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Pawel Rudzki has not worked for the Albert Heijn supermarket chain for some two months now. An exemplary worker, never late, with a spotless record, he was bullied and lied about, given warnings he could not reply to -- and then summarily sacked. His union, the FNV, together with UNI Global Union, has been campaigning for his reinstatement.  It's the subject of a major campaign on LabourStart - click here to learn more and show your support.  In this interview, Pawel tells his story in his own words -- and ends with a message about the importance of solidarity.

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Today we spoke with Amalie Hilde Tofte from the trade union Styrke in Norway.  They're the sponsors of the annual Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights.  (LabourStart was a recipient a few years back.). Amalie told us about the background to the prize, some of the winners in recent years, and how one applies. We even learned who Arthur Svensson was.  Details about the prize, including the nominations form, are here.

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This week, we talked with two leaders of the Sindikat kontrole letenja (SKL), the union representing Serbian air traffic controllers, who have been dismissed after their security clearances were revoked based on a vague "negative opinion from the security services." Both played key roles in this year’s lawful and successful strike.  In this interview we discussed how the Serbian government launched a coordinated attack on the two union leaders and why, and how trade unionists across Europe and around the world can show their solidarity and bring pressure to bear on the Serbian government.  Learn more about what happened and sign up to support the campaign - click here.

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Solong is the general secretary of the United Textile Employees Union in Lesotho -- a union currently involved in a major struggle for workers' rights and dignity at Quantum Apparel.  In this interview, he tells us about a whole series of abusive (and illegal) practices at the company, including forced over-time, short-term contracts and union-busting.  To learn more, and to show your support for the workers, check out the LabourStart campaign.

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Chris, who's based in Washington, D.C., is the founder of the Labor Radio and Podcasting Network. 

With around 200 members, the network shows the very widespread adoption of podcasting by activists in the trade union movement.  

We asked Chris about audience size, impact, and how unions and activists can start their own shows.  

Listeners are encouraged to visit the network's website and to consider coming to one of its regular weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 13:00 (US Eastern Time).  

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This week we talked with Paul Finch at a particularly interesting moment.  His union, the largest in the Canadian province of British Columbia, is on strike.  The employer in this case, the provincial government, is a social democratic party -- the NDP.  Paul explains why the union is on strike and their strategy to win.  He even broke the news to us that just a few minutes before the interview began, the union had shut down large numbers of public liquor and cannabis stores, having held back during the first few weeks of the strike.  Things are heating up in British Columbia and LabourStart will continue to provide coverage of the struggle there.

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Shawna Bader-Blau heads up the Solidarity Center in Washington DC which has for many years been one of the great sources of support for workers around the world trying create and sustain independent, democratic trade unions.  But with the inauguration of Donald Trump earlier this year, all that has come under threat.  In our interview, Shawna discusses what the Solidarity Center does, the new threats it has to face, and how it intends to fight back.  Learn more about the Solidarity Center here -- and if you can, donate here.

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The Alberta Federation of Labour and some 25 Alberta unions, representing more than 300,000 workers, recently unveiled the Solidarity Pact, a commitment to collective defence against any attack on workers by public- or private-sector employers. The Solidarity Pact is intended to remain in force indefinitely.

"The purpose of the Solidarity Pact is to let employers know that an attack on one union will be viewed as an attack on all unions and that Alberta unions will fight together—all for one, and one for all," McGowan said in a news release announcing the launch of the pact and the Alberta Common Front, as the allied labour organizations are known collectively.

In this podcast, we talk to McGowan about the Solidarity Pact, and labour relations in the province with a "Maple MAGA" premier, who's now advocating for a separation referendum.

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Dr Debbie Goldman worked for 28 years at the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and is an expert on the subject of call centre workers.  In this short interview we discussed her new book, Disconnected: Call Center Workers Fight for Good Jobs in the Digital Age.  We talked about issues like surveillance in the workplace, how the CWA won impressive victories in defence of call centre workers' rights, and how employers export call centre jobs abroad only to run-up against international trade union solidarity.  We ended with a discussion about whether the much-touted "momentum" of unionisation in the USA in 2024 has continued under Trump -- and how the working class will never stop fighting for its rights.

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Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), was LabourStart's guest this week on our podcast.   The ITUC represents around 200 million workers in 169 countries and territories and has 340 national affiliates.

LabourStart's Eric Lee interviewed Luc about the vicious attacks by the Lukashenko dictatorship in Belarus against trade unionists -- and what the international trade union movement is doing to fight this.  Luc spoke about the upcoming 16 April global day of action.  "We need to fight against this regime," he said. "We will never accept this reality."

To learn more about the jailed trade union leaders in Belarus and show your solidarity, check out our online petition here.  Learn more about the 16 April 2025 global day of action here.  Learn more about the ITUC here.

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