No. 00002

date:Apr./07/2003

An introduction of DORO CHIBA-National Railway Motive Power Union Chiba

DORO CHIBA (The National Railway Motive Power Union of Chiba) has devoted, since the last half of 1980's, all of its strength to the struggle against the Division and Privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR). JNR reform constituted an essential part of deregulation policy, practiced by the then Nakasone administration simultaneously with anti-labor politics of US president Reagan and UK Prime Minister Thatcher in 1980's.
In 1985 and 1986, DORO CHIBA carried out two strikes against discriminating union busting to pave the way for the Division and Privatization of JNR and succeeded in solidifying and defending unity of workers from the governmental attack to break up national railway workers' movement as wells as Japanese labor movement as a whole. Among national railway workers' unions DORO CHIBA was the sole organization that dared to wage railway strike fearless of isolation seeking for solidarity in the struggle against the Division and Privatization of JNR.

Since the enforcement of the Division and Privatization of JNR in April 1987, namely setting up of 7 Japan Railway Companies in place of the JNR, DORO CHIBA has made its primary task to consolidate class unity against capitalists' attempts of disrupting and destroying union organizations.
18 years after the Division and Privatization of JNR, the management of the JR companies has recently launched an all-out offensive of outsourcing in every field of the JR activities with the aim of union busting. In face of this attack, DORO CHIBA waged last year 72-hour strike at the end of March as climax of "three months' decisive battle from January to March" and successfully defended organizational unity, crushing management's attempts.
On January 11th this year DORO CHIBA met to decide union's policy to face intense present situation to launch a renewed struggle including strikes with the following objectives: (1) to gain a big wage raise, (2) to demand withdrawal of unlawful dismissal of 1047 JNR workers as a result of the Division and Privatization, (3) to stop US war on Iraq and to crush Japanese governmental attempt of legislating Emergency Bill (a war mobilization bill).
The enforcement of Division and Privatization of JNR has brought about labor-capital collaboration trends in Japanese labor movement. Workers on the shop floor, however, are now furious at recent wage decrease, dismissal as a result of restructuring or bankruptcy of companies, deprivation of labor rights. They are struggling to fight back these capitalist offensive and seriously seeking for a class oriented labor movement and organization. Under these circumstances, the struggle for reinstatement of unlawfully fired 1047 JNR workers 16 years ago?all of them belonging to either of the three essential unions of national railway workers, namely KOKURO (the Japanese National Railways Workers' Union), ZENDORO (Federation of All Japan Motive Power Union) and DORO CHIBA, has been playing a central role in reviving class oriented labor movement. The state power, confronted with steady and unflinching advance of the struggle of 1047 workers, resorted last October to a flagrant repressive measure of arresting 10 workers and supporters of the said struggle and indicting 8 out of them for the alleged violation of the Law concerning Punishment of Act of Violence and others.

Together with this union busting, the Koizumi administration is cooperating fully with the Bush administration in war on Iraq and North Korea, and intending to legislate the Emergency Bill in the coming session of the Diet in January for the sake of Japanese imperialist interest over Asia.
We of DORO CHIBA are determined to fight out to stop imperialist war and capitalist offensive in solidarity with working class of US, Japan and the rest of the world as well as peoples of the oppressed nations.

Solidarity of US and Japanese workers!