The Teamsters and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters are standing in solidarity with striking Korean railway workers.

On December 9, members of the Korean Railway Workers’ Union went on strike in response to a government push for a new rail restructuring and privatization program, which has seen widespread opposition.

The South Korean government has since launched a severe crackdown on striking workers. Already, the police have raided union offices and seized computers and equipment. Korean media is reporting that the military is prepared to send hundreds of soldiers to work as strikebreakers.

Korean strikers fear a repeat of conditions during a 2009 railway dispute, in which striking workers were subjected to criminal charges, imprisonment, disciplinary charges and other retaliatory actions by the employers and the state. Already, the current strike has lasted eight days, as long as the 2009 strike.

These workers are defending the basic right to have independent trade unions and the right to strike. Join the Teamsters and the global labor community in urging the Korean government to engage in social dialogue on rail policy and respect railway workers’ right to strike as recognized by international law.

Sign the petition, here: bit.ly/1c8Uao8

“Like” and support the workers’ Facebook page, here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-railway-workers-right-to-strike-in-Korea/623128284413850

Read the letter to South Korean President Park Geun-hye from Freddie Simpson, President of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters.