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Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン), or Tozen Union (東ゼン労組), is a Japanese
labour union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
. It was founded on April 25, 2010, by
Louis Carlet Louis Carlet is the founder of Tozen, a union representing both Japanese and migrant workers, including foreign language teachers, bank and newspaper workers. Carlet is from the United States and moved to Japan in the early 1990s, originally w ...
, Tony Dolan, and David Ashton. It is a "godo roso" general amalgamated union, the first ever in Japan with foreigners holding all three top executive positions. Although membership is not restricted to any particular industry, Tozen's members tend to be from the publishing, banking, universities and foreign language teaching industries, with most members located in the Kanto region. The headquarters executive is composed of over 20 members, including Executive President Hifumi Okunuki, and Vice-president Tony Dolan.


Founding of the union

Tozen Union was created when foreign and Japanese members of
National Union of General Workers The National Union of General Workers is the name of: * National Union of General Workers (Sohyo), a former trade union in Japan * National Union of General Workers (Zenrokyo) The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, Engl ...
Tokyo Nambu defected. The NUGW is an older union which traces its roots back to 1956, with the founding of . In 1994, the
National Union of General Workers The National Union of General Workers is the name of: * National Union of General Workers (Sohyo), a former trade union in Japan * National Union of General Workers (Zenrokyo) The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, Engl ...
Tokyo South was formed, then renamed NUGW Tokyo Nambu in 2003. In 2004, the Foreign Workers Caucus was formed inside Nambu, which would eventually come to have 11 local branches. On April 25, 2010, six of these branches voted to separate from Nambu and form Tozen. Many other Nambu branches followed later. Tozen obtained official corporate registration in July 2010, according to its own website. While Tozen uses General Union in its name, it is not affiliated in any way to the
General Union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...
, Fukuoka General Union of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu. Tozen and General Union both have locals/branches at Gaba,
Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
, Bunsai Gakuen, Shane, Berlitz and Interac. Tozen is also not a member of any National Union of General Workers national unions.


Locals

As of September 13, 2022, Tozen Union has 30 local chapters at different workplaces, including:
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
,
Linguaphone Linguaphone may refer to: *Linguaphone (company) Linguaphone is a global language training provider based in London that has provided self-study language courses since 1901. Methodology Linguaphone’s self-study courses follow Linguaphone's in-h ...
,
Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, Filipino/ tl, Bangko Nasyonal ng Pilipinas, lit=; es, Banco Nacional Filipino; Hokkien ) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, durin ...
, Syndicat des Employés de l’Institut Franco-japonais, Lyceé Franco-japonais, Sophia University, Gaba, Apple Japan, Japan College of Foreign Languages, Nichibei Eikaiwa, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Simul Academy, Coco Juku (Nichii Gakkan), Mitsui Fuso, NCC, English Express, Shane English School, Berlitz (Begunto Union). A local union was formed in June 2020 called ALC Local Union. Tozen also represents ALTs at various companies as well as university workers and teachers.


Actions

Tozen and has taken action through the courts and industrial relations bureaucracy a number of times as well as engaging in strikes, leafleting, demonstrations, rallies and freedom of information campaigns. Tozen President (former Paralegal) Hifumi Okunuki began in February 2012 a column in the Japan Times called Labor Pains, in which she details famous labor law court cases. She also writes for Shingetsu News Agency. Then Executive President Louis Carlet on March 11, 2011, spoke to Democracy Now! about the situation in Tokyo after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Tozen was cited by the U.S. State Department's human rights report on Japan for the union's long campaign to enroll teachers in
shakai hoken Social welfare, assistance for the ill or otherwise disabled and the old, has long been provided in Japan by both the government and private companies. Beginning in the 1920s, the Japanese government enacted a series of welfare programs, based main ...
health and pension insurance. Tozen also spoke with political activist
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
in March 2014.


Visit to Iceland

Between February 27 and March 11, 2019, Tozen Union President Hifumi Okunuki, Chief Financial Officer Louis Carlet, and Field Director (and Rengo Trade Union Confederation Executive) Gerome Rothman participated in a guest lecture series organized by Iceland's second largest labour union, Efling. Based on an invitation from Efling's Organizing Division (Félagssvið), on March 3, 2019, Tozen Union gave a presentation about its structure, history, range of activity, and the basics of Japanese labour law. The event was live-streamed. And on March 5, 2019, Tozen Union led a workshop on the subject of workplace organizing. On March 8, 2019, Hifumi Okunuki, and Louis Carlet were interviewed by Icelandic television about Efling's one-day maids' strike covering the whole of Reykjavík, which took place on the same date.


Notable legal victories


The Language of Labour Relations

While most foreign workers in Japan are employed in the context of their native language, or English, both at the time of hiring and during their day-to-day workplace operations, employers typically attempt to dominate foreign union members by refusing to negotiate in the language of the workplace. In response Tozen Union invented and endeavours to establish the concept of The Language of Labour Relations, which contends that employers are not allowed to suddenly use a different language when their employees begin Collective Bargaining. In a 2016 Tokyo Labour Commission ruling on Tozen Union's case against
Tokyo Gakugei University Tokyo Gakugei University (東京学芸大学, ''Tōkyō gakugei daigaku'') is a national university in Koganei, Tokyo. Founded in 1873, it was chartered as a university in 1949. It is also known as ''Gakudai'' (学大) and TGU, for short. In add ...
, the commission established that employers are not allowed to unilaterally establish the conditions of Collective Bargaining, confirming that this includes the language in which negotiations will take place.


The right to strike for independent contractors

In an October 2019 Tokyo Labour Commission ruling, the commission established that teachers hired by Gaba Corporation as independent contractors have the right to strike. Tozen union and its Gaba Union Local sued Gaba Corporation to overturn warning letters issued to striking teachers. Gaba Corporation claimed that its over 1000 teachers were independent contractors, and thus were not protected by the rights of workers and Japan's Trade Union act. In a previous Osaka Labour Commission case victory filed by the General Union, the commission had recognized these employees' right to Collectively Bargain. Gaba Corporation management tried to nullify the impact of the ruling by claiming that even if the teachers had the right to Collective Bargaining, they didn't have the right to strike, which the Tokyo Labour Commission rejected based on Tozen's arguments. In Japan, the right to Solidarity, Collective Bargaining, and Collective Action (including strikes) are set in Article 28 of the Constitution, and cannot be divided.


See also

*
Labor unions in Japan Labour unions emerged in Japan in the second half of the Meiji period, after 1890, as the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization.Nimura, K''The Formation of Japanese Labor Movement: 1868-1914''(Translated by Terry Boardman). Retriev ...
* Japanese employment law


References

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External links


Tozen UnionTozen on TwitterTozen on Facebook
Trade unions in Japan Trade unions established in 2010