GENEVA: To explore ways of reaching broader audiences and to promote and support the capacity of trade unions to communicate through film, the International Metalworkers’ Federation in collaboration with the ITUC and fellow Global Union Federations will take part in the third annual Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival.

The event will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on 16 June 2009 and all unions are invited to submit copies of films that they have produced or been involved in producing for possible inclusion in the programme.

Started in 2007 as part of the IMF Communicators’ Forum, the Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival has grown over the last two years and has positioned itself as one of the only international film festivals to showcase primarily film and videos made by unions about unions and working people.

The three-hour programme will focus on films that are excellent examples of communicating labour stories and messages and the selection will include a range of different films from different parts of the world. Selection of films featured will be made by a jury of GUF representatives.

Unions are encouraged to submit copies of films on DVD with a short paragraph describing the film and why it was produced. The festival will need unfettered rights to show the film and publish it online, of course with full acknowledgement of who created the material. Due to resource constraints for interpretation, the festival is only able to accept films in English language or with English subtitles.

The deadline for film submission is 13 February 2009.

If you would like to know more about this initiative or to get involved, please contact Kristyne Peter ([email protected]) or Alex Ivanou ([email protected]) in the IMF communications department.

TURKEY: Metalworkers at Sinter Metal Technologies, located in the Dudullu Organized Industrial Zone in Turkey, demand reinstatement after being unfairly dismissed for union activities.

On 19 December, management at Sinter Metal used false pretexts to fire 38 workers involved with trade union activity. The following Monday, a majority of the 470 workers employed there occupied the plant in solidarity with the dismissed workers and demanded reinstatement. In response, management moved to dismiss all but 50 workers and threatened to close the operation.

On 23-24 December, police broke the occupation and forced the dismissed workers from inside the plant. Many workers remain at the entrance of the plant, calling for reinstatement and the right to be represented by their union, Birlesik Metal-IS.

Birlesik Metal-IS, is an affiliate of the International Metalworkers' Federation.

In a letter sent to the company, IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi said, "the International Metalworkers' Federation joins with Birlesik Metal-IS and the workers of Sinter Metal to demand that the company immediately reinstates all the fired workers, ceases and desists from committing these violations of rights, and promptly enters into good-faith negotiations with the union to reach a fair and just settlement of workers' concerns."

Birlesik Metal-IS is asking IMF affiliates to send similar letters to Sinter Metal calling for reinstatement of the workers and an end to trade union rights violations.

Send letters to:
Sinter Metal İmalat Sanayi A.Ş
Address: Yukarı Dudullu Organize Sanayi Bolgesi, 1. Cad. No: 25
Fax: 0090 216 364 00 32
General Manager: Olgun Tanberk
Manager of the Factory: Sibel Borekci
Production Manager: Ilker Ozturk.

GLOBAL: Barack Obama’s decisive victory as the next President of the United States inspired hope among working people both in America and abroad. In battleground states, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, more than 100,000 trade union volunteers took time off work to help convince Americans to vote for change. "U.S. Election: hope and change" gives an insight on how Obama’s victory became possible.

Mechanical engineering is of vital importance to most other manufacturing sectors and yet, until now its organizing potential and strategic role has been frequently overlooked by trade unions. Metal World’s special report describes the situation and challenges for unions in one of the most important and oldest engineering disciplines.

Gab-Deuk Jung, President of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), enjoys reputation of a man who meets adversity with decisiveness and courage. Many times he was imprisoned for participation and organisation of union strike actions.

Regarding the currently pending charge of illegal strike and obstruction of business Jung believes it has to do with employers’ resistance to industry-wide collective bargaining: "By saying that the strikes are illegal they argue that industry-level bargaining has nothing to do with workers’ wages and conditions, that it is political." Read the interview with Gab-Deuk Jung.

Metal World also includes all the latest news and photos from the IMF and its affiliates around the world.

The magazine is available on the IMF website in English (Russian and Japanese editions will follow) printed version can be ordered by sending subscription details to: [email protected].

Text: Kristyne Peter 
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Under the stare of guards at the Young-Deng-po Correctional Justice facility on the outskirts of Seoul, prisoner Gab-Deuk Jung, President of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), appears relaxed despite a potential three-year jail sentence hanging over his head.

Jung, who is facing criminal charges of "obstruction of business", was arrested on September 18 following a series of strikes demanding industry-wide collective bargaining and protesting U.S. beef imports.

