 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MARCH 2003 CLR INDEXMonthly Indexes are a free service provided by the Campaign for Labor Rights (Washington, DC). Please distribute widely and freely, citing the Campaign for Labor Rights as your source. Table of Contents1.CLR Campaigns 2. International Struggles 3.Domestic Struggles 4. Announcements 5. Resources 6. Jobs back to top 1.CLR Campaigns1.1 URGENT: Puma Workers Need Your Support1. CALL, FAX or EMAIL the Mexican Embassy or a consulate closest to you. Ask the Mexican government to intervene on behalf of the workers (see below for a full list of Mexican Embassy or consulate telephone numbers and/or email addresses). 2. EMAIL OR CALL the Director of Government and the Izucar de Matamoros government. Demand that the Mexican Government intervene in this emergency matter. 3. EMAIL OR CALL the Local Labor Board in Puebla, Mexico. Demand that they grant SITEMAG (Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores de la Empresa Matamoros Garment) its legal registration and intervene to assure the workers well being during the time of their plant closure. 4. EMAIL or FAX Puma and blast them for avoiding their responsibility to workers at the Matamoros Garment factory. There has been a flurry of activity in the PUMA campaign in the past seven days. On Thursay, March 20, the Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR) and United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) had an emergency meeting with Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister Mario Chacon, the day that the period within which to grant legal recognition of SITEMAG was to expire. CLR and USAS pressed the demand that SITEMAG (Sindicato Independiente de la Empresa Matamoros Garment) be recognized as a duly constituted union. Minister Chacon agreed to contact the two local authorities that CAT (Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador) named in its action alert, Melitón Lozano Perez, Director of the Matamoros Government and Armando Toxqui Quintero, President of the local labor board in Matamoros and also the Minister of Labor today to convey our concerns that recognition be granted, other issues of importance to the workers be settled and that the local authorities begin talks with CAT and SITEMAG toward a resolution. Minister Chacon reported back that same day that he made calls immediately after our meeting. We are awaiting word. On Monday, March 17, 2003, Matamoros Garment informed workers that the plant would close until further notice and that workers should pick-up their last paychecks on Thursday, March 20. Angry at the abrupt, irresponsible factory closure and expecting the end of Matamoros Garment as we know it, the SITEMAG supporters and the Centro Apoyo Trabajadores, a worker support center, demanded a meeting from the Municipal President of Izúcar de Matamoros, Prof. Melitón Lozano Perez, a recently-elected P.R.D. leader. Incidentally, Thursday, March 20, is when the 60-day waiting