SFLC Resolution to Support Korean Railway Workers & KCTU Strike against Privatization And Repression and to Oppose Rail Privatization & Support General Strike

San Francisco Labor Council SFLC Resolution to Support Korean Railway Workers & KCTU Strike against Privatization And Repression and to Oppose Rail Privatization & Support General Strike
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Whereas, the Korean Railway Workers Union have opposed the privatization of KORAIL, the Korean public railway system; and

Whereas, the KRWU went on strike on December 9th to stop this privatization; and

Whereas, the Korea government fired over 4,000 members of the KRWU and ordered the arrest of the leadership of the union; and

Whereas, the Korean government without a warrant raided the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions KCTU on December 22, 2013 and arrested 138 trade unionists; and

Whereas, the strikers voted to return to work on December 31 with a promise that there would be a government legislative review of the privatization process; however, the government is still arresting union leaders and threatening to sue union members personally for damages that occurred during their strike; and

Whereas Korean public workers and public education teachers face laws preventing them from organizing and having basic union rights; and

Whereas, trade union leaders of the Korean Railway Workers Union have been jailed by the government; and

Whereas, the KRWU and KCTU have called for support and solidarity actions from trade unionists throughout the world; and

Whereas, the ITF and unions throughout the world have called on the Korean government to release the jailed trade unionists, to stop the attacks on the KRWU and to end the plans to privatize the KORAIL system; and

Whereas, US workers also face attacks on democratic labor rights, including their right to strike, and the continuing practice of privatizing and outsourcing jobs throughout the economy; and

Whereas, the Korean Confederation of Unions KCTU has called for a national strike on Feb 25, 2014 and seeks international support for their struggle; and

Whereas, the fight against privatization and deregulation is connected to US labor's struggle against the Trans Pacific Partnership and other trade agreements that weaken labor in the US and globally; and

Whereas, at the January 17 solidarity rally at the San Francisco Korean Consulate, trade unionists including members of the San Francisco Labor Council who were peacefully rallying for the Korean Railway Workers Union were assaulted by a protest organized by the Korean government; and

Whereas the right to peaceful assembly both in the US and Korea must be defended as a labor and human right,

Therefore be it Resolved this Council supports and will mobilize our affiliates for a lobby of the Korean Consulate in San Francisco on Feb 25 at 4:00 PM at 3500 Clay St. San Francisco and calls on the Korean government to end their attacks on the democratic labor rights of Korean railway workers and the labor movement, to end the privatization of KORAIL and calls for the release of all jailed trade unionists and the elimination of the law that allows Korean workers to be sued for taking strike action and,

Be it Finally Resolved this Council will write a letter to the Korean Consulate with a copy to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions KCTU and email the statement of solidarity to Mikyung Ryu, KCTU International Director (hora76@gmail.com) & Wol-Sem Liem, International Affairs Director for the Korean Federation of Public Services and Transportation Workers' Unions (MTUintl@jinbo.net).

Submitted by Rodger Scott, AFT Local 2121, and adopted by the San Francisco Labor Council on February 10, 2014.

Respectfully,

Tim Paulson
Executive Director

Phone: 415.440.4809

Fax: 415.440.9297

OPEIU 3 AFL-CIO 11