A strike wave in Egypt is adding weight to the democracy movement there, according to press reports. As in many authoritarian regimes there is an “official” Egyptian trade union movement set up to keep workers in line, but that has not stopped independent organizing efforts in the country. (For more on the phenomenon of authoritarianism and the global labor movement see my book on the topic here.)

Now there is a strike underway by workers on the Suez Canal, though details are sketchy. A BBC news crew was detained on its way to cover the strike and sent packing by the authorities.

A sign of the bravery of the movement was the willingness of some workers to protest outside the government controlled union federation itself (picture at left). While the strikes are focused on economic demands their timing indicates a clear tie to the broader social movement underway in the country.

Egypt protesters seek to spread beyond Tahrir Square – CSMonitor.com.

Today’s Times has more details here.

Today was a good day for the Egyptian revolution…the people are not backing down despite clear awareness that they are up against Mubarak, the Egyptian military that he controls and the US Government that is sticking with the regime in its call for an “orderly” transition, which is sounding almost fascistic in quality compared to the clear desires of the Egyptian majority.

BBC News – Analysis: Egypt’s unfinished revolution.

An excellent portrait of how authoritarian politics and neo-liberal economic reform went hand in hand in Mubarak’s Egypt.

Resentment Finds a Target In Ahmed Ezz – NYTimes.com.

As I have said several times, the Egyptian working class is a critical factor in the current events. Historian Joel Beinin at Stanford is an expert on the labor movement in Egypt and was interviewed recently about the current situation.

Historian Joel Beinin on the Egyptian Labor Crisis.

You can learn more by reading this report authored by Joel for the AFL-CIO. Joel also has a very useful chapter in this edited collection on the authoritarian character of neo-liberal reforms in Egypt.