Nearly 3,000 workers at Volvo Trucks New River Valley plant in Dublin, Virginia, walked out on strike at noon today after their vote Sunday overwhelmingly defeating the second pro-company contract proposal agreed to by the United Auto Workers union. Workers voted by 90 percent to reject the six-year deal, which would have continued the string of concession-laden contracts pushed by the UAW spanning decades.
The UAW shut down an earlier two-week strike on April 30 and then attempted unsuccessfully to ram through its first deal on May 16. It only called the walkout today due to the enormous pressure from rank-and-file workers, who are determined to overturn the multi-tier wage and benefit system and obtain substantial gains in pay, health care coverage and pensions from the highly profitable multi-national corporation.
While the UAW claimed it could not attain anything more in negotiations, Volvo Group’s corporate board announced recently that it was proposing to hand out to its wealthy investors $2.3 billion from the proceeds of the sale of a subsidiary, on top of the record $3.68 billion in dividend payments earlier this year.
In opposition to the UAW-management collusion, workers at the plant have formed the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee, which played a decisive role in the defeat of both sellout agreements. In the days leading up to the vote, committee members and other workers widely distributed a statement from the VWRFC calling for a rejection of the deal.
In a brief letter announcing the strike, UAW Secretary Treasurer Ray Curry acknowledged that workers had opposed virtually every aspect of the tentative agreement he negotiated. “As you know, many topics remain at issue, including wage increases, job security, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premium, holiday schedules, work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension, 401(k), healthcare and prescription drug coverage and more.”
Second, Kat's "Kat's Korner: Chase Rice serves up a masterpiece" reviewing Chase Rice's THE ALBUM and her "Kat's Korner: Liz Phair shines on SOBERISH" reviewing Liz Phair's SOBERISH went up early this morning.
Listening to Chase Rice's album and enjoying it. Wasn't aware of him until C.I. noted his "Drinkin Beer. Talkin God. Amen" video back in April. I like the new album (The Album, is the title) and I think I like "You" best of all the tracks.
This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Monday:
Monday, June 7, 2021. Robert Pether really isn't the face Iraq wants to show to the world while they the Iraqi government tries to increase foreign investment, and much more.
Starting with Iraq.
The Tweet above notes that Fuad Hussein, Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with his Danish counterpart to discuss relations between Iraq and Denmark and how Danish companies could invest in Iraq. Do business with Iraq?
Australian citizen Robert Pether has apparently been abandoned by his own country which does nothing to object to his imprisonment in Iraq. (The Australian Embassy staff didn't even meet with Pether until May 3rd, 26 days after he was imprisoned.) It's now been over forty days that he's been held in a prison with no charge (they say they are holding him for "questioning"). His appeal for bail was denied on May 11th. He was told by his own government that it was safe to go to Baghdad for a meeting. He showed up at the meeting but there was no meeting. Instead, he was hauled off to an Iraqi prison. Earlier this month THE IRISH EXAMINER noted:
While Australia has done little to nothing, Irish politicians have lodged public objections. One example is Senator Eugene Murphy:
Robert Pether's wife Desree is Irish. She spoke with THE JOE FINNEGAN SHOW last month. Christopher Knaus (GUARDIAN) speaks with Robert and Desree's oldest son Flynn:
Flynn said it had hit the family hard.
“I feel like it’s criminal what they did,” he said. “It’s downright inhumane the way they’ve been treating him, given he has worked tirelessly around the clock to deliver the project.”
Flynn is currently preparing for his university entrance exams in Ireland, something that brings its own enormous stress. Usually, his father would be there to support him. They were close and spoke daily, often about university and Flynn’s future.
But he has managed to speak to his father behind bars just once during the ordeal, for about 30 seconds.
“As soon as he knew that I was on the line, he was just apologising, saying ‘Sorry I can’t make it to graduation, sorry I can’t get to your birthday, I will make it up to you, I promise,’” he said.
“I said to him, ‘It’s not going anywhere without you, and it’s all being recorded anyway. You’re not missing out.’”
Robert’s wife Desree has previously told the Guardian that, prior to travelling to Baghdad for the meeting, her husband sought advice from the Australian embassy. She says he was advised there would be little risk in going to the meeting.
The 46-year-old man is having problems with dizziness and, due to COVID restrictions, has had difficulties receiving appropriate medical care. This morning, Brittany Chain (DAILY MAIL) reports:
'I just want my dad home,' Mr Pether's 18-year-old son Flynn told Daily Mail Australia.
'He did nothing but work hard and help [Iraq].'
Flynn is in his final year of school and trying to juggle the workload with the stress of wondering whether his dad is alive and safe each day.
Up until this ordeal, he'd planned to study engineering at university so he could work in the Middle East like his father.
'He was making a real difference,' Flynn said.
Given the pressures of the last two months, Flynn is leaning toward deferring his degree for next year to take some time to reassess his ambitions and plans.
The only contact Flynn has been able to have with his dad was one quick phone call and a letter for his 18th birthday, which was passed on through the embassy in Baghdad.
But he had to fight hard just to get that.
For the first 19 days of his detention, Mr Pether spent his days in solitary confinement and had just two hours' freedom to speak with a lawyer.
In total, the family have spoken with him just five times in the 61 days since he was arrested.
'It's an absolute nightmare,' Mr Pether's wife Desree said. 'He feels massively betrayed.'
Ms Pether understands that her husband's detention is a blatant attempt to extract money from his employer.
She claims Mr Pether's lawyer has been told 'all of this can go away' if their demands are met regarding getting out of paying for a four year contract.
'They're blatant about it. It's not even hidden. They were literally tricked into the country and then trapped and are blatantly being held as pawns,' Ms Pether said, adding her husband remains 'terrified' about what could happen next.
As more and more people learn of what's happened to Robert Pether, let's see how willing they are to do business with Iraq. It's a corrupt government.
In other news Raja Razek and Tara John (CNN) report:
Two drones were shot down over an Iraqi airbase housing US troops and Iraqi and coalition forces on Sunday, the Iraqi military said in a statement.
On May 8, an attack by an unmanned aerial surveillance system targeted the Ain al-Asad base, but it caused no injuries.
Since the start of this year, there have been 39 attacks against US interests in Iraq.
The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions, who aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops.
Staying with violence, thug and despot Recep Tayyip Erdogan spent last week threatening to attack a United Nations refugee camp in Iraq. On Saturday, he carried out his threat. AFP reports:
Three civilians were killed on Saturday in a Turkish drone attack on a refugee camp in northern Iraq in an area Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently threatened to “clean up”, a Kurdish lawmaker said.
Rashad Galali, a Kurdish MP from Makhmur, told journalists the strike targeted “a kindergarten near a school” in the UN-supported camp that houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey.
“Three civilians were killed and two wounded,” he said.
The thug has attempted to silence criticism by insisting that a 'terrorist' was killed. He says nothing of the innocent civilians. He never acknowledges the many civilians that are dead because of attacks he has ordered. Never. This is not a new development. This is part of a historical attacks carried out against the Kurds. Of the camp, THE NATIONAL explains:
Set up by the United Nations at the end of the 1990s to host Turkish Kurds, the Makhmur camp was hit on Saturday by a Turkish drone strike that left three civilians dead, a Kurdish official from the camp told AFP.
Ankara regularly accuses the PKK of running the Makhmur camp, which is 250 kilometres south of the Turkish border.
Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations and air raids on PKK rear bases in Iraq – moves that have strained relations between the two neighbours – launching its latest offensive in April.
The attack is outrageous and it needs to be condemned. What took place was illegal -- buried in a REUTERS report on the attack:
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Ankara last week and said she told officials that "any attack targeting civilians at Makhmour refugee camp would be a violation of international and humanitarian law".
What they have done is illegal. NRT reports:
Iraqi President Barham Salih on Sunday (June 6) condemned Turkey’s deadly airstrike on the Makhmour refugee camp the previous day, calling it a “dangerous escalation.”
According to a local official, three civilians were killed near the camp in a drone strike conducted by the Turkish military, which justified its actions as necessary to combat the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
In a statement released by his office, Salih said that “Turkish incursions and violations of Iraqi sovereignty that destabilize security and threaten citizens' lives should be put an end.”
“The recent Turkish airstrike near Makhmour camp in northern Iraq is a dangerous escalation that threatens citizens' lives and refugees, and is contrary to international and humanitarian law,” he added.
Journalist Rebaz Majeed offers this thread on Twitter:
Music.
Kat's "Kat's Korner: Chase Rice serves up a masterpiece" went up earlier this morning reviewing Chase Rice's THE ALBUM and her "Kat's Korner: Liz Phair shines on SOBERISH" also went up this morning reviewing Liz Phair's SOBERISH.