The stakes are high, should a judge decide that the strikes Jung called are illegal, not only will the union lose its President to imprisonment but lawsuits filed against the union by some 90 companies, totalling in billions of wons for alleged damages, could bankrupt the KMWU, setting a dangerous precedent for future labour struggles.

"If I am found guilty [of organising illegal strikes] I fear the three rights [right to collectively bargain, right to strike and right to form a union] will be greatly compromised so I hope people outside of Korea will press for a positive outcome," said Jung while being interviewed in prison.

Jung points out that what is at issue is the employers’ resistance to industry-wide collective bargaining. "By saying that the strikes are illegal they argue that industry-level bargaining has nothing to do with workers’ wages and conditions, that it is political."

Born in 1958, the year of the dog, Jung has a reputation for meeting adversity with decisiveness and courage, a quality many Koreans remark is common among men who share his birth year.

Jung started out at Hyundai Motors in 1984 when independent trade unions such as the Hyundai Motor Workers’ Union (HMWU), now the Hyundai Motors Branch, were forced to operate underground. He went on to serve as president of the HMWU twice, and later became the eighth president of the Hyundai Group Trade Union Federation, one of three precursor organizations of the Korean Metal Workers’ Federation (now KMWU). In 2007, Jung was elected as KMWU President.

For most Korean trade unionists, serving jail time for participating in strike actions is part of the job. Jung is no exception. In the 1990s he was imprisoned twice for his involvement in massive strikes over restructuring; in 2002 he was jailed for demonstrating against the GM/Daewoo takeover; and imprisoned again, then released on bail, following last year’s protests against a KOREA/US Free Trade Agreement. Charges for obstruction of business related to the KOREA/US FTA are still pending.

"The repression in Korea is getting more sophisticated," says Jung referring to employers’ widely used provision in Korea’s criminal code that allows companies to seek damages and incarcerate union leaders for obstruction of business. "The capital forces and the government are not abiding by the law. On paper, workers are entitled to form a union, but in realty there is no freedom to join a trade union. We have the legal foundation but we are not guaranteed the protection of these laws," Jung said adding, "Korea is the only country among the OECD members to arrest labour union leaders for obstruction of business."

Jung also noted that prison sentences for labour leaders have become more severe. "With the strike against the KOREA/US FTA, putting it into perspective, it was only a 14 hour strike, yet the prosecution asked for two to three years of imprisonment as the sentence. In contrast in the early 1990s, we had a goliath struggle – we had tens of thousands of workers demonstrating in the street, cars were set on fire, and a large number of people back then were arrested, and at that time they only asked for one-year sentences."

Jung argues that the government’s neoliberal economic policy is the reason for the growing repression against unions in his country. "Only the super rich minority is benefiting at the cost of workers and ordinary people. So we cannot help but resist it and we will continue to struggle against it."

One month after the interview was conducted, Jung was released on bail. He is currently awaiting trial.

Text / Robert Steiert
Translation / Mark Slay
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When we speak of mechanical engineering, many people think of the giant presses that could be seen in the press plants of most auto manufacturers. Wikipedia, the well-known Internet encyclopedia, defines mechanical engineering as one of the oldest engineering disciplines.

Mechanical engineering is one, if not the, fundamental industry without whose products production in other industries would simply be impossible. The auto, aircraft, electric and electronics industries, to name a few, all need the products, that is the machines, of the mechanical engineering industry.

In contrast to industries like electronics or information and communication technology, many people regard mechanical engineering as part of the "old economy". But that classification does not fit the actual situation of the industry.

A brochure of the German Mechanical Engineering Association (VDMA) published in 2001 contains the following description on the importance of the industry: "Old Economy? Wrong! To be sure, mechanical engineering does have a long tradition, but it is inseparable from the history of determination to achieve constant innovation and improvement. For that reason, today, knowledge of machines and processes are being constantly expanded through the application of intelligent technology. Even the way mechanical engineering firms see themselves has changed. From producers they have become service providers: once producers of problem-free technical competence, with the courage to innovate and develop customer-oriented system concepts, they have become this so-called ‘old" new high-tech industry."

