Iraqi Labor Solidarity Tour

Iraqi Labor Solidarity Tour - Los Angeles

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Friday, June 8, 2007
12 noon - Labor Luncheon - LA County Federation of Labor
5 PM - Labor Reception and Forum - UCLA Downtown Labor Center

Saturday, June 9, 2007
4 PM - CTA Peace and Justice Caucus Forum - Bonaventure Hotel
7:30 PM - Community/Labor Solidarity Forum - United Teachers Los Angeles

Sunday, June 10, 2007
8:30 AM - Arlington West Visit (unconfirmed) - Arlington West, Santa
Monica Beach

For more information: LAUSLAW1@aol.com 626-392-6378

Hosted by LA-USLAW
Local Sponsors:
KPFK - Media Sponsor, LA County Federation of Labor, Fellowship of
Reconciliation, United Steelworkers, Local 675, AFT 1521, January 27
Coalition, United Teachers Los Angeles, Cal State LA College Faculty
Guild, CTA Peace & Justice Caucus, Coalition for World Peace,
Progressive Democrats LA, Military Families Speak Out - OC, LA-Iraq
Veterans Against the War, American Federation of State County & Municipal
Employees Council 36 Retiree Chapter, California Federation of Teachers,
American
Friends Service Committee, Cafe Intifada, The WE Project


About the tour

A rare opportunity for people in the US to dialogue directly with Iraqi
workers and labor leaders about current attempts to control Iraq's oil,
women's issues, the occupation, and the role of labor in creating
a-sectarian, progressive Iraq.

These courageous leaders struggled for years against Saddam Hussein's
repression. Now they have stepped forward to organize workers seeking
to improve conditions at their workplaces and in their lives under the
difficult conditions of occupation, sectarian division, and violence.
They are fighting not only for basic labor rights for all workers but
also for women's equality and against privatization of their national
resources.

Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, President
Electrical Utility Workers Union,
General Federation of Iraqi Workers

Sister Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein is the first woman to head a national
union in Iraq. Following high school, she went to work at the Southern
Company for Electricity, where she became active in the labor movement.
She rose to leadership of the Electricity Workers Union in Basra and
recently was elected its national president. She serves on the
executive committee of the Basra Work Unions Coalition. She is head of
the Women Workers' Bureau and is a leader in the Iraqi Women's
Association. She and her 7-year old son have received death threats as
a result of her activism.

Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary
Southern Oil Company Union,
Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions

Brother Faleh Abood Umara is a founding member of the oil workers union
and worked for the Southern Oil Company in Basra for 28 years.In 1998,
he was detained by the Hussein regime for his activities on behalf of
his coworkers.He has served on the union's negotiating team with both
the Oil Ministry and British occupation authorities to defend the rights
and interests of oil industry workers in the post-Saddam era. The
Southern Oil Workers Union has conducted strikes against outsourcing to
foreign workers and schemes to privatize the oil sector.



National Dates (Full schedule of events will be posted at
www.uslaboragainstwar.org):
Washington DC: June 4-7
Los Angeles: June 7-10
San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Santa Cruz: June 10-13
Boston: June 13-15
New York City: June 16-19
Philadelphia: June 19
Chicago/Milwaukee: June 20-23
Washington DC: June 24-26
Atlanta: June 27-28