On Mar 18, 2:38*pm, "Chas. Chan" wrote:


Leader Of Egyptian Unions To Wisconsin Protesters: "We Stand With You
As You Stood With Us"REAGAN SAID "Where free unions and collective
bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost!




http://www.truth-out.org/leader-of-e...d-with-us67949





Leader Of Egyptian Unions To Wisconsin Protesters: "We Stand With You
As You Stood With Us"
Monday 21 February 2011
by: Zaid Jilani | Think Progress | Report

(Photo: Wat Stearns)
One of the most underreported stories about the pro-democracy movement
in Egypt was the role of labor unions in the demonstrations, many of
which were protesting against neoliberal right-wing economic policies
just as much as they were protesting against the Mubarak dictatorship.
During the uprising in that country, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka
praised the role of organized labor, saying, “The people’s movement
for democracy in Egypt and the role unions are playing for freedom and
worker rights inspires us and will not be forgotten.”
Now, as tens of thousands of union members and other Wisconsin
residents are taking to the streets to protest against Gov. Scott
Walker’s (R) attempt to abolish collective bargaining rights for most
public workers, a leader of Egypt’s largest umbrella group of
independent labor unions is praising the Wisconsin movement. In a
videotaped statement, Kamal Abbas, the General Coordinator of the
Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services, tells the Wisconsin
protesters, “We stand with you as you stood with us.” He says “no one
believed” that the revolution against the Mubarak regime would
succeed, yet they were able to bring the dictator down within 18 days.
He encourages demonstrators to stay strong, saying, “Don’t give up on
your rights. Victory always belongs to the people who stand firm and
demand their just rights”:
I am speaking to you from a place very close to Tahrir Square in
Cairo, “Liberation Square”, which was the heart of the Revolution in
Egypt. This is the place were many of our youth paid with their lives
and blood in the struggle for our just rights. From this place, I want
you to know that we stand with you as you stood with us. [...]
No one believed that our revolution could succeed against the
strongest dictatorship in the region. But in 18 days the revolution
achieved the victory of the people. When the working class of Egypt
joined the revolution on 9 and 10 February, the dictatorship was
doomed and the victory of the people became inevitable. We want you to
know that we stand on your side. Stand firm and don’t waiver. Don’t
give up on your rights. Victory always belongs to the people who stand
firm and demand their just rights.

Watch it:

Last week, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said there are “similarities”
between the movements in Egypt and Wisconsin, in that “that people are
wanting to be heard, and they are taking direct action.” Additionally,
Ian’s on State Street, a pizza place near the Wisconsin capitol
building, has been taking orders from Egypt for Wisconsin activists.
While the actions that Walker and Mubarak are taking are far from
directly analogous, many demonstrators have taken to drawing satirical
comparisons. Following Walker’s threat to call in the National Guard
to deal with a labor strike, activists launched the site Mini Mubarak,
humorously comparing the governor’s threat to the actions of the now-
resigned Egyptian autocrat. (H/T: Michael Moore)