This description is clearly demonstrated by the products of many companies in the industry. For example, a steam-roller – known today as an earth compactor – still looks the same as it did 50 or 80 years ago. While in the old days it was the weight of the roller that determined the quality of compaction of the soil, nowadays it is the vibration of the roller. The rollers are equipped with sensors which constantly measure the condition of the ground and automatically adjust the vibrations of the roller. The driver monitors the vibrations on his or her instruments, but does not feel them as they are not transmitted to the driver’s cabin. In extreme cases these machines can even operate without a driver, being controlled by Global Positioning Systems.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN "THE TRIAD"

For many years three countries – the United States, Germany and Japan – were the leaders in mechanical engineering, measured on the basis of annual sales. In 2006 the U.S. led with sales of 272 billion euros, followed by Japan with 174 billion euros and Germany with 167 billion euros. They were followed distantly by Italy, France and the United Kingdom (see figure 1). But if one takes the countries of the European Union all together, with annual sales of 456 billion euros and a total of more than 2.5 million employees, the EU is number one. In the mean time, China with some 150 billion euros has risen to fourth position.

Within Europe, Germany dominates with almost 40 per cent of production and 34 per cent of employees, followed by Italy and France.

The mechanical engineering industry also plays an important role within the Triad countries. In the U.S. and Germany in 2006 more workers were employed in mechanical engineering than in the auto or electric industries. Only in Japan was the number of workers in the auto industry higher than in mechanical engineering, but even in this case more workers were employed in mechanical engineering than in the electric industry (see figure 2).

STRUCTURE OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

The structure of mechanical engineering differs considerably from other metal industries such as auto, electric, ship building, steel and aerospace.

Mechanical engineering is not a uniform sector characterized by a particular product like cars, aeroplanes or ships. Official European Union statistics distinguish among 24 sub-industries. The German Mechanical Engineering Association distinguishes among no less than 40 specialized groups which make up the mechanical engineering sector. These include machines for the production and use of mechanical energy (not counting engines for aircraft and motor vehicles), pumps, compressors, fittings, gear systems, sprockets, lifting devices, conveyors, forestry and farming machinery, machine tools, construction machines and mining machines.

While the auto, aerospace and some other industries are dominated by a few big transnational companies, in mechanical engineering small and medium-sized enterprises with a few dozen to a few hundred employees predominate. A study for the European Union has shown that in countries like France, Belgium and Italy, but also in the new EU members in Eastern Europe, most firms have fewer than 20 employees. In Germany and Switzerland firms with between 50 and 250 employees form the biggest block. Statistics list more than 11,000 mechanical engineering firms in the U.S. In Japan there are more than 8,500 and in Germany around 6,000.

The production processes in the sector are just as diverse as its products: large-scale mass production such as in the auto industry exists only in some sub-sectors, for instance earth compactors. There are also a few major companies with production locations around the world such as SKF, INA-Schaeffler and Timken, but even those multinationals are relatively small enterprises in terms of turnover as compared to auto or aircraft companies.

Many areas of mechanical engineering are dominated by small-scale production and even individual, custom-made production of machines which are often developed and produced to solve a specific problem or for a specific product at the customer’s request.

UNIONS AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

In many unions, mechanical engineering and its employees have often had a rather second-class status. The degree of union organization in the three countries of the Triad has often been well below that of the "classic" sectors of the auto, steel and shipbuilding industries.

In Germany the proportion of organized employees is estimated at around 35 per cent. In Japan, according to official statistics, it is 24 per cent. There are no reliable figures available for the U.S. Given that for private industry in general in the U.S. the level of unionization is under 10 per cent, the level for mechanical engineering is unlikely to be any higher (see figure 3).

There are many reasons for this. For instance, many unions concentrate more on organizing blue-collar rather than white-collar workers. And even among the blue-collar workers, due to conditions in their countries, they concentrate overwhelmingly on semi-skilled and unskilled workers rather than on highly trained employees such as engineers. But many employees of mechanical engineering enterprises have a relatively high level of skills. "Traditional" workers’ unions often find it difficult to gain access to that group of employees.

The higher skill level of mechanical engineering employees in many countries has also led to the situation where companies in the sector are desperately seeking workers but cannot find them, while there are no longer enough jobs for workers with a lower skill level.

The small and medium-size of companies in the industry also implies a higher input of resources by the unions to organize workers in those companies and to continue to serve them once organized. In addition, many of these small and medium-sized firms are scattered all over the country and are not necessarily in the areas of industrial concentration in which assembly plants of the auto industry, for example, are located. Since the unions’ local offices are also often located in areas of concentration, that means longer travel time for the unions – and often to organize a mere 10, 30 or 200 employees rather than the thousands to be found in an auto plant.

