Interview With Sultana Hossain From The Amazon Labor Union In The USA LabourStart: Where Trade Unionists Start Their Day On The Net. podcast

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Send us a text Nilufar Mammadrzayeva is an activist in İşçi Masası (Labor Desk), an alternative Confederation of Trade Unions operating in Azerbaijan. As she explained to us, "Right now, four of our comrades are facing dire conditions in prison due to their labor rights activism. One of them has already been sentenced to eight years, and the situation is only getting worse." In this interview, we discuss the situation faced by workers and independent trade unions in her country and what the international trade union movement can do to help. For full coverage of labour news from Azerbaijan on LabourStart, click here .…

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Canada: Interview with Mark Hancock 12:46

16天之前12:46

12:46

Send us a text This week, LabourStart's Pat Bulmer interviews Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees -- the largest union in the country. Mark was asked to speak about the union's recently-adopted "Montreal Declaration" which was drafted in response to US President Donald Trump's threats against Canada. “The declaration acknowledges the formidable contribution that the labour movement has made to building what makes us proudest to be Canadian: our public health care, public education, and so many more cherished public services. The declaration also sets out CUPE’s demands for a worker-focused response to the existential crisis posed by Donald Trump’s assault on Canadian workers,” the union explains.…

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Belarus: Interview with Liza Merliak, exiled trade unionist 13:07

5 weeks之前13:07

13:07

Send us a text LabourStart's podcast this week is - unfortunately - about Belarus, which is probably the worst place in Europe to be a trade unionist. We are now coming up on the 3rd anniversary of the mass arrests of Belarusian trade union leaders and the crushing of the country's independent and democratic unions. Liza tells us why this happened, the role of the Ukraine war and Putin, and what we can do to help free the jailed union leaders and force the regime in Belarus to respect workers' rights -- and human rights in general.…

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Turkey: Interview with Kıvanç Eliaçık, Director of International Relations Department for DISK 16:49

8 weeks之前16:49

16:49

Send us a text This week's LabourStart interview is with Kıvanç Eliaçık from DISK, one of Turkey's national trade union centres. We talked about workers' rights in Turkey, the role played by LabourStart and global unions, what individuals can do to help -- and about the central role that workers in struggle are playing in all this. We also discussed a new LabourStart campaign being launched this week in support of striking workers at Telus, in Izmir. A must-listen podcast this week, in our view.…

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Interview with Daniel Blackburn from the International Centre for Trade Union Rights 12:12

9 weeks之前12:12

12:12

Send us a text This week's LabourStart podcast is a short interview with Daniel Blackburn, who runs the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR), based in London. Daniel spoke with us about ICTUR's history, the journal it produces (International Union Rights), the incredible reference book they publish on trade unions of the world, and even their wall map of workers' rights around the globe. ICTUR is not well-known enough in the trade union movement but we think that after you hear what Daniel has to say you'll want to know more -- visit the ICTUR website here .…

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Canada: Interview with Stephanie Ross & Larry Savage 20:29

9 weeks之前20:29

20:29

Send us a text The LabourStart Podcast this week -- our first in 2025 -- is an interview with two Canadian writers who've written an important new book about one of the country's largest trade unions. Stephanie Ross is an associate professor in the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and founding president of the Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies. Larry Savage is a professor in the Department of Labour Studies at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. LabourStart’s Pat Bulmer interviewed them about their book, Shifting Gears, which examines the evolution of one of Canada’s largest unions. Today, it’s known as Unifor, but it started out as the Canadian wing of the United Auto Workers before breaking away to become the Canadian Auto Workers. The authors particularly examine the union’s evolving - and controversial - role in Canadian politics. Ross and Savage are also co-authors of Building a Better World: An Introduction to the Labour Movement in Canada and co-editors of Public Sector Unions in the Age of Austerity , Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada , and Labour under Attack: Anti-Unionism in Canada .…

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Interview with Tamar Ansiani, one of the striking workers at Evolution Gaming, Georgia 9:07

20 weeks之前9:07

9:07

Send us a text This week we interviewed Tamar Ansiani, who in addition to being a striker (one of over 4,000) at the Swedish-owned Evolution Gaming in Georgia, is also a vice president of LABOR, a Georgian trade union. Tamar spoke about the reasons for the strike, the importance of international solidarity and much more in this short interview. To learn more about the struggle at Evolution Gaming -- and to show your solidarity with the workers -- click here . To donate money to the strikers (via UNI Global Union), click here. To follow all the latest labour news from Georgia, including latest developments with the Evolution strike, click here . To help build support for the striking workers, please share this podcast widely in your union. Thank you!…

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Interview with Sultana Hossain from the Amazon Labor Union in the USA 13:15

24 weeks之前13:15

13:15

Send us a text "We were dying," says Sultana Hossain, describing the conditions that led thousands of Amazon employees in New York City to begin organising into a trade union. Initially, their union was independent and had no backing from anyone else -- and yet the workers were able to force an election in the workplace, win a majority and inspire millions of workers with their story. Click here to learn more about that union and its amazing story. For full coverage of workers' struggles at Amazon around the world, check out LabourStart's Amazon stories .…

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Interview with Carlos Ching-Hung Wang, the president of the China Steel Express Union (Taiwan) 6:37

27 weeks之前6:37

6:37

Send us a text China Steel Express (CSE), the most profitable subsidiary of Taiwan's largest state-owned enterprise, China Steel Corporation (CSC), has long exploited Taiwanese seafarers through illegal fixed-term contracts. Recently, CSE replaced Taiwanese seafarers with Chinese crew. As a result, more than 300 seafarers lost their jobs. In July, CSE abruptly cut the insurance of over 100 seafarers to force more of the workers out of jobs. To defend their labour rights, the CSE Union held a strike vote. Out of 487 members, 371 (76%) supported the strike. This strong support shows their determination to protect their right to work and marks the first strike in Taiwan's maritime history. We interviewed Carlos Ching-Hung Wang, the president of the CSE Union, who explained to us why the workers are on strike -- and what you can do to help. The interview is in Chinese and English and is very short. To support the campaign, click here.…

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The struggle for jobs and dignity at Liberty Steel 14:38

34 weeks之前14:38

14:38

Send us a text An interview with Judith Kirton-Darling, general secretary of IndustriAll Europe, about the ongoing fight of Liberty Steel workers in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in the face of catastrophic job losses. Judith talks about the background to the struggle, including latest developments, including a walk out this morning by Liberty Steel workers in Hungary, and the importance of solidarity messages sent through the LabourStart online campaign .…

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Interview with Srđan from Radnicki Glas (Workers Voice) in Serbia 14:46

36 weeks之前14:46

14:46

Send us a text This week we interviewed Srđan from Radnicki Glas (Workers Voice) in Serbia. The group is very involved with the ongoing campaign at the Yura factories in Serbia -- which is the subject of a LabourStart ActNOW campaign. ( Click here to learn more. ) We talked about unions and workers in general in Serbia and the specific issues faced by workers at the South Korean-owned Yura factories, which are suppliers to major European auto companies. Srđan explained the background to strikes that took place in June, what the union is doing now, and how listeners to the podcast can help.…

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Interview with David Edwards, General Secretary of the Education International 11:13

38 weeks之前11:13

11:13

Send us a text We spoke with David Edwards just three weeks before the opening of the congress of the Education International, which unites trade unions of teachers and other educational professionals. The EI is one of the biggest global unions -- it has 383 member organisations, representing more than 32 million people in 178 countries and territories -- and faces immense challenges. We spoke about the EI's current Go Public! campaign which has been fighting to get governments to invest in public education and hire more teachers. But we also discussed the challenges teachers and their unions face every day in countries like Iran and Afghanistan. We concluded with a discussion about the rise of the far Right, which is a concern for all teachers' unions. And at the end of the interview -- this was unscripted, really -- David spoke briefly about the work the EI has done with LabourStart.…

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Interview with Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of IndustriAll Europe 11:29

40 weeks之前11:29

11:29

Send us a text Less than 24 hours after the results of the first round of the French legislative elections were known, and with the threat of a far Right government for the first time since Vichy, we interviewed Judith Kirton-Darling. Judith is General Secretary of IndustriAll Europe, which represents 7 million working men and women united within 200 national trade union affiliates in 39 European countries. We discussed a range of issues including the threat of the far Right, what Europe's unions are expecting from the newly-elected European Parliament, and IndustriAll's campaign for good industrial jobs. Learn more about IndustriAll Europe on their website, here.…

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Interview with Macarena Grimalt Fernandes, Argentinian trade unionist 10:35

45 weeks之前10:35

10:35

Send us a text Earlier this month there were giant protests across Argentina following the attempts by the country's new president, Javier Gerardo Milei, to impose his dystopian vision on the country. Milei's government is cracking down on workers' rights, downsizing and privatising much of the public sector, and triggering a huge increase in unemployment and poverty -- especially child poverty. This statement by the International Trade Union Confederation paints a bleak picture of Argentina under Milei. This week, we spoke with Macarena Grimalt Fernandes, the international secretary of APOC (La Asociación del Personal de los Organismos de Control) , which is affiliated to Public Services International (PSI) . Macarena explained the proposed new legislation -- which has not yet passed -- and how unions across Argentina have united to fight it. When asked to tell us about international solidarity, she talked about the demonstrations that took place in Latin America and elsewhere at the same time as the protests in Argentina. When asked if she was optimistic or pessimistic about her country's future, Macarena insisted she needed to be an optimist -- otherwise she'd never get out of bed in the morning. That's a sentiment that we can all understand.…

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Interview with Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) 18:11

46 weeks之前18:11