Egyptian Labor Movement Plays Significant Role In Egyptian Democracy Uprising

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/Channels/Story.aspx?ID=1357514

2/3/2011

By Doug Cunningham

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka is praising the extraordinary courage of Egyptian labor union activists and their defiance of a ban on free and independent unions. The AFL-CIO says many people in Egypt believe labor demonstrations over the past two years played a significant role in giving Egyptian citizens in general more courage to stand up to their government. The Egyptian labor movement has announced it’s forming a new labor federation representing workers in more than a dozen industries. The federation plans to set a date for a nationwide general strike for democracy and fundamental rights.