The percentage of union organizing as described above probably also applies proportionally to other countries besides those in the Triad, and they show that there is substantial potential for winning members in the industry. In view of the declining number of employees and hence, often, of members in the "classical" industries, consideration should be given to strategies that can realize this potential.

IMF ACTIVITIES IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

In the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), for many years mechanical engineering has been somewhat neglected compared to other industries. Activities were long dominated by sectors in which the major member organizations had a substantially higher degree of organization than is the case in mechanical engineering. Activities geared to enterprises also played an important role. Since only a few major transnational groups were active in mechanical engineering, there were few potential targets for activities at the enterprise level. Only in recent years, following the increasing globalization of the world economy, have mechanical engineering firms established subsidiaries in foreign countries in order to open up new markets. Previously production had been concentrated mostly in the companies’ home countries.

One exception here is SKF, the Swedish ball-bearing company, which has long had production sites scattered around the world. For that reason as early as the 1970s the Swedish unions were pressing for enterprise-oriented activities in the IMF devoted to that group. Starting in 1975, meetings were held every four years, and in 1995 they led to an agreement between the company and the IMF on the founding of a "World Union Council" to meet every year.

However, the IMF, like the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF), has recognized the importance of the sector and they have both drawn the appropriate conclusions for union work. Several years ago the EMF set up an ad hoc working group for the sector. By decision of the last EMF Congress held in 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, the importance of that sectoral work was upgraded and the working group was converted to a sectoral committee. The IMF is closely linked and coordinating its work with that sectoral committee.

After years of neglect, the IMF reactivated its work on the mechanical engineering sector at a conference held in the U.S. in 2004. Although the conference concentrated on the three countries of the Triad, it was also open to unions from other countries. A small steering group was established at the conference. In 2007 that steering group held a workshop with Japanese colleagues, which was continued in April 2008 in Germany and reported to the IMF Executive Committee in May 2008.

Another conference on the mechanical engineering sector is planned for 2009, involving the three Triad countries and unions from other countries that have an interest in the sector. At the conference the possibility of breaking down activities into working groups of particular sub-sectors will be discussed. Those sub-sectors could be: machine tools, construction and construction material machines; and the sub-sector of elevators (lifts) and conveyors.

There are a number of topics and problem areas which affect the sector as a whole, for example qualifications and advanced training of employees, the shortage of specialists, the increasing number of temporary workers and increasing trends toward the transfer of component manufacturing to so-called low-wage countries.

In addition, however, there are many specific topics which are only relevant to their respective sub-sectors and for that reason they imply a breakdown of union activities, not only at the national, but also at the international level. For those sub-sectors IG Metall in Germany has already done some preliminary work with national working groups, and partly also with the EMF at the European level; work that can be taken up and extended at the global level by the IMF.

CONCLUSIONS

Mechanical engineering is of central importance for many other sectors since it produces products which enable those other sectors to produce.

According to a study by the Deutsche Bank, that importance will only increase, since mechanical engineering occupies a central position in the development and manufacture of products on which great hopes are placed for the age after oil. Solar energy, photovoltaics, wind power – all of those products were developed and made competitive by mechanical engineering.

The energy crisis can be solved and a climatic disaster avoided only if the global energy mix follows the laws of sustainability more closely. Mechanical and equipment engineering occupies a key position here, because it can generate the solutions that can ensure better energy supply in the future, impose less of a burden on the climate and prevent the cost of energy from further skyrocketing.

As a developer and supplier of "enabling technologies", machine and equipment engineering is involved in all three segments and will play a special role in the necessary modernization of the global power plant park, efficiency revolution in all fields of energy use in industry and by consumers and the development and marketing of new technologies for renewable energies.

The sector’s central importance within the economical structure should also be reflected in the work of European and international union confederations. The beginnings for that have already been established – they need only to be taken up and expanded.

One of the most important tasks here will be to intensify union organizing in the sector. Present-day figures show that there still exists sufficient potential. It will not be easy, if only because of the varying structure of mechanical engineering, divided as it is among small and medium-sized enterprises. But not to take up the challenge would mean excluding a large number of employees, including highly skilled employees, as potential members. That certainly can not be in the interest of the unions or their representation of the workers.

To meet that challenge, new strategies must be developed, strategies which may also make discussions on a restructuring of international union work necessary.

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Text & Photos / David Moberg

On a beautifully sunny October morning, Rainey Rohrmeier parked her car in a hilly, wooded suburb of Cincinnati, an old industrial city in the southwestern part of Ohio. Wearing a blue denim Machinists union jacket emblazoned with Obama buttons, she began knocking on doors of union households, reminding them of the labor movement's endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama for president of the United States.

