The nationwide strike of truck drivers and truck owners has become the focal point of attention across society and has deeply alarmed the ruling authorities. As of last night, the strike had spread to 135 cities and continues to garner widespread support.
In a show of continued solidarity, on the 7th of Khordad (May 27), eleven labor and social organizations issued a joint statement expressing their support for the strike. These organizations are:
- Retirees’ Unity (Ettehad BAZNESHASHTEGAN)
- Kermanshah Electrical and Metal Workers Association
- Don’t Execute (Edam Nakonid)
- Iranian Teachers’ Union Challenge
- Justice Seekers (Dadkhahan)
- Retirees Council of Iran
- Nurses’ Protest Organizing Council
- Oil Contract Workers’ Protest Organizing Council
- Informal Oil Workers’ Protest Organizing Council (Arkan-e Sales)
- Defenders of Children’s Rights
- Neda-ye Zanan-e Iran (The Voice of Iranian Women)
Part of their statement reads:
“We salute the striking drivers and declare: Dear ones, we share the same pain. Inflation, insecurity, poverty, corruption, repression, theft, looting, and slave-like exploitation all demand a unified voice from us—the workers and the oppressed people of this society.”
The statement continues:
“One of the major current crises in the country is electricity blackouts, which have brought life to a standstill and triggered a tsunami of inflation, unemployment, and extreme poverty. And now they are warning of a complete power outage in the coming month. These are all reasons behind people’s protests.
The nationwide protests of bakers are rooted in the same issues. They cut off and raise fuel prices, causing goods to become more expensive, and then blame the bakers for the rising price of bread. Truck drivers are suffering under the ‘freight mafia’ just as bakers are crushed by the ‘nano-mafia.’ And all of this ultimately hurts workers and ordinary people.
We, the undersigned of this statement, declare our full support for the truckers’ strike and their just demands and condemn any form of suppression or aggression against them.”
“Unity! Unity! Against Poverty and Corruption—A Nationwide Strike Is Our Solution.”
Today, the Teachers’ Association of Harsin also released a statement supporting the truck drivers’ nationwide strike. A portion of their message reads:
“The Teachers’ Association of Harsin recognizes the demands, strike, and protests of truck drivers as a rightful pursuit of their rights and considers public support from other oppressed people for their cause to be a rational and humane act. Furthermore, we condemn the use of violence by authorities against this oppressed sector.”
Additionally, Mehdi Yarrahi, a beloved pop singer, voiced his support by posting on X (formerly Twitter):
“The attempt to suppress the truckers’ strike will only ignite the people’s anger even more. Let’s support the right to peaceful protest.”
The nationwide truck drivers’ strike has empowered the discourse of general strikes as an immediate and viable solution within society. It’s time to prepare for it.