Labor & Employment Law

Activists Rally at White House for Democracy in Egypt

By James Parks

Union members and Egyptian American activists rally outside the White House.

As Egyptian flags snapped in the frigid wind, nearly 100 Egyptian American and other activists?including more than 50 union members?rallied last night in front of the White House to support the Egyptian people’s ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy.

The crowd chanted, “Egypt, Egypt will be free from the Nile to the sea,” and urged President Obama to use his influence to bring democracy to Egypt.

“More people were in the streets of Cairo today than ever,” one of the Egyptian activists told the crowd. ?Raise your voice, raise your voice,” they chanted, “It’s our time, it’s our choice.”  

The rally was coordinated by Washington, D.C.-area Egyptian American activists along with the  AFL-CIO and Metropolitan  Washington [D.C.] Council as part of the International Day of Action for Democracy in Egypt. Yesterday, union members from around the world joined with community activists in actions outside Egyptian embassies and government buildings, pressing their governments to demand a democratic transition in Egypt and guarantee that those responsible for the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations be brought to justice.

Click here to read about other actions around the world.

Meanwhile, the role of Egypt?s labor unions in setting the stage for the protests is being recognized. A report presented at the launch of the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center’s report on workers’ rights in Egypt  last year found that there have been more than 3,000 labor protests by Egyptian workers since 2004. 

David Macaray writes on Dissident Voice:

Arguably, the case can be made that Egypt?s current political unrest was inspired and energized by the actions of the country?s labor movement?.Joel Beinin, a Stanford University professor, referred to Egypt?s labor activism as ?…the largest social movement in the Arab world since World War II.?

 The desire by Egyptian workers to make their voices heard though their own unions played a key role in laying the groundwork for the protests, says Samer Shehata, a professor at Georgetown University. In an interview with Laura Flanders at GRITtv, Shehata says if Egypt becomes a democracy in the future, labor will play a large role. The strong involvement of unions in the protests is evidenced, he says, by the huge protests taking place in areas with large numbers of workers.

Chris Garlock of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, contributed to this post.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 09, 2011 (boomark / email).