[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H11092-H11093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING THE PERSECUTION OF LABOR RIGHTS ADVOCATES IN IRAN
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 203) condemning the persecution
of labor rights advocates in Iran, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 203
Whereas Iran, in violation of ILO principles, refuses to
recognize independent labor unions;
Whereas, on April 9, 2007, Iranian agents arrested and
imprisoned Mahmoud Salehi, founder of the Saghez Bakery
Workers Association, a labor union that is independent and
therefore not recognized under Iranian law;
Whereas Salehi's life is in grave danger as he sits in the
Sanandaj prisons without access to kidney dialysis treatment;
Whereas, on July 10, 2007, plainclothes Iranian agents
severely beat and arrested Mansour Osanloo, president of the
Syndicate of Bus Drivers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus
Company, another labor union that is independent and
therefore not recognized under Iranian law;
Whereas this arrest was the third time in less than two
years that Syndicate president Osanloo has been arrested by
Iranian agents;
Whereas Osanloo now sits in Iran's notorious Evin prison
with a chronic heart condition and a serious eye condition
that requires immediate surgery;
Whereas Osanloo has no access to medical or legal
assistance and no contact with his family; and
Whereas, on August 9, 2007, the International Transport
Workers' Federation, together with the International Trade
Union Confederation, staged an international ``day of
action'' to free Osanloo and Salehi: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) condemns the Iranian regime for the arrest and
imprisonment of Iranian union leaders Mahmoud Salehi and
Mansour Osanloo and demands their immediate release;
(2) expresses its solidarity with the workers of Iran and
stands with them, and with all Iranians, in their efforts to
bring political freedom and individual liberty to Iran; and
(3) calls on the Iranian regime to respect the right of
Iranian workers to form independent associations and unions,
as required by its membership in the ILO.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution and
yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to thank our colleagues, Mr. Kirk from Illinois, Mr.
Andrews from New Jersey, for introducing this important and timely
legislation.
Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons in support of terrorism and its
abuse of the human rights of its own people collectively form one of
the most serious threats to peace and freedom faced by our country and
faced by the world. It speaks volumes that Iran is a member of the
International Labor Organization and formally subscribes to the core
ILO principles like freedom of association, yet continues to jail those
who attempt to form independent labor unions.
The mistreatment of two courageous labor leaders, Mr. Mahmoud Salehi
and Mansour Osanloo, is yet another example of the unacceptable
behavior of the regime in Iran.
Since 2004, Mahmoud Salehi, who comes from the Kurdish region of
Iran, has been jailed on trumped-up charges for the crime of trying to
organize a May Day rally in his own city. Unlike many well-known
Iranian dissidents, Mr. Salehi is not a writer or a professor or even a
politician. He is an ordinary man, a baker by trade, who has had the
courage to stand up for the rights of working people. Since April 19 of
this year, he has been imprisoned and denied access to the dialysis
treatments he requires.
The same is true of Mansour Osanloo, who fell afoul of the regime for
threatening in 2006 to lead his fellow bus drivers in Tehran out on
strike. Mr. Osanloo was kidnapped from his bus by unknown parties and
severely beaten. He too is now being held on vaguely worded charges.
It is appropriate and necessary for the United States House of
Representatives to condemn the brutal mistreatment of these leaders and
call for their immediate release.
I strongly support this resolution, and I encourage all my colleagues
to do likewise.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
author of this measure, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk).
Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, this resolution before us demonstrates
America's commitment to human rights around the world. As the cochair
of the Iran Working Group and a member of the Human Rights Caucus, I am
proud to stand here as the co-author of this Kirk-Andrews resolution.
On April 9, 2007, Iranian agents arrested and imprisoned Mahmoud
Salehi, the founder of the Saghez Bakery Workers Association. Mr.
Salehi is a kidney patient who now sits in the Sanandaj prisons, his
life in grave danger as the regime blocks his access to dialysis
treatment.
July 10, plain-clothed Iranian agents severely beat and arrested
Mansour Osanloo, the president of the Syndicate of Bus Drivers of the
Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. Osanloo now sits in Iran's notorious
Evin prison with a chronic heart condition, no access to medical or
legal assistance, and no contact with his family. The Teamsters have
called on Iran to immediately release both men.
In August, the International Trade Union Confederation, together with
the International Transport Workers Federation, staged an international
``day of action'' to free these union leaders; and now it's our turn.
Together with my good friend and the cochair of the Iran Working Group,
Congressman Robert Andrews of New Jersey, we introduced this
resolution, a bipartisan
[[Page H11093]]
resolution condemning the Government of Iran for the arrest and
imprisonment of Iranian union leaders, demanding their immediate
release. Today, we speak with one voice, not as Democrats or
Republicans, but as Americans, to say to the Iranian people, we stand
with your efforts to bring about political freedom and individual
liberty in Iran.
{time} 1200
As a board member of the National Endowment for Democracy, I am proud
of the U.S. Government's commitment to international workers' rights.
This resolution embodies that commitment.
I want to thank Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for
their cosponsorship and continued leadership on this human rights
issue.
