| | In January 2014, at the request of the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR) and the pilots union at Aeroflot, we launched an online campaign demanding the release of jailed union leaders Alexei Shlyapnokov, Valeriy Pimoshenko and Sergei Knyshov.
The men were arrested as a provocation and our campaign demanded their release. "No more pressure and victimization!" was our slogan.
In less than two weeks, we managed to send over 12,000 messages to the Aeroflot management.
It has been a long and difficult struggle.
In April 2015, the men were sentenced to long jail terms.
But the unions continued with the struggle in the knowledge that they were not alone, that thousands of us all over the world supported them.
I'm very pleased to report that this week, the court of appeals overturned their sentences and all three were sent home. They are under a kind of house arrest, and there will be a new trial. As one Russian trade unionist put it, "It is not a final victory obviously, but yet a huge step forward."
Online campaigns work. We are there to support trade unions in struggle and in many, many cases, our pressure helps.
If you've not yet done so, please make sure you're supporting our current campaigns -- and spread the word in your union:Thank you!
Eric Lee
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