Teamsters vowed to organize in the face of resistance by anti-union political regimes and by powerful multinationals during the second day of their 28th Convention.
They passed several resolutions about global solidarity, including one that stated,
...the future of working people and the future of our great Union depends on our ability to organize the unorganized and to build alliances with workers throughout the world.Another resolution honored Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran Bus Workers Union, by making him an honorary Teamster. Osanloo was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2007 after being dragged from a Tehran bus by Iranian security forces. He was charged with “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the state” because he helped found a democratic trade union for bus drivers in Tehran.
Paddy Crumlin, president of the Maritime Union of Australia, gave a rock 'em, sock 'em speech about sticking together. He said
We are here because we are angry about what is being done to workers and because we want to do something about it.
Together, brothers and sisters of the Teamsters, we are the difference for working people and their future.Teamsters passed a resolution supporting global solidarity that said, in part,
...the International Brotherhood of Teamsters recognize that the future of working people and the future of our great Union depends on our ability to organize the unorganized and to build alliances with workers throughout the world. We will particularly focus on the global supply chains where we are uniquely positioned to build Teamster power...Follow convention proceedings here.
