Labor Updates (4/17/08)

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Navarro Loses County Council Bid: Labor-endorsed candidate Nancy Navarro lost her bid to replace the late Montgomery County Council member Marilyn Praisner, narrowly defeated by Praisner's husband, Don, who won the Democratic nomination Tuesday to serve out his wife's term in District 4. "Thanks to tremendous support from our affiliates – including UFCW 1994 and SEIU Local 500 – we came very close to winning this race," said Metro Council COPE Coordinator Rick Powell. Congress Stands Up for Iraqi Workers' Rights: Iraqi workers' fight for fundamental labor rights received a boost last week when dozens of House of Representative members sent a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calling on support and promotion of workers' rights, reports James Parks on the AFL-CIO Now Weblog. "The lawmakers told al-Maliki they were particularly concerned that a ban on independent trade unions instituted in 1987 by former President Saddam Hussein remains in force," reports Parks. "Under this law, public employees are not allowed to join a union, and organizing in the private sector is severely restricted." Click here to read Parks' full story.