Founded in October 2005 from unions that had begun organizing after the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

, the Federation of Oil Unions of Iraq is the largest independent union consortium in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, with tens of thousands of members. It fully opposed the

American occupation of Iraq American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

History

First organized in the Southern Oil Company Union in May 2003, Iraq's

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

workers began organizing what became the General Union of Oil Employees (GUOE). They have pushed to keep Iraq's resources in the hands of Iraqis, while the union remained independent of any

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

and influences from the foreign occupation. It has not affiliated to either of the two major union federations of Iraq: the

Iraqi Communist Party The Iraqi Communist Party ( '; ) is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a prominent role in shaping the political history of Iraq between it ...

-connected Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions or the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq-influenced Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, but it has worked with both groupings. As SOCU, the oil workers engaged in

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

to expel

Baathist Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology is ...

managers from oil facilities, occupation forces began moving in to attempt to take over administration of the industry. Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) led this, and was also militantly removed by the SOCU workers, along with subcontracted laborers. With threats to

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

, the union was able to gain wage increases over what the United States-led occupation was willing to pay. KBR eventually took over much of the administration of the oil industry, although resistance in the form of strikes in June and August of that year, and blockades, continued. In cases where occupation forces threatened force, the SOCU workers warned that they would be met with armed resistance. In June 2004, the GUOE was formed from the workers of the major oil companies: Southern Oil Company, Southern Gas Company, Southern Refinery Company, Iraqi Drilling Company, the Oil Carrier Company, the Gas Packing Company, the Oil Production Company, the Oil Projects Company, and the Oil Pipe Lines Company. In May 2005, the GUOE organized a large conference against

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

with hundreds of unionists and representatives of other international groups. More strikes came in July and August, usually with outcomes favorable to the workers. In October, union president Hassan Jumaa Awad led the group to change its name to the Federation of Oil Unions of Iraq.

References

Trade unions in Iraq Trade unions established in 2005 {{Asia-trade-union-stub