An imminent confrontation in the International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency composed of government, management and labor, over the admission of the Palestine Liberation Organization is causing much concern to the American labor movement.
It has prompted the AFL-CIO to question whether it should continue its relationship with the ILO, according to a report by Michael D, Boggs, of the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department, to some 100 labor-leaders and academicians attending the 10th annual Arden House Conference of the American Histadrut Cultural Exchange Institute. The two-day conference was devoted to the overall topic of “The World in Crisis–Labor’s Stake.”
Boggs charged that the ILO, which is supposed to uphold the principles of progressive labor policies and trade unionism, is being undermined by its “new majority,” a coalition of Arab and Soviet-bloc forces. “A true Arab labor movement does not exist,” declared Boggs. “What ILO does now is discuss political questions, particularly the Middle East.”
The Arabs, he said, submitted resolutions condemning Israel for its alleged “oppression of Arab workers in occupied territories.” Histadrut fought this resolution day and night. So did the AFL-CIO. “But we lost. The resolution was passed in February,” Boggs said. The Arab-Communist forces are now working to admit the PLO, and the subject will be on the agenda in June.
HISTADRUT STRENGTHENING LABOR BONDS
Approaching the problem from another viewpoint, Uzi Bloch, representative of Histadrut, told the conference of the intense efforts of Histadrut to strengthen bonds with labor movements in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. He reported on “the dangers of erosion of friendship with Japan, Latin America and other countries, as a result of the increasing weight of Arab oil and propaganda.” Despite the setbacks, however, Bloch noted “our growing relations with the West German labor movement, which has opened a bank in Tel Aviv and is helping Histadrut to initiate economic projects in Germany,” and “the headway in Scandinavian countries.”
Bloch also noted “a continued stream of attendance at the Histadrut Afro-Asian Institute in Tel Aviv.” He dwelt in detail on the situation of workers in the Arab countries, “where true trade unionism does not exist.” Histadrut has stretched out to them a hand of friendship and is making genuine efforts to contact genuine Arab labor leaders, he said.
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