Since Ahmad al-Sharaa came to power in Syria, the Damascus government has been given carte blanche to use maximum force against any threat to its continued rule, writes VIJAY PRASHAD

TWENTY years ago the US union the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ended its affiliation with the US trade union umbrella organisation the AFL-CIO following ongoing disagreements that the AFL-CIO was concentrating too much on political matters rather than organising new members and building workers’ power in new industries.
The SEIU, under the leadership of the charismatic Andy Stern, argued US trade unions had to become more than just “servicing unions” watching membership and union power continue to decline.
The SEIU had run a number of high-profile organising campaigns in the US, notably Justice For Janitors, building union membership among property maintenance workers.

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