This year Ohio, a state with a delicate balance between urban and rural, northern and southern, progressive and conservative voters, was once again a critical battleground in the contest for the presidency. And political strategists counted on union members like Rohrmeier to make a difference. Unions are still relatively strong in Ohio, despite the loss of nearly a quarter of its manufacturing jobs during the administration of George W. Bush – the worst record since the Great Depression.

The already troubled economy, plunged into a deep financial crisis in the months before the November 4 elections, tipped many voters towards Obama's call for "change". Ray Lampin, 57, a retired electrical worker didn't need much convincing from Rohrmeier. "I'm going to vote all Democrat," he explained, expressing hope for a new boost to the economy through eco-friendly jobs in wind and solar power. "I think Obama is the best thing that could happen to this country."

But not all union members in this Republican-leaning, virtually all-white suburb were such ready supporters. A normally Republican retired union member of the AFL-CIO, the nation's biggest labor federation, remained undecided. "If Obama did everything he said he would do, I'd vote for him," Frank Homer said. "But I think he's not that experienced. Yet I'm afraid of McCain. He'll go to war." Angry at overpaid executives and disappointed with Republicans, a 50-year old, unemployed and undecided engineer also partly blamed his troubles of finding a job on affirmative action for minorities. Rohrmeier politely made her case for Obama as better for working people's economic interests, then left union leaflets contrasting the stands of the two presidential candidates.

Ultimately the work of well more than 100,000 union volunteers, contacting members repeatedly with tens of millions of phone calls, door knocks, mailings, worksite fliers and internet messages, paid off. Obama won the presidency, in part by also winning Ohio and Pennsylvania (and by narrowing the typical Republican edge in suburban counties).

Obama's 53 to 46 percent victory over McCain, who could not shake his ties to a deeply unpopular Bush and the economic crash, primarily reflected Democratic gains since the last election among young voters, women, voters with a post-graduate education, and Latinos (and other people of color). Although white voters chose McCain by 56 to 43 percent, Obama, the first African-American to be elected president, received a slightly larger share of white votes than Democrat John Kerry did in 2004.

UNION MOBILISATION
Labor also shaped the outcome. Union members, about 12 percent of voters, gave Obama a decisive 67 percent of their votes, compared to 30 percent for McCain, according to an election night poll by Peter Hart Research for the AFL-CIO. And although McCain led Obama by 8 percentage points among all voters 65 or older, older union members favored Obama by 46 points. By a 16 point margin white men chose McCain, but white men who belonged to unions voted for Obama by 18 points.

The United States labor movement was slow to embrace Obama. Unions were so split, mainly among Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John Edwards and Obama, that they either remained neutral or split their endorsements, with many not backing Obama until he had clinched the nomination in June.

In the subsequent general election, unions had to win over ardent backers of Clinton, who narrowly lost the nomination after strong showings among white working class voters in such states as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Clinton's blue-collar showing raised the question: Would all of those same white Democrats (and Democratic-leaning independents) support a black candidate for president?

Unions decided that they had to confront race directly as well as to focus members' attention on economic issues. "I'm pained to see race is an issue," Steelworkers president Leo Gerard said. "If we look at working family issues or union issues…, you could come up with 100 reasons to vote for Obama," Gerard said. "The message is simple: If you let the color of a person's skin interfere with what's best for you, your kids, and your grandkids, then shame on you."

Ultimately evidence of strong racially motivated voting against Obama showed up mainly in some regions of the South and Appalachia. But union voters' stronger preference for the Democratic presidential candidate compared to the general public vote was nearly the same this year as in 2004 among white men and even stronger among white women.

The successful mobilization of union voters for Obama owed much to local union members and leaders who took time off from their work to campaign, people like Machinist Rainey Rohrmeier, Steelworker Mike Munger, and CWA-IUE member Matt Clark.

"A RESPONSIBILITY TO GIVE BACK"
On her first day of work for the autumn political season, Rainey Rohrmeier joined in an anti-McCain labor press conference, knocked on doors of union members, and participated in a labor planning meeting seeking, among other things, more labor volunteers (especially white men) and more Obama bumper stickers to put on pick-up trucks. Over the coming weeks, she leafleted factories, telephoned members, organized rallies, and helped get people to the polls on election day.

