Istanbul We bused to the Asian side of Istanbul, or what the locals call the Anatolia side, across the bridge that straddles the Bosporus Straits, high over the ships below. There is literally a sign in the middle of the bridge that says “Asia” one way and Europe, when you come back the other way. …
Month: September 2006
Tekgida-Is and the Soap Plant
Istanbul In Instanbul we spent many hours with first the General Secretary of Tekgida-Is, and then the General Organizing Secretary, and finally with the actual organizers and even some stewards of this union of industrial food, beverage, and tobacco workers. Scratching like chickens in the yard, we were finally getting somewhere closer to a real …
Chambers
Ankara The bias runs deep. When an organizer hears the word “chamber” the immediate assumption is that one is talking about a business apologist group of some kind. In Turkey a chamber is one of the professional associations created to get around unions but to keep the engineers, doctors, dentists, and others on program. Originally the …