Greetings from the International Solidarity Commission (ISC) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and welcome to the second digest of our monthly international news letter.

The purpose of this newsletter is to keep our allies around the world informed of our activities, solidarity campaigns, and relevant international labor struggles. It is our hope that this newsletter will contribute to building worker-to-worker solidarity through strengthened communications and exchanges of information.

If you would like to contribute story ideas or news for the bulletin, or wish to contact the ISC, you can email solidarity@iww.org.

In this digest:

• 1. ISC News and Activities
• 2. IWW News
• 3. Solidarity Statements and Appeals

The International Solidarity Commission of the Industrial Workers of the World is sending a delegation of five workers to Haiti to meet with labor groups and observe conditions in the country. We'll be there from April 23 to May 5, 2008. This blog will record the delegation's experiences and impressions.

The link to the blog is iwwinhaiti.blogspot.com. Check it regularly for updates!

The syndicalist SAC union in Sweden has been campaigning for fair wages for illegal immigrants in the last few months, resulting in thousands of pounds in unpaid wages being paid to migrant workers.

The increasing organisation of illegal immigrants within the syndicalist union SAC have lead to more and more blockades to force the payment of unpaid wages, mainly from employment agencies in the restaurant, cleaning, hotel and building industry. Millions Kronor in unpaid wages have been have been won by the SAC. That these companies and their customers don't want to attract attention to their exploitation of illegal immigrants, in most cases the mere threat of a union blockade has been enough to get the wages paid.

To the Comrades of IWW

We would like to introduce ourselves to you; we are the Freeters'* Union. We are a Tokyo-based general union, established recently in the face of the out-of-control global situation that the neo-liberal capitalism is running rampant. As precarious workers suffering from working conditions that are becoming more and more fluid and amorphous, we are intensifying our struggles for freedom and survival.

At this moment one of our new campaigns is to organize the "Gas Station Union" to confront Kanto Toyu Co., LTD. – a Japanese member of the Shell Oil Group – that has begun to lay off an increasing number of part-time workers on the pretext of the rise of oil prices and financial instability. It is a necessity to fight gas station chain and the oil driven conglomerate which forcibly lays off its employees in order to make even bigger profits. We will continue to inform you about this campaign, so please keep an eye on our efforts.

By Mike Pesa

Mexican factory workers from the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM) are on an IWW-cosponsored truth-telling tour through North America, sharing their first-hand perspective on the effects of NAFTA and their struggle for justice in the factories and slums of northern Mexico. The tour is focused around a March 13 day of action in Detroit against automotive parts manufacturer Key Safety Systems and its corporate customers, including Ford, General Motors, and Hyundai. The tour kicked off in Philadelphia on March 4th where the IWW hosted worker-organizers Israel Monroy and Perla Cruz. In February, Cruz was illegally fired from Key Safety Systems' plant in Valle Hermoso, Mexico (near the Texas border) for organizing a workers' committee.

On Wednesday, March 5th Monroy and Cruz went to New York City for a day to meet with IWW members and allies there. While in New York they participated in the NYC branch's protest of Panera Bread, which is being targeted for its unfair labor practices and union busting. They were accompanied by Justin Vitiello of the Philadelphia branch, who acted as their translator throughout the week. Returning to Philadelphia, the visitors attended an IWW-sponsored protest at Springfield Hyundai, where the manager accepted a letter urging Hyundai to put pressure on Key Safety Systems. The protest was joined by Irish activist Andrew Flood who was on a speaking tour of his own. Following the protest, Monroy and Cruz spoke to a class at Temple University. Interest was so great that students' questions had to be cut off at one point.

Statement for March 6 International Day of Action in Solidarity with the Workers of Iran

The International Solidarity Commission of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an international rank-and-file labor union, warmly extends our solidarity with the workers of Iran, on this, the occasion of the March 6th Global Day of Action. Reflecting on the 100+ year history of our own union, we in the IWW recognize that real victories for workers have never come without struggle, hardship, and--all too often--repression. For years now, the Iranian workers have bravely faced down brutal opposition from government forces, right-wing clerics and their supporters, and of course, the bosses themselves. They have paid a terrible price for their efforts to bring about justice in the workplace and in society. We know that workers, organizers and activists have been harassed, threatened, beaten, fined, fired, whipped, jailed and worse, simply for exercising their right to organize.

Originally published at UK Indymedia

The last year saw the IWW and their allies launch a nation-wide campaign to prevent NBS management from enacting dangerous cuts that will only serve to ease their own workload. IWW members in the NBS’s recognised unions (Unison and Unite) have also been at the forefront of the campaign to push the big unions to act against the plans, rather than seemingly roll over and let management do whatever they want.

NBS bosses plan to centralise thirteen blood processing centres into three ‘supercentres’ in Colindale, Manchester and Bristol. This means 600 jobs will be slashed and local economies and labour markets are going to be hit hard. What’s more, the transport of blood will be even more reliant on our already-overcrowded and polluting road system, with many hospitals more than 100 miles from the nearest centre. Put simply, these plans are a danger to workers, communities and patients.