Rohrmeier, 53, an electrician at a large General Electric aircraft engine factory near Cincinnati, briefly taught physical education and health but soon turned to her father's trade, becoming an electrician at a time when few women were entering industrial work. In recent years, she has held several elected offices, worked on political campaigns, and, fittingly, given her past encounters with sexism, chaired the women's committee.

"What drives me to do this?" she said. "My feeling about being involved is that we all have a responsibility to give back. I have reaped the benefits of people before me, and I take seriously the responsibility to the next generation."

But she was also driven by frustration with the direction her country was going. "This whole Bush administration drives me nuts," she said. "I think we're moving backwards. Employers find it's cheaper to pay overtime than hire more workers. So we have a few people in great jobs instead of more people in good jobs. Look at the minimum wage. And kids are working. And there's still an equal pay issue [for women]."

During the Democratic primary, Rohrmeier, like her Machinists union, vigorously supported Clinton but envisioned "no problem voting for Barack Obama". But at work she found many McCain supporters, including strong abortion opponents, gun owners, and advocates for more military spending, who thought that would secure their jobs. But only one man said he wouldn't support Obama because he was black. "I said, ‘You've got to be kidding. Some point in time we've got to get over this. He is qualified to do the job. He's for working people's issues,'" she recalled. "But what do you do with people like that?"

On election night, when both Obama and a local Democratic challenger for Congress won, she concluded that her work made a difference. She joined fellow union volunteers at a local pub to watch television reports on voting returns. "When Ohio went for Obama, we all shouted, ‘Yay!" she said. "Our country made this wonderful step forward. I'm so proud to be an American. We needed this."

GRASS-ROOTS ACTIVISTS
In the 31 years he has worked for Wheatland Tube, a leading steel pipe manufacturer in the Shenango River Valley area northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mike Munger, 55, has seen the local economy lose at least 20,000 well-paid manufacturing jobs making railroad cars, pipe, transformers and other metal products. Wages for many remaining workers have been frozen or cut. Unlike even a decade ago, houses everywhere are for sale.

Now president of his shrinking local United Steelworkers union, Munger, known as "Goose", shared a bleak outlook at his office in the simple union hall, decorated with photos of factories and union and political leaders from decades ago when unions had more power.
"This country is in bad shape," he said. "I've never seen it this bad, and I think it's going to get worse. Every election people say it's the most important in our lifetime, but this time I mean it."

Global forces have transformed the local economy. The union has confronted both low-priced Chinese pipe imports and shifting ownership – although a Russian plan to buy Wheatland from the Carlyle private equity group has stalled.

Especially in the new global economy, Munger sees the importance for workers to have a union voice at work and in politics. "Over the years, especially the last eight, it seems like the country is getting greedier, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer," Munger said, wearing his blue "USW activist" shirt and looking somber but good-natured as usual. "I'd like to see changes. That's why I want Obama. I don't know how many times he said the middle class needs help. McCain talks about freezing government spending. What do you freeze? Health care? Unemployment compensation?

A LACK OF GOOD JOBS
"I think it's George Bush, myself, [who's responsible for the growing inequality]," he continued. "He is the worst president we've had in history. He's lost more jobs than any time since the Depression. He took care of his friends and rich people, and they made out – and the working man has lost for the last eight years."

Munger, like his union's leaders, first supported Edwards. Then he backed Clinton. But eventually he switched to Obama. "Obama wants to change things, build the economy, help the middle class," Munger said. "I like that he said everyone should have a right to health care that's as good as members of Congress like him have. And I think he will try to create jobs in his country." The lack of good jobs hits home. His son, for lack of a good alternative, is planning to enlist in the military, troubling Munger, who opposed the war in Iraq.

Only a few local union members told Munger they couldn't vote for Obama because he was black. "I'm looking at issues, not color," he told them. "I'm looking for somebody in there for me. And his ideas are more in line with what I want than McCain." And when it comes to black athletes, he adds, "you'd stand in line for an autograph, and you cheer for them. But you won't vote for him for president? It doesn't make sense."

Like his union members, Munger hopes Obama can stimulate the economy, develop alternative energy, and protect pensions and social security. But "I don't expect miracles," he said. "He can't turn around in a year what Bush did in eight years."

And despite its demands, he enjoys political work, from organizing volunteers for phone banks and neighborhood walks to answering questions of a visiting Japanese television crew. "There's always something you can do," he said. "Sometimes it's hectic, and you put in long hours. But it beats work. It's exciting when you can get somebody undecided to come your way. Some of these people I'd just like to shake some sense into them."

