Industrial Workers of the World

Verboten ist verboten - it is forbidden to forbid (unions) !

the struggle of the FAU Berlin against the ban on calling itself a union is going into the next round.

On June 10th, 2010, Berlin's Higher Regional Court will decide if the Free Workers' Union (FAU) Berlin may once more call itself a union.

Below you'll find some ways in which you can continue to show your solidarity.

Protest notes for the Foreign Ministry and Embassies

We have updated both protest notes on our websites to include references to the court date in June. We continue to ask you to send protest notes to the German Embassy/Consulates in your country and the Foreign Ministry in Germany. Please also call on others to send these protest notes.

The Berlin Regional Court's decision contravenes ILO conventions and the European Social Charter. Each fax or email the German government receives, exposes this blatant attempt to deny the Babylon workers of their basic rights.

If you want to protest in front of a German embassy, consulate or cultural institution, we sure won't stop you. Some groups have even been confronting embassy official at functions of late. Don't forget to send us photos and a report of your direct action to faub-soli(a)fau.org.

For more info and addresses check out: http://www.fau.org/verbot/en/art_091216-010818

Solidarity Committee petition

A solidarity committee for the FAU Berlin has formed, which is made up of left wing unionists and labour activists. They have started a petition for us. We are especially looking for international labour organizations and unions to sign it, but anyone who wants to see Germany uphold the freedom of association should should sign it. If you have contacts in other labour organizations and unions, please call on them to sign the petition, too.

The text in the petition calls for the right of every worker to organize however they wish and thus should find broad support. It doesn't only question the ban on the FAU Berlin to call itself a union, but also the fact that the FAU Berlin is banned from taking collective action.

Please take the time to read it and send an email to koalitionsfreiheit(a)googlegroups.com to sign.

English: https://www.fau.org/verbot/en/fausoli.pdf

French: http://www.cnt-f.org/international/IMG/pdf/CSLS_Appel-Liberte-syndicale-Allemagne_FR.pdf

German: http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/gewerkschaft/real/fausoli.pdf Spanish: http://www.fau.org/verbot/es/Peticion_solidaridad_FAU_B.pdf

Mainstream and alternative press We have been very successful in getting the word out about our case in the blogosphere. We would be very grateful if you could write more articles. If don't have time to write your own articles, please feel free to run articles from our website. If you need an interview or background information for an article, please contact us at faub-soli(a)fau.org.

Unfortunately we have yet to get any mainstream press coverage other than a few left-wing papers here in Berlin. Use your influence to alert mainstream media to the lack of labour rights in Germany. Write a letter to the editor, call the media out on this one. This is an international issue.

Join our supporter list Our supporter list has gotten quite long, but there's always room for more. It's a great way to show our foes that we don't stand alone. We will try to keep those on list up to date and alert them when we need solidarity. Just send an email to faub-soli(a)fau.org to join up. You can see list at https://www.fau.org/verbot/art_100504-125856

Don't forget to check out www.fau.org/verbot/en for the latest news.

And thank you for your support so far.

in solidarity,

FAU Berlin Anti-Prohibition Team