In a potentially significant development, a leading constituent of Iran’s labor movement has now unequivocally aligned itself with the Green Movement.
On February 12, Tehran’s Bus Drivers Union (Syndicate of Vahed Company Workers of Tehran and Environs, or SVCWTE) circulated posters throughout Tehran declaring itself fully on the side of the democratic movement and called on the Greens to support the beleaguered union through acts of civil disobedience.
The poster reads:
“Green Traffic Every Day at 6 p.m. from March 6 to March 22”
“Call to Action from SVCWTE to the People of Iran, Especially the Democratic Green Movement, for Civil Disobedience.”
“Starting March 6, we the workers of Vahed Company will wage acts of civil disobedience (or white strike) to protest the condition of Mansoor Osanloo in prison. We appeal to the Iranian people and to the Democratic Green Movement — of which we consider ourselves a small part–to join us by creating a deliberate traffic jam in all directions leading to Valiasr Square.”
“To Publicize Information is a Form of Struggle”
The Bus Drivers Union’s February 12 statement has far-reaching consequences for both the democratic and labor movements. As many observers have commented, the Achilles’ heel of the protest movement continues to be its failure to produce cohesive forms of political and economic demands. In ignoring the workers’ economic grievances, Green Wave leaders and activists may … >>>
