African Activist Archive

The draft presentation discusses the role of Black labor in South Africa's economy and the growth of Black labor unions. Black unions were not officially recognized until 1979 and were not legally allowed to strike until 1984, under stringent conditions. Fifty-one trade union officers were detained without charges in 1984 alone; it is believed that hundreds of union officers have been detained each year since then. Many Black unions continue to operate without legal registration to avoid disclosing membership lists, etc. One of the unions most affected by detentions is the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). Last summer, COSATU organized the largest strike in South Africa since 1947, involving about 1.5 million workers. NUMSA president Moses Mayekiso, a founder of COSATU, has been detained since 1986 and is charged with treason, subversion, and sedition. Ways local unions can help: 1. Keep members informed about South Africa. 2. Circulate petition and pass resolution in support of Brother Mayekiso to send to NUMSA and to the South African Minister of Justice. 3. Affiliate directly with a South African local and assisting it with moral support and material aid. 4. Buy a bloc of tickets to the SLCAA's April, 1989 conference on Labor in South Africa. 5. Assign a liaison to the SLCAA. The report mentions United Auto Workers (UAW), Alexandra township, a boycott of Royal Dutch/Shell Oil, AFL-CIO, Owen Bieber, and a panel of distinguished jurists to monitor Mayekiso's trial.

African Activist Archive

DRAFT PRESENTATION FOR UNION LOCALS AND THEIR EXECUTIVE BOARDS

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