IRAN: HUMAN RIGHTS, LABOR RIGHTS

WHEREAS, in recent years, the world has witnessed the inhumane response of the Iranian regime as it violently attacked and terrorized people who protested the death of Jina Mahsa Amini—a young Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for not observing Iran’s dress code—while she was in custody. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement that has arisen in response from those protests continues the fight for a life of respect, dignity and justice; and

WHEREAS, the struggle for human rights in Iran has deep roots, reaching across all parts of civil society, including trade unions, which have long sought their rights to freedom of expression and association. Yet today, workers are still high-profile targets of government repression, subject to intimidation, violence and imprisonment; and

WHEREAS, Iran’s educators have been especially targeted, with authorities not allowing peaceful trade union demonstrations over teachers’ poor wages, the inadequate education budget and the jailing of educators in the country’s most notorious prisons. Hundreds of teachers have been summoned and interrogated on baseless and false national security charges, and hundreds more have suffered pay cuts and have been suspended from work, forced to retire, or dismissed outright; and

WHEREAS, although Iran is a member of the International Labor Organization, it has not yet ratified the ILO Conventions guaranteeing the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining. We remain steadfast in our belief that labor rights defenders play an important role not only in protecting workers but also in protecting the people’s right to have a voice in their societies:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will advocate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for the courageous, history-making movement: Woman, Life, Freedom. We join its call for equality, dignity, development, democracy and peace; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will urge the AFL-CIO to advocate for responses from Iran to a number of worker issues raised by the International Labor Organization’s Committee of Experts, including inquiries about basic labor rights, anti-discrimination and protection from exploitation at work; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will inform the Department of State and relevant members of Congress that we condemn Iran’s brutality against its trade union movement. We will continue—despite the difficulties and the dangers—to work with Education International, Public Services International, global trade unions, and local Iranian civil society organizations in finding ways to extend solidarity to teachers and other trade unionists in Iran.

Adopted May 28, 2025