International Solidarity Explored by Visitors from China
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The differences, similarities
and common challenges facing the American and Chinese labor movements were the
focus of a free-wheeling discussion yesterday between a visiting delegation of
Chinese labor leaders, government officials, and academics and the Solidarity
Center and the Metro Council. Of particular interest to the visitors was the
question of the current status of the American labor movement and the ongoing
attacks on public sector unions. Another topic of much interest was the recent
explosion of grassroots organizing in China, as workers frustrated with their
unions’ coziness with the Chinese government have organized themselves and
struck for higher wages and more rights on the job. The Solidarity Center’s
Earl Brown championed worker-to-worker meetings as the basic building blocks of
the international solidarity necessary in a globalized world, and Chris Garlock
discussed local mobilization tools like Union City and the DC Labor FilmFest.
The delegation – organized under the auspices of the Department of State's
International Visitor Leadership Program and arranged by Meridian International
Center -- included Ms. Hong CAI, Director of Education and Research Office,
Department of Labor Relations, Cadre’s School of Guangdong Provincial
Federation of Trade Unions; Mr. Kai CHANG, Professor, School of Labor and Human
Resources, Renmin University of China; Mr. Bulei CHEN, Associate Professor,
China Institute of Industrial Relations; Mr. Qingnan HUANG, Director, Workers
Occupational Safety and Health Center; Mr. Mingwang LIU, Office Director,
Beijing Xiaoxiaoniao hotline service for migrant workers; Mr. Jian QIAO,
Associate Prof. China Institute of Industrial Relations; Ms. Jie WEI, Office
Director, Shenyang Xiaoxiaoniao hotline service for migrant workers and Mr.
Xingwen XU, Attorney, Beijing Dacheng Law Office, Xiamen Branch.
- photo by Rolene McKnight