 |
| IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger introduces Sweden Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to labor leaders of the global union IndustriALL. |
IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger introduced Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to a gathering of IndustriALL leaders this week in Stockholm, Sweden, welcoming the former welder and trade union leader as a driving force in the global struggle for all progressive efforts.
“In the short time since he has assumed the position as Sweden’s Prime Minister, Stefan established himself on the world’s stage as the leading figure in the fight for workers’ rights,” said Buffenbarger, who served alongside Löfven on IndustriALL’s Executive Committee. “He truly understands the importance of unions for a sustainable economy and what dignity and justice on the job really means.”
In his remarks, Löfven emphasized the importance of trade unions and the rights of workers to a sustainable economy.
Prior to being elected Prime Minister of Sweden in October 2014, Löfven served as president of the 450,000-member Swedish Metalworkers’ Union (IF Metall) from 2006 to 2012, when he was elected to lead Sweden’s Social Democratic Party. In 2007, the IAM and IF Metall formed an historic trans-Atlantic union alliance to better serve union members employed by global corporations.
“Stefan is the first welder, first trade union leader, first Executive Committee member of the International Metalworkers Federation and first graduate of my union’s educational and training facility to go on to lead a major nation” said Buffenbarger. “Stefvan was also recently named the United Nation’s Impact World Champion, leading an international effort to achieve gender equality, or as Hillary Clinton once termed, ‘the great unfinished business of the 21st Century.’”
The IndustriALL Global Union represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors and is a force in global solidarity taking up the fight for better working conditions and trade union rights around the world. Buffenbarger serves on IndustriALL’s Executive Committee as Vice President.
