26. Aoliwei Company fired workers’ representative Liu Meizhen, and the female workers united to support her.

On the morning of October 8, 2006—the first day back at work after the National Day holiday—Liu Meizhen and several other coworkers arrived at the company entrance on their bicycles. The security guard, who had been waiting there for some time, suddenly stopped Liu Meizhen and said, “Liu Meizhen, the company has fired you, so you cannot enter the premises.”

Liu Meizhen asked angrily, “When was this decided?”

Security Guard: “It was a decision made during the holiday break, and a notice has already been posted—right at the company entrance. You can take a look.”

Liu Meizhen saw a notice posted at the company’s main entrance, which read as follows:

Notice Regarding the Dismissal of Liu Meizhen

Liu Meizhen: “Refused to follow management instructions, incited workers to gather and cause disturbances, seriously violated company rules and regulations, and disrupted normal production and workers’ duties. After failing to heed warnings, she was dismissed.”

October 6, 2006

The news that Aoliwei had fired Liu Meizhen sparked panic among the female workers, who were at a loss as to how to respond to this sudden turn of events. At that moment, Liu Meizhen was barred from entering the factory grounds and looked anxiously at her coworkers inside the workshop, as efforts to form a union had not yet officially begun.

Jiang Qingqing immediately called the Fushan District Labor Inspection Brigade to file a complaint against the company for illegally dismissing worker representative Liu Meizhen, but was told that the matter did not fall within the jurisdiction of the labor inspection authorities.

Liu Meizhen never had high hopes for the labor inspectorate to begin with. Perhaps Guo So-and-so, Shi So-and-so, and others were actually gloating over this situation; they had long harbored a grudge against Liu Meizhen and her colleagues ever since their last successful effort to defend their rights. This was evident from Guo So-and-so’s subsequent attempt to prevent the female workers’ representatives from returning to the factory to participate in the union elections.

Seeing the female workers at a loss, Jiang Qingqing shouted at the critical moment, “Sisters! Have you forgotten about Sister Liu? Didn’t you all swear up and down before the holiday that you’d go on strike to form a union? Sister Liu was fired precisely because she negotiated with the company on our behalf regarding the National Day holiday—what’s gotten into you all?!”

Those words brought the female workers’ scattered thoughts back together, and they all walked to the factory gate and stood beside Liu Meizhen.

Seeing this, the company's management panicked and immediately ordered all female workers at the entrance to return to the workshop, threatening that they would be fired along with Liu Meizhen if they refused.

Faced with pressure from the company, some of the female workers began to waver and slowly made their way back to the workshop. The previously united front began to crack, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense. If all the female workers returned to their posts, it would be tantamount to abandoning their representatives.

In the end, out of more than 110 female workers, about 20 to 30 returned to the workshop; Wang Xinmei, Yu Huifang, Jiang Yuqiu, and others, along with the majority of their coworkers, stood firm at the factory gate, standing shoulder to shoulder with Liu Meizhen outside. Wang Xinmei said, “We won’t leave Sister Liu; we’ll stand with her until the end—even if it means we have to quit this company!” These words drew a strong response from the female workers.

At the request of the female workers, Zhang Jun drafted the “Petition by Employees of Aoliwei Electronics Co., Ltd. Requesting the Company to Establish a Labor Union” and the “Statement of Reasons for Requesting the Establishment of a Labor Union,” which he submitted to Liu Meizhen. The original texts are as follows:

Petition from Employees of Aoliwei Electronics Co., Ltd. Requesting the Company to Establish a Labor Union

To the Management of Aoliwei Company:

In accordance with the *Labor Union Law of the People’s Republic of China* and the *Shandong Province Regulations on Labor Unions in Foreign-Invested Enterprises*, we, the employees of Aoliwei Electronics Co., Ltd., are once again submitting a request to you to establish a labor union. We have previously made multiple requests for the company to establish a labor union, but these have all been unlawfully rejected by the company. This has led to the current situation where workers have been forced to go on strike due to your unlawful refusal to establish a labor union, which has also had a negative impact on the company.

“The People’s Republic of China is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants” (excerpt from Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China). As workers constitute the main component of the working class, their lawful rights and interests must not be infringed upon; therefore, we must establish a labor union to effectively safeguard these rights and interests. We hope that company leadership will not underestimate our confidence and determination in establishing this labor union, especially since we have the strong support of higher-level labor unions and society at large!

We earnestly urge company leadership to comply with Chinese law and establish a labor union as soon as possible!

October 8, 2006

Statement of Reasons for Requesting the Formation of a Union

We, the workers, demand that Aoliwei establish a union for the following reasons:

1. For the long-term interests of our company, Aoliwei, it is essential to establish a labor union. This is because the company’s current employment practices involve serious legal violations, which have led to a widespread trend of employees resigning, creating a negative public perception and severely undermining the company’s stable development.

2. To protect the legitimate rights and interests of Aoliwei Company employees from being infringed upon. Currently, because company management fails to comply with China’s labor laws, the legitimate rights and interests of our employees have been severely harmed. Specifically: (1) Failure to promptly sign employment contracts with employees and pay into the labor insurance fund; (2) Failure to protect the legitimate rights and interests of pregnant female employees (Chi Yunxia);(3) Arbitrary and illegal termination of employees (in particular, the illegal dismissal of as many as 70 employees over the two days of April 28 and 29, which shocked the local community and media—such illegal conduct astonished everyone); (4) Requiring workers to work excessive overtime at any time and without justification, disregarding their physical health; (5) Workers engaged in audio quality testing (using their ears to inspect product sound quality) have suffered hearing damage but have not received timely treatment;(6) Failing to grant married female workers their statutory marriage leave; (7) Imposing extremely harsh conditions on employees requesting personal leave (if an employee takes one day off, in addition to losing that day’s wages, an additional 50 yuan is deducted)—and these are the conditions after improvements were made; (7) The quality of the meals is extremely poor.

3. In order to defend the legitimate rights and interests of the company’s employees, it is extremely difficult for just a few of us female workers to fight for the legitimate rights and interests of the entire workforce on our own. Therefore, we request the establishment of a labor union to protect everyone’s legitimate rights and interests, as this will be more convenient and efficient.

4. “The People’s Republic of China is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants” (excerpt from Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China). As workers constitute the main component of the working class, their lawful rights and interests must not be infringed upon; therefore, trade unions must be established to effectively safeguard the lawful rights and interests of workers.

I assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of the above statements.

Worker Representative: Liu Meizhen

October 8, 2006

In the two documents mentioned above, Zhang Jun cited Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution: “The People’s Republic of China is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants,” thereby clarifying that in a country where the Constitution establishes the leading role of the working class, the female workers at Aoliwei have the legal right to demand the formation of a labor union.

Zhang Jun cited provisions of the Constitution to both encourage the female workers and create a powerful check on the employers, thereby securing the moral and legal high ground. As the Constitution holds the highest legal authority, neither relevant government agencies nor enterprises can easily disregard its provisions, making it difficult for them to openly favor the employers.

Worker representative Liu Meizhen was the first to sign the document; it was then passed to Jiang Qingqing, and the female workers began signing the petition one after another, jointly calling for the formation of a labor union. With the exception of the shift leaders, all the other female workers signed the petition.

27. The timid and risk-averse class monitor signed his name using Pinyin.

An interesting incident occurred during the signing: among the workers participating in the action, there was only one male foreman who, though dissatisfied with Aoliwei Company’s suppression of workers and supportive of the female workers’ demand to form a union, was hesitant to sign despite his desire to do so. In the end, he mustered his courage and signed his name using Chinese pinyin.Seeing this, the female workers joked, “At least you’re a real man—you should have the guts to stand by your actions!” Amid the laughter of the crowd, the foreman scratched his head and walked away, looking slightly embarrassed.

A total of two original copies of the petition were produced on this occasion; one has been carefully preserved by Zhang Jun to this day and has become a valuable historical document, while the other was photocopied, and both the original and the photocopy were submitted to Aoliwei Company and the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions, respectively.

28. The female workers officially launched their efforts to form a union and organize a strike. Zhang Jun, speaking on behalf of Liu Meizhen and others, announced that they were waiving their right to be elected as union officials.

Zhang Jun contacted a local reporter named Xiaoxia. Xiaoxia was deeply outraged by Aoliwei Company’s illegal activities.

At 11:00 a.m. on October 8, 2006, Liu XX, Chairperson of the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions; Director Kong; and staff members Shi XX and Guo XX from the Labor Inspection Brigade arrived at the Aoliwei Company factory premises.

Chairman Liu publicly stated that the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions affirms and supports the efforts of the female workers at Aoliwei to form a union; Shi also announced on the spot that the company’s decision to dismiss Liu Meizhen was illegal and invalid, which stands in stark contrast to the previous claim that the matter “did not fall under the jurisdiction of labor inspection.”

Aoliwei's management made an on-site commitment to allow the workers to form a union, but demanded that all female workers return to work immediately.

Faced with such a show of force, Aoliwei dared not keep its gates shut any longer. Liu Meizhen and Zhang Jun were allowed to enter the factory grounds and join the other female workers. Seeing their representatives return to their side, the workers erupted in cheers, as if they had caught a glimpse of victory on the horizon—little did they know that the arduous journey toward forming a union had only just begun.

Inside the factory grounds, in the presence of representatives from the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions, the labor department, Aoliwei Company management, and all the striking female workers, Zhang Jun, speaking once again on behalf of Liu Meizhen and five other female worker representatives, reiterated that Liu Meizhen and the others had led all the female workers in forming a union with the aim of establishing a union controlled by the workers themselves and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of female workers from infringement.At the same time, the six representatives solemnly declared that they would waive their right to be elected to leadership positions, such as union chairperson, in the future, while retaining their right to vote.

Zhang Jun’s action was intended to prevent the company and its supporters from later disparaging the motives of female worker representatives such as Liu Meizhen for going on strike and forming a union.Sure enough, subsequently, Aoliwei Company, a certain Mr. Shi from the Fushan District Labor Bureau, as well as the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions and the Yantai Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, among others, continued to make defamatory claims to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the media, alleging that the female workers’ strike was not intended to form a union but was motivated by other personal agendas.

29. Aoliwei Company Reneges on Its Promise and Refuses to Establish a Union; Zhang Jun Writes to Female Workers Suggesting Solutions

Around noon on October 8, 2006, staff members from the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions and the Labor Inspection Brigade left the site after urging the female workers to end their strike and return to work. Aoliwei Company immediately announced that the day would be a holiday and that work would resume as usual the following day, thereby temporarily defusing the workers’ demands.

On October 9, 2006, all female workers reported for duty, but Aoliwei Company still made no mention of forming a union. The female workers staged a sit-in on the production line; despite being urged by management, they refused to resume work, insisting: “As long as the union isn’t formed, production will not resume.”

On October 10, 2006, as the strike entered its third day and no progress had been made toward forming a union, many female workers were growing restless—including Jiang Qingqing, who had considerable influence among her coworkers. Liu Meizhen reported the situation on the ground to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun was well aware of the female workers’ anxiety and unease, and he also concluded that while Aoliwei Company appeared tough on the surface, it was just as impatient and apprehensive on the inside. According to Article 15 of the *Constitution of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions*, the establishment of a grassroots trade union must be submitted to the higher-level trade union federation for approval; this meant that, objectively speaking, the workers could not bypass the higher-level trade union when organizing a union.

On the night of October 10, 2006, to calm the female workers’ emotions and unify their approach to action, Zhang Jun wrote an open letter and asked Liu Meizhen to pass it on to Jiang Qingqing. The letter outlined the importance of securing support from the higher-level trade union, detailed the benefits that forming a union would bring to the workers, and analyzed the psychological dynamics between labor and management.On October 11, Liu Meizhen delivered the letter to Jiang Qingqing, and it was circulated among the female workers.

Guangguang Hao:

I heard from Xiao Liu (Liu Meizhen) that you’re feeling anxious and impatient about how the strike is unfolding. I completely understand, but we must conduct the strike within the framework of the law.

First, we must make it clear that the purpose of this strike is to establish a labor union. Only by establishing a labor union can we fundamentally protect the interests of all Aoliwei workers and prevent any future violations of our legitimate rights and interests.Remember: I have repeatedly emphasized protecting everyone’s “legitimate rights and interests”—do you understand? These are legitimate, so our strike must not only be lawful but also achieve the goal of establishing a union. If we do not act in accordance with the recommendations of the District Federation of Trade Unions (Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions) and go on strike blindly, we will inevitably lose the support and leadership of the District Federation of Trade Unions. You’ve said it hasn’t been easy for us to get this far, but why have we succeeded time and time again?It’s because we’ve always operated within the bounds of the law. Otherwise, the labor inspectorate and Aoliv wouldn’t have yielded to our demands, and neither the District Federation of Trade Unions nor the media would have supported us. We veteran workers bear responsibility for the many young female workers who have followed us on strike and supported our efforts to establish a union. We must fight for a union that truly belongs to Aoliv’s workers, and then we’ll hand it over to them in its entirety.Now that you know this, you and everyone else should understand my point. If the District Federation of Trade Unions does not arrive by the agreed-upon time—or if, after they arrive, Aoliwei still refuses to establish a union—then a strike at that point will garner even greater support from the District Federation of Trade Unions and the public.

A strike is a strike, but none of us wants to bring down Aoliwei. This is also a lesson for those Koreans—at the time, aside from General Manager Su, the rest of the senior management here were Koreans—those ignorant Koreans who look down on us Chinese workers, and their lackeys. We hope they’ll learn their lesson and help revive our Aoliwei Company!!Of course, if the company were to crumble, go under, or run away simply because a union was formed… then such a company would never amount to anything, and it certainly isn’t worth anyone’s time or loyalty!!

So, please—and everyone else—have faith in our abilities (including all of us). Listen more to Liu Meizhen's advice.

Finally, I would like to once again express my heartfelt gratitude to you and everyone else for helping and protecting Liu Meizhen during this crisis. I will work together with her and all of you to ensure this matter is handled properly and brought to a successful conclusion.

To

Etiquette

Zhang Jun

October 10, 2006 10:30 p.m.

30. Female Workers at Aoliwei Post a Notice Threatening a Strike

The next morning, the company posted a notice warning Liu Meizhen and the striking female workers:

The current illegal strike by workers and the resulting continuous production stoppages have caused delivery delays for our products. Our customers are extremely upset about this and are demanding compensation from our company, forcing us to suspend operations and close our doors.

The organizers of this illegal strike will be held fully responsible for this incident. The company plans to seek compensation for all economic losses resulting from this incident, with each individual required to pay approximately 15,000 RMB.

This is to give notice.

Aoliwei (Yantai) Electronics Co., Ltd. (Official Seal)

October 12, 2006

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