put down the popular opposition.  In Iran, independent unions of bus drivers and teachers are conducting labor actions in defiance of the repressive regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. New and independent labor unions were part of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in the Republic of Georgia. Organizations of workers are active in the Burmese democracy movement, in Hong Kong and in Venezuela; and  

WHEREAS, the case of China’s continued repression of democracy and human and trade union rights is of special concern to American workers.  China’s economic liberalization coupled with its brutal repression of any sign of independent union organization has created a cheap labor market for national and multinational companies.  Communist Party leaders understand, and have openly stated, that the emergence of any “Solidarnosc-like” labor movement as occurred in Poland would be the biggest threat to their dictatorial control of China. This repression of worker rights in China has a direct adverse impact on America both economically and politically. We suffer from an economic competitive disadvantage and the example of China lends credibility to those who would say that economic development must precede, and is at odds with, political, human and worker rights:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers lobby the next presidential administration and Congress to reinstitute support for the spread of democracy and human rights in the world as a major tenet of American foreign policy.  Furthermore,  the AFT urges the U.S. government to increase funding for programs to assist pro-democracy organizations, political parties and workers’ organizations that are struggling in opposition to repressive regimes as well as for special programs to end child and slave labor and the international trafficking of women; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers demand that the principle of trade union rights be included, and enforced, in every bi-national and international trade agreement in which the U.S. is involved; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers call on government at the national, state and local levels in the U.S. to set an example for the world by recognizing and speaking out about the rights of all American workers to organize and negotiate collective bargaining agreements and to fully fund enforcement of existing labor laws and worker protection provisions such as OSHA standards; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers reaffirm its commitment to its mission statement to “promote democracy, human rights and freedom in our union, in our nation and throughout the world”; and 

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers continue to protest violations of human and trade union rights at home and abroad and to strengthen its capacity to work with brother and sister unions in other parts of the world that seek assistance through union-to-union programs and cooperation with Education International and Public Services International; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers encourage the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement to articulate and defend the essential role of independent unions in any strategy for democracy development, social stability, economic growth and international peace.