Labor Today International is the media and advocacy arm of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), a radical-left international labor organization that was controlled by the government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) until the end of the Cold War and is now focused largely on promoting labor unionism in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. 1 2 3
Background
Labor Today International is a media and advocacy website that shares labor union news from around the world and promotes a radical-left model of labor unionism. 4 It is run by editor-in-chief Joseph Hancock, and operates from a post office box in Los Angeles, California. 5 6 It is a project of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), which is headquartered in Athens, Greece. 7 8
WFTU was an international labor organization formed in 1945 by major labor unions and federations from across the world, including the U.S.-based Congress of Industrial Organizations, which would later join with the American Federation of Labor to become the AFL-CIO. 9
WFTU was intended to be a politically unaligned organization, but it was quickly taken over by pro-communist leadership as the Soviet Union began to exert control over countries behind the “Iron Curtain.” 10 11 By 1948, a then-classified U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report noted that while WFTU had been “intended to serve as a world force promoting unity and understanding between national labor organizations and furthering international peace and cooperation,” it instead had been “for the most part taken over by the USSR, and the federation was largely reduced to a sounding board for propaganda in support of Soviet foreign policy objectives.” 12
After the end of the Cold War, WFTU shifted its focus to promoting labor unionism in developing nations in Africa, Asia, and South America, as well as in nations where labor unions had a strong legacy of alignment with communist and socialist parties, such as Greece, Italy, and France. 13 Its president as of 2024, Pambis Kyritsis, is a Cypriot trade unionist and former organizer for the Marxist-Leninist Progressive Party of Working People (Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού), formerly the Communist Party of Cyprus, that controlled the government of Cyprus from 2008 to 2013. 14 15 16
Advocacy and Journalism
Labor Today International promotes a radical leftist, “class oriented” model of labor unionism. 17 Its coverage and advocacy is largely focused on labor unions and topics outside the United States, as its parent World Federation of Trade Unions has limited relationships with American labor unions. 18
Palestinian Advocacy
Labor Today International follows WFTU in strongly promoting Palestinian interests in the conflict between Palestinians and the State of Israel. 19 20
Labor Today endorsed the March on Washington for Gaza held on January 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. 21
Railroad Nationalization
In the United States, Labor Today International promotes the efforts of Railroad Workers United to nationalize the nation’s railways and move to a model where American railroads are owned and operated by the government rather than the current mix of public and private ownership and operation. 22 23
References
- “World Federation of Trade Unions.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Federation-of-Trade-Unions.
- “The Significance of the World Federation of Trade Unions in the Present Power Conflict.” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, June 14, 1948. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000258339.pdf.
- “Labor Today International.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/.
- “Labor Today International.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/.
- “Labor Today International.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/.
- Hancock, Joseph. “Joseph Hancock – Editor – Labor Today.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-hancock-064a05a9.
- “Home.” World Federation of Trade Unions. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.wftucentral.org/.
- “Labor Today International.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/.
- “World Federation of Trade Unions.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Federation-of-Trade-Unions.
- “World Federation of Trade Unions.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Federation-of-Trade-Unions.
- “The Significance of the World Federation of Trade Unions in the Present Power Conflict.” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, June 14, 1948. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000258339.pdf.
- “The Significance of the World Federation of Trade Unions in the Present Power Conflict.” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, June 14, 1948. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000258339.pdf.
- “World Federation of Trade Unions.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Federation-of-Trade-Unions.
- McLelland, James. “Five 21st Century Communist and Worker’s Party Governments You May Have Never Heard of.” Challenge Magazine, February 4, 2022. https://challenge-magazine.org/2022/04/02/five-21st-century-communist-and-workers-party-governments-you-may-have-never-heard-of/.
- Ktisti, Sarah. “Pambis Kyritsis Elected to Lead World Federation of Trade Unions.” Cyprus Mail, May 8, 2022. https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/05/08/pambis-kyritsis-elected-to-lead-world-federation-of-trade-unions/.
- Nordsieck, Wolfram. “Cyprus.” Parties and elections in Europe, 2021. http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/cyprus.html.
- “Labor Today International.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/.
- “Labor Today International.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/.
- Labor Today International. “Category: Palestine.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/home?blogcategory=Palestine.
- “Peace & Anti-Imperialism.” Labor Today International. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/solidarity.
- “Endorsers.” March on Washington for Gaza, December 30, 2023. https://march4gaza.org/endorsers/.
- “Support Public Rail Ownership.” Railroad Workers United. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.railroadworkersunited.org/support-public-ownership.
- “United States: RWU to Participate in Panel on Public Ownership.” Labor Today International, March 22, 2024. https://labortoday.international/f/united-states-rwu-to-participate-in-panel-on-public-ownership.