International Transportation Workers Conference-Time To Forge A United Defense

International Transportation Workers Conference
It's Time For A United Defense!

Thursday November 16, 2006 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Lunch Included
ILWU Local 10
400 Northpoint St San Francisco



A historic meeting of transportation workers and union leaders from throughout the world will be held in San Francisco on Thursday November 16, 2006. The meeting which will include workers from Europe, Asia and throughout the US will focus on the effects of deregulation and privatization of the world transportation industry and how a unified world transportation workers movement can link up to challenge these attacks.
The growing health and safety problems from deadly and toxic train wrecks to a growing health and safety problems in the industry will be outlined. These include the effects of privatization of railways in the United Kingdom and Japan.
Speakers will be from Charleston, South Carolina, Chiba, Japan and many other countries.
The conference was initiated by the Transport Workers Solidarity Committee (TWSC) http://www.transportworkers.org and the conference is being hosted by ILWU Local 10 which represents longshore workers in Northern California.
Bob Crow, the Secretary General of the Rail, Maritime & Transport RMT Workers of the United Kingdom will be one of the keynote speakers. His union is one of the most progressive in England. Recently it was expelled from the British Labor Party for opposing the war in Iraq.

There will also be an international video screening on Thursday night at 7:00 PM at the University of San Francisco of transportation worker videos from throughout the world. The screening is free and it will be at HR 127 at USF near Fulton and Cole St.

For further information on this International Transportation workers conference please call
Jackheyman [at] comcast.net
(415)867-0628

or go to
http://www.transportworkers.org


International Transportation Workers Conference 11/16/2006 SF
It's Time For A United Defense!
San Francisco



The growing worldwide attack on all transportation workers continues unabated.
The past 30 years has seen the destruction of millions of jobs through deregulation and privatization of the transportation industry in nearly every country of the world. This has led to a growing health and safety crisis with an epidemic of accidents leading to deaths, injuries and destruction in all areas of transportation from rail and trucking, to maritime, buses and airlines.
At the same time using these same "free trade" economic policies, bosses and governments from all parts of the world have sought to destroy hard won union gains and to if possible eliminate unions and their power. In the last decade we've seen waterfront unions busted in Liverpool, Singapore and Veracruz. And we've seen police attacks on dockworkers protesting the "self-handling" a year ago at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and the year before in Barcelona.
The use of the "war on terror" and the wars in the Middle East waged by the US and its allies, like Britain and Israel, have been used as a pretext by these same employers and governments to launch attacks on basic democratic rights of transportation and other workers. These wars for imperial domination are aimed at not only working people of the Middle East but in the rest of the world. Riot police in the port of Oakland at the start of the war brutally attacked longshore workers and anti-war protesters at the explicit behest of maritime employers.
As Japan rebuilds its imperialist military, a national security act threatens to target workers who strike, marking as "traitors" punishable by death. In the U.S. the "Patriot Act" and the Maritime Security Act seek to target transportation workers, especially immigrants, and will potentially be used against militant trade unionists and political activists.
At the same time, there have been few international labor actions by transport workers unions to call a halt to these attacks. While there have been some successes such as the dockworkers demonstration in Europe which temporarily halted the unionbusting "self-handing" deregulation scheme for the ports, the capitalist "free trade" onslaught continues.
he call for this international transport workers conference on November 16, 2006 is to bring together transportation workers from around the world to provide reports on the specific conditions facing transportation workers, to learn throught these reports and video presentations and finally to map out a program of education and international action to help unite and defend workers internationally against joint employer/ government attacks.
We call on your union to endorse this statement and participate in the organizing of this critical conference.
Initial Speakers: Ken Riley, Pres. ILA 1422, Bob Crow, General Secretary of the UK-RMT,, OSADA,Toshiyuki Secretary Treasurer Doro-Chiba Rail Workers-Japan, Tony Nelson, A Leader of Liverpool Dock Workers Fight

Initiated by Transport Workers Solidarity Committee.Endorsed by Sailors Union Of The Pacifica, AMFA Local 9, UTU 239, Doro-Chiba, ILWU Local 10, ILA 1422, TWU Local 100 Track Division Executive Committee

Thursday November 16, 2006
9:00 - 4:00 PM Lunch Included
ILWU Local 10
400 Northpoint St/Mason St.
San Francisco

For further information contact:
Jack Heyman jackheyman [at] comcast.net
Steve Zeltzer lvpsf [at] labornet.org


International Transportation Workers Video Screening
Videos From Argentina, UK, Korea, Japan
Thursday 7:00 PM (free)
University Of San Francisco
HR127
Fulton & Cole St.
San Francisco




Visit the Transport Workers Solidarity Committee website:
http://www.transportworkers.org