On election night, he joined fellow volunteers in a few celebratory beers at the defeat of a local Republican member of Congress and stronger support in the county for Obama than Kerry drew four years ago. "I'll miss the work," he said, "but it's time to get back to real life."

"TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE ANYTHING"
While waiting for Barack Obama to take the stage in the middle of Dayton, Ohio's minor league baseball field, Matt Clark didn't waste a minute as he pulled out his cell phone to call potential supporters. Clark, 28, is shop chairman for his CWA-IUE local union at the DMAX engine plant, a joint project of General Motors and Isuzu. Trained at college as a television editor, he switched to DMAX four years ago for better pay.

But with Dayton, once a center of innovation in aircraft, auto, business machine and other technology, losing 47,000 factory jobs over the past seven years, Clark's manufacturing career is uncertain.

Clark, a state political coordinator for this election, thinks that union members will fight politically for their interests, especially if they hear from familiar local leaders and activists on issues all year round.

"Union members trust what their peers tell them," he said. Sometimes management helps spur activity. When DMAX managers began wearing McCain buttons, even politically uninvolved union members asked for Obama buttons to wear at work.

Exposed to progressive and labor ideals while growing up, Clark was active in an anti-racist group as a student, and he brings his earlier passion to his union work. "A topic that's raised its ugly head is race," he said, waiting for Obama to speak. "I hear it a lot. It's disheartening to hear, but it's especially staggering in a labor organization. There's simply no place for racial discrimination in a union. Sure, John McCain is a white guy, but he's all about screwing the working person regardless of the color of his skin. I can't figure out why any working class person would vote for McCain. He's just in it for the rich and business."

Like many younger voters, Clark favored Obama from the beginning, partly because Obama had been an early opponent of the Iraq war. "We're spending $10 billion a month on a war we don't need," he said, "but we can't afford to give kids or everyone in the country affordable, accessible health care or adequate help to displaced workers."

American metalworking union members like Clark are particularly wary of more global trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement. "We want to maintain the jobs we have, like any other country," he said. "But one problem is these free trade agreements never come with labor protections for workers in other countries. We want workers in other countries to get a fair shake. To me, it's the same fight for all of us."

At the end of a long day, he said that "what keeps me going is that fear of waking up the day after the election, John McCain is president, and I'd blame myself for not doing enough." But as he watched election returns at the union hall with his wife and children a wave of relief and joy swept over him, as it did for Munger, Rohrmeier and the many thousands of other union political workers.

"The amazing thing was to watch everyday people work their hind ends off to get this guy elected," Clark said. "The lesson I learned is the old union lesson: I may be one voice, but together we can change anything. It's been a long time, but the American people stood up and said we've had enough and went into the polls and did the right thing. The United States has shown the world that we can be progressive for ourselves and the world."

KOREA: The IMF affiliated KMWU informs that Yoon Hae-mo,  KMWU Hyundai Motor Branch Chair, was convicted of Criminal Obstruction of Business and sentenced to one year imprisonment without stay of execution. In practice this means that brother Yoon, Hae-Mo will have to spend one year in prison. The KMWU is appealing the conviction.

IMF has previously reported on the arrest warrants issued against Korean union leaders including KMWU President Jung Gab-deuk, KMWU Vice-President Nam Taek-gyu, KCTU President Lee Suk-haeng, KCTU First Vice-president Jin Young-ok, KCTU General Secretary Lee Yong-shik, and six top elected officers of the Hyundai Motor Branch namely Yoon Hae-mo, Kim Tae-gon, Kim Jong-il, Jung Chang-bong, Joo In-koo, and Jo Chang-min.

The IMF sent a letter of protest to the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urging the Korean Government to withdraw the arrests warrants and to stop persecution of trade union leaders in Korea. Unfortunately the Korean Government has failed to take any adequate steps so far.

The IMF is organising a joint global unions mission to Korea at the end of February 2009 to put further pressure on the Korean Government to stop the persecutions.

GENEVA:  The International Metalworkers' Federation released its 2008 edition of the "Purchasing Power of Working Time" report, examining metalworkers' purchasing power worldwide, based on net hourly earnings in 2007.

The publication surveyed the purchasing power in more than 60 countries and shows the working time needed for the purchase of a range of consumer items including clothing, food, rent and other basic expenses.

