Shawn Fain at at ManiFiesta
By Global News Service
At ManiFiesta 2024, the trade union square was buzzing with activity for two full days. Belgian labor activists preparing for a demonstration to protest job cuts at Audi’s Brussels factory shared the space with union members from across Europe—Dutch, Italian, German, and French activists all exchanging struggles and strategies. Under the tents, the General Labor Federation of Belgium and the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions, alongside the European Federation of Public Service Unions, discussed campaigns to defend workers’ rights.
Europe faces looming austerity measures and a growing cost-of-living crisis. Despite the anticipated backlash from employers and industry-friendly governments, the mood among union organizers at ManiFiesta was one of determination, with leaders and members alike working to strengthen international ties and positioning the labor movement at the head of a global struggle.
A focus at ManiFiesta this year was opening Europe’s trade union movement to perspectives from the Global South and progressive movements from the United States. Irvin Jim, General Secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, spoke of his union’s victories in organizing workers as much as their role in driving initiatives—and mutinies, in the words of General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium Peter Mertens—to turn the current world order upside down. Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the U.S., drew attention as he shared the UAW’s success in mobilizing against the Big Three automakers shortly after electing a completely new leadership team.
from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service