Doro-Chiba’s Solidarity Message to Arçelik LG Workers

Dear fighting Arçelik LG workers,

We send herewith heartfelt greeting of solidarity and support from Japan across oceans to you, brothers and sisters of workers of Arçelik LG, striving to achieve separation and independence from Türk Metal, a Fascist union.

You have waged a great metal workers’ strike at the end of January and succeeded to trigger an upsurge of huge number of metal workers. Thus you have forced big corporations such as Renault and Fiat automobile industry partially to accept your further demand.

As we are informed, Türk Metal has been turning to an all-out repression on you in fear of uprising of workers for self-liberation from workplaces with their serious demands. In a close and dirty cooperation with AKP and MESS, Türk Metal is attempting to put workers in terrible working conditions and long-term labor contract, and crack down on workers by all means including dismissal to stop their separation and independence.

Doro-Chiba is proud of sharing with you a similar stormy history. We achieved in 1979 a separation and independence from Doro-headquarters which had degenerated into shameless agent of the Division and Privatization of National Railways. From 1985 to 1987, we waged decisive strikes to crush the privatization plan, causing total collapse of railway transportation. Thus we continued to fight in new workplaces of privatized railway companies with unbroken unity of union members against all kind of union bashing and harassment.

For 28 years since the start of the Division and Privatization of National Railways, Doro-Chiba has fought for the reinstatement of unjustly dismissed 1047 national railway workers through establishing solidarity organizations and continued court struggle. All these efforts are based on the struggle in workplaces of all fighting members.

On June 30 this summer, we finally achieved to force the Supreme Court to rule that unfair labor practice had been made by the state and the railway authorities in the course of the Division and Privatization of National Railways. The judgment was very contradictory in that the Court admitted the selective and discriminative dismissal of national railway workers was in its character unfair labor practice but the dismissal itself was legal. Nevertheless it has marked a decisive step forward for the victory of the struggle for the reinstatement of 1047 unjustly dismissed workers.

We are firmly determined to continue our struggle to crush overall onslaught of privatization, outsourcing and casualization and rush for the overthrow of war administration of Shinzo Abe. Our fundamental position is: “Don’t obscure the class enemy! Give full confidence to fellow workers and colleagues! Keep clear and accurate understanding of the actual situation and conditions of class struggle as a whole through our own practice, and vice versa!”

* We demand Arçelik LG immediately to sit down at the bargaining table with the dismissed workers!

* We demand Arçelik LG to withdraw all dismissals of workers and reinstate them immediately!

* We demand Arçelik LG to admit freedom of association and choice of labor union affiliation for all workers!

* Crush repression of the Fascist union, Türk Metal!

In Struggle and Solidarity with workers of Arçelik LG,

International Labor Solidarity Committee of Doro-Chiba

General Secretary

H. Yamamoto