The report addresses the differences in standards of living between workers performing the same quantity and quality of work, differences resulting from the gaps in the purchasing power of their incomes.

"The Purchasing Power of Working Time 2008," is printed in English, French, German and Spanish. To download Pdf-versions in these languages, go to: www.imfmetal.org/publications. To read the on-line version of the publication go to www.imfmetal.org/purchasingpower2008.

INDONESIA: On Thursday, December 10, 2008 about 15,000 members of the IMF affiliated Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers' Union (FSPMI) demonstrated in front of the Governor Kepulauan Riau and Regent offices in Batam – a free trade zone area notoriously known with the spread of precarious employment – demanding to raise minimum wages eroded by rising living costs.

During the rally the police attacked the demonstrators trying to block them. At least nine persons including one woman were injured and hospitalised. The police also detained three FSPMI members and the union now tries to negotiate their release.

"We are shocked to learn that instead of listening to workers’ demands the authorities used the police to block violently the demonstrators," said Marcello Malentacchi, IMF General Secretary, in his letter to  Kepulauan Riau Governor and Batam Regent.

He also urged the Indonesian officials "to stop victimising Batam workers for the sake of attraction of new investors and to meet their demands about increase of minimum wages," and recommended them "to release the detained demonstrators and to do everything possible to prevent further impoverishment of the workers of Indonesia."

The IMF calls on its affiliates to support FSPMI by sending letters of protest to the Governor of Kepulauan Riau and Batam Regent with the demands to stop repressions, to release the detained unionists and to start negotiations with the union representatives regarding the increase of minimum wages.

Below, please, find the contact details where you can send your letters of protest:

Mr. Ismet Abdulah
Governor of Kepulauan Riau
Fax +62 771 311333 or +62 771 318611.

Mr. Achmad Dahlan
Regent of Batam,
Fax +62 778 466743

Please, send copies of your letters of protest to the IMF [email protected] or fax +41 22 308 50 55

and

Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia – FSPMI
(Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers' Union)
Fax:  +62/21 841 3954 
E-mail: [email protected]

UPDATE
According to the information received from FSPMI by Sunday, December 14, 2008 the three detained unionists were released.

INDIA: On December 06, 2008 at the age of 62 the former IMF representative for South Asia region brother Terla Dyvadheenam died as a  result of  sudden massive heart attack.

Brother Dyvadheenam, called by his numerous friends and colleagues simply as "Dyva", started his professional career in 1966 at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Hyderabad, where he worked as Sr. Master Technician for 30 years. During his second year of service he became a shop steward and dedicated much of his time to the  struggle for a collective bargaining mechanism for Bangalore based Public Sector Undertaking (PSU)..  Dyva was  elected as President of the workers’ union at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and served in this position for 22 years.

Before joining the IMF in 1997, Dyvadheenam was an active union leader of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) serving in a number of different capacities including, Secretary of Steel, Metal & Engineering Workers’ Federation of India, Organising Secretary of the National Council of HMS, Convenor of the Coordination Committee of Central PSUs Trade Unions in Hyderabad and others.

He along with fraternal trade union leaders led the biggest ever Public Sector Undertakings  strike in 1982 for parity of wages amongst PSU’s.  In this connection, he was arrested under Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and remanded to judicial custody, suspended for his duties for 18 months.     In 1992 however he received the May Day Shram Shakti Award from the Government for services to unorganized workers.

As IMF representative for South Asia, Dyva played an important role in assisting the development of the trade union movement of the region as well in establishing relations with other Global Union Federations.

He actively promoted collaborative work of IMF affiliates at the national and regional level, thus building solidarity between all the unions involved in Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh. Thanks to Dyva’s efforts, sub-regional committee work received a new energy and focus, creating a strong foundation for success of future IMF activities in the region.

Working under umbrella of the IMF, Dyva was one of the initiators of the IMF organizing project for workers of the Shipbreaking Industry in India and EPZs workers in Sri Lanka. Under his direction, the  emergence of young leadership and capacity building of IMF affiliates in the region became more visible than ever before.

Dyvadheenam retired in September after 11 years of service as the IMF representative for South Asia region. The IMF expresses its deep condolences to his family, relatives and friends. "We will remember Dyva for all his work for the metalworkers of Asia and in particular for his passion for the victims of injustice and unfairness," said Marcello Malentacchi, IMF General Secretary.

Rest in peace dear Brother. Workers and the international trade union movement will always remember you for your priceless contribution to the global labour movement.