by James Parks,
AFL-CIO Weblog Jun 14, 2007
Mikhail Chesalin, chairman of the Russian dockworkers union, was stabbed and beaten unconscious last week outside his office in Kaliningrad. Chesalin, considered one of the brightest lights in Russia's independent labor movement, has regained consciousness but remains in intensive care with possible brain trauma.
The dockworkers union, known as RPD, has been involved in an unprecedented organizing drive since April. Organizers have visited more than 40 percent of Kaliningrad dockworkers in their homes. This is the first time a Russian union has used the house-calling technique, which is widely used in the United States.
In an effort to stop the workers from joining the union, Kaliningrad dock managers have fired several workers, warned workers not to talk to union organizers and denied some benefits to union supporters, according to the AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center.
Kaliningrad dockworkers earn on average about $500 a month. To feed their families, many dockworkers take on 11-hour shifts nearly every day, and about half have second jobs.
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which represents more than 4 million transport workers worldwide, has called for a thorough investigation of the June 7 stabbing. Frank Leys, secretary of ITF's Dockers Section, said:
"Russia has joined the shameful list of states where trade unionists are targets for assaults. The instigators should be aware that the worldwide dockers' community will not stand by and accept that these crimes are left unpunished, and we are therefore calling on all affiliates to demand that justice is carried out and trade union rights respected in Russia."
Click here <http://solidarity.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=681 > to learn more about the attack on Chesalin and download a letter you can send to Russian authorities demanding an end to attacks on independent Russian trade union leaders.
http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/06/14/russian-dockworkers-union-leader-brutally- stabbed-beaten/
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