Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Largest U.S. union behind Mideast riots?

Sordid ties to group targeting American ally fighting terrorism

Posted: August 08, 2011
8:43 pm Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2011 WND

The executive council of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest union, has praised the role workers and trade unions are playing in the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.

The AFL-CIO's statement did not reference the group's alleged ties to at least one major international group leading the revolutions.

WND was first to reportthat one of the main anti-regime organizations spearheading protests in Algeria is funded by a quasi-governmental group partly led by an arm of the AFL-CIO along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In a statement last week, the AFL-CIO praised the role of unions and workers in what it called the "popular mobilizations against corrupt, oppressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and throughout the Middle East and North Africa."

The statement wascarried by People's World, an online magazine directly descended from the Daily Worker, the publication of the Communist Party USA.

The AFL-CIO statement said: "After enduring decades of repression exercised by governments with the support of the West, including the United States, the workers and people of Tunisia and Egypt have mobilized by the millions for democracy and fundamental rights."