Iranian Workers Avoid Green Movement

The Iranian Green movement marched through Tehran on Sunday, reminding the world of the post-election riots a few years ago. They were inspired, propelled even, by the revolutionary wave that is shaking the Muslim world. The difference between the Iranian protesters and their counterparts in Tunisia and Egypt is the participation of organized labor.

Workers unions in Tunisia and Egypt went above and beyond to help remove the Western-backed dictators from power. In Iran, the working-class is silent. They were silent during the rowdiness of 2009 as well. The Iranians protesting against the government then and now are mostly middle class liberals, many being university students. In 2009, the students called for a general strike, which the Iranian workers ignored. The workers are still ignoring the students today, and as long as they keep ignoring them the regime will remain in place.

Iran has less income inequality than major Latin American and African countries and Iran doesn't suffer from the same levels of poverty as seen in Egypt.

This isn't to say that Iranian workers are without their share of unpaid wages and awful working conditions. Perhaps the Iranian working-class is aware that an overthrow of the Islamic Republic would only result in the establishment of a worse regime that serves the interests of exploiter countries like the USA and Israel. With that being said, tell the imperialist commentators to wipe that smile off their faces, there will be no puppet governments in Iran anytime soon.