Trade Unionist in Turkey, Meryem Özsögüt, jailed for 6 months, get E-Active to help

Got this from Eric Lee over at Labourstart, doing my part, please pass it along.

This message will be very brief and to the point.

The Turkish government has jailed a woman trade unionist, Meryem Özsögüt, and has kept her in detention for nearly six months. Meryem is a leader of the public sector union SES, and we've been asked by Public Services International (PSI) to launch a big online campaign demanding her release. For more details and to add your signature, please click here now.

This campaign will not take off, and we will not secure Meryem's release, unless we can mobilize thousands of our members around the world.

Please do what you can to help this campaign go viral -- forward it to your email lists, post information on your union websites, pass out flyers at events, use new tools like Twitter, Facebook and blogs to spread the word.

Meryem needs our help. I know that I can count on all of you.

Eric Lee

Sphere: Related Content

Four Labourstart Act NOW campaigns

Where trade unionists start their day on the net.

Act NOW!

Click on any of the markers to learn more -- and to click through to the campaign page.

Terms of Use

Act NOW!

USA: Union-busting in Minnesota Attorney General's Office

Iran: Release jailed workers, respect rights

Petro-Canada locks out workers, puts community at risk

UK: Support the Fremantle Care Workers

Sphere: Related Content

Online Labor Activism Works, 3 global victories thanks to people who helped support Eric Lee's Labourstart E-Activist campaign's

Eric Lee's Labourstart is the world premiere news source for international Labor headlines, his news feeds are found on news, labor and social injustice sites around the globe. Just adding a pertinent link to Labourstart helps spread information, information which is usually ignored by the main stream media. After reading some global campaigns, you can see how much we have in common with the struggling working man around globe. Nowadays when all the corporations are going with the lowest bidders in the cheapest nations, it's even more important that we all get involved in making it better for those people. Think of it as a hand up which can help ourselves too, eventually the price to relocate will be nullified if the demand by the workforce makes steady gains.

Eric also makes it his personal business to get us involved in the global movement by sending out correspondence explaining the situations and asking us to take further action via E-Activist e-mail campaigns and by getting the word out. I took one of his campaigns to heart, the Russian Ford strike. The greatest strike in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through the ups and downs of their picket, Labourstart followed the story, with some very reminiscent factors such as an anti-union police force and government getting involved. Ford has since met the majority of the workers demands. This also comes on the heals of another win from Eric, getting Blackadder, the Union Organizer back onto Facebook. You can and should join Eric's e-mail list. We do make a difference.

So without further ado, heres the E-mail I opened today:

In the last few weeks we've asked for your backing for online campaigns in support of a jailed activist in Bangladesh, striking workers in Russia, and baristas in a Tel Aviv cafe. You responded magnificently, and today I want to report on three bits of good news.

Mehedi Hasan, the workers rights activist in Bangladesh, was released from detention on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to the 4,000 of you who sent messages and spread the word. Bangladesh remains a concern for all of us, and you can continue to follow these issues on the website of Labour Behind the Label and on LabourStart's Bangladesh news page.

And as we reported earlier, your generous donations to the striking Ford workers in Russia have produced some concrete results -- today a majority of workers at the plant voted to accept the agreement on a pay increase and additional benefits which was reached following the historic 20-day strike, the longest-ever in recent Russian history.

The lowest paid workers are getting a 21 percent increase, and on average the factory workers will earn US $1,030 per month. According to reports we're getting from Russia, "the conflict is over with a great victory of workers, whose courage and international solidarity made the company engage in serious negotiations, leading to the setting up of new pay standards for the whole booming Russian auto industry."

We recently asked for your support for the IUF's global online campaign backing striking workers at the Coffee Bean cafe in Israel. According to reports in the media today, the trade union federation (Histadrut) and management have agreed to end the two-week strike and begin negotiations.

Three campaigns - three victories. This has been a good week. Thank you!

Eric Lee

No, Thank You, Eric Lee, you are an inspiration to us all.

Sphere: Related Content

What Have The Unions Ever Done For Us?

Political video released by Manic Times in Australia, although it is about the Australian Labor movement, anyone can tell that the fight there is identical to ours here in the US.

Link found via Omaha Steve's postings at Democratic Underground

Related links:
Mad As Hell #2 : Australian people dump corporate Gov. In favor of Labor and what's important here

Sphere: Related Content