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True democracy means free association, independent unions

By Edward J. McElroy
AFT President

There is a longstanding and proud tradition of solidarity between America’s labor movement and unions around the globe. In fact, labor solidarity at the international level has always been a bedrock principle for the member unions of the AFL-CIO. It was so during the Cold War, when American unions supported our brethren’s struggle for democracy in places like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Eastern Germany. It was so in Latin America’s southern cone, where unions like the American Federation of Teachers supported brave Chileno workers in toppling the Pinochet dictatorship. And it is so today, when AFL-CIO members are helping to strengthen democratic institutions in places like Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan. But international solidarity has standards. That’s why most of us in the American labor movement purposefully distance ourselves from the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

The reason is simple. ACFTU is a sham labor organization. In China, there is no freedom of association—a central component of democracy. Chinese law prevents workers from organizing outside of the ACFTU. Those who attempt to organize independent workers’ groups usually are arrested without recourse and sentenced to terms of imprisonment in “re-education” labor camps. ACFTU, meanwhile, is bound by its constitution to accept the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. And the ACFTU chairperson is a member of the communist Politburo.

In other words, what is frequently portrayed as an institution representative of Chinese workers is in fact part of the government’s ingrained system of repression. So, when American unions like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) reach out to the ACFTU under the guise of international labor solidarity, they are actually shaking the hands of those tasked with undermining the democratic interests of Chinese workers.

China’s rise to international economic prominence continues to eclipse the grave realities its people face. Torture is still commonplace, and human and trade union rights for the Chinese have not gotten better under “economic prosperity.” It’s one of the reasons China’s government has stepped up media censorship to mitigate the contagion of “color” revolutions—popular uprisings that swept Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Clearly, Chinese officials know their history and understand the power of a labor movement free from government interference, and they fear its emergence in China. They should be afraid. True democracy spreads quickly.

 

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