I also want to thank my friend, Congressman Rob Andrews, and the vice
chairs of the Iran Working Group, Congressman Boustany and Congressman
Klein, and key staff members, including Alan Makovsky, Yleem Poblete,
Alan Goldsmith, Luke Ballman, Michael Hare and Mira Kogen for their
hard work on this resolution.
I especially want to thank Richard Goldberg of my staff, who did the
heavy lift on this piece of legislation, so heavy he might become an
honorary Teamster.
Mr. Speaker, it is very important to see what is happening in Iran,
that there is now an attack going on against Baha'is, there is now an
attack going on against intellectuals, and there is now an attack going
on against free union members. We need to speak out against all of
these if we adhere to our principles of faith to the dignity of the
individual as enshrined, not just in the Constitution of the United
States, but in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which
the Government of Iran is a signatory.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield 3 minutes to the coauthor
of this legislation, the chairman of the Education and Labor
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, the very
distinguished Mr. Andrews from New Jersey.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution. I would like to thank the cochairman of the Iran Working
Group, my good friend, Mr. Kirk, for his efforts and the staff's
efforts. And I would associate myself with the remarks that Mark made
about the staff members who worked so hard on this.
I'd like to thank our subcommittee chairman, Mr. Sherman, and ranking
members on the other side for their help.
A prison must be a terribly lonely and solitary place. And I think
there is no more lonely and solitary place on the face of the Earth
than an Iranian prison, because in an Iranian prison you live in a
place where there is no due process, there is no right to be heard,
there is no sunlight, there is no chance to address your grievances.
Mr. Speaker, as we meet today, two men, Mahmoud Salehi and Mansour
Osanloo sit in that solitary confinement. Their crime is speaking up
for the members of the group for which they work. Their offense is
trying to organize and represent the men and women next to whom they
work. This is taken universally as a human right, the right to speak up
for better working conditions, for fairness in the workplace. It is a
right that Iran recognizes as a signatory to the International Labor
Organization, and Iran is bound to follow the core principles of the
ILO. Clearly, Iran is not doing so as we meet today.
For more than 6 months, Mr. Salehi has been confined in a prison. For
more than 3 months, Mr. Osanloo has been confined in a prison.
It is my hope that this resolution today will have the Members of
this House, Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, joining
the voices of labor leaders around the world as expressed on August 9
saying to the Government of Iran that this imprisonment is unjustified.
This is an egregious abuse of human rights. These men should be
released. Their medical needs should be tended to, and justification
should be given for the unlawful and inhuman incarceration of these
individuals.
This is a larger question than the political relationship between the
United States and Iran. It is a larger question than labor law and the
right to organize. This is a fundamental question of human rights.
Innocent, infirm people should not be held against their will with no
rights and no right to address their grievances. Surely, Mr. Speaker,
this House can and should join together today to rise up in opposition
to this inhuman practice.
I would urge a ``yes'' vote.
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution
condemning the persecution of labor rights advocates in Iran.
During the past 2 years, the already brutal regime in Tehran has
increased its repression of its own citizens, cracking down on
religious and ethnic minorities, human rights and pro democracy
activists, even university students, and now the labor movement.
Like many supposedly revolutionary governments, this regime has been
particularly harsh to workers and their representatives who have dared
to protest the injustices that pervade the present system in Iran.
On April 9 this year, Iranian agents arrested Mahmoud Salehi, the
founder of an independent bakery workers association. And then on three
separate occasions since 2005, this same Iranian regime has arrested
and imprisoned Mansour Osanloo, the president of the Syndicate of
Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, an independent labor
association of transportation workers.
Most recently then, on July 10, 2007, reports indicate that
plainclothes Iranian agents kidnapped, assaulted and imprisoned Mr.
Osanloo.
When transport workers have attempted to strike in order to protest
their lack of rights and the arrest of their representatives, the
Iranian regime has beaten them and compelled them to return to work.
Iran's deplorable behavior violates its own legal obligations under its
own Constitution.
Article 26 of the Iranian Constitution permits, and I quote, ``the
formation of parties, societies, political or professional
associations,'' and Iran's labor law recognizes that ``it is prohibited
to force a person to perform work against their will.'' So much for
following their Constitution.
Mr. Speaker, while Iranian thug-in-chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke
freely at the United Nations last week, labor representatives Mahmoud
Salehi and Mansour Osanloo, both of whom suffer from medical conditions
and medical problems, languished in Iran's infamous prisons without
access to any medical attention. This current situation is intolerable.
The Iranian regime must stop its persecution of its own workers and
systematic human rights abuses, release all the imprisoned labor
representatives and fulfill its obligations in ensuring the right of
Iranians to work freely and to organize freely.
I want to thank Mr. Kirk of Illinois and Mr. Andrews of New Jersey
for introducing this resolution, and also labor unions in the United
States for bringing this issue to the forefront.
This resolution condemns the Iranian regime for the arrest and
imprisonment of Iranian labor leaders and demands their release. It
also sends a simple but yet powerful message. As the people of Iran
struggle to live freely and exercise their basic human rights, Congress
and the United States stands with those people.
I urge my colleagues to adopt this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McGovern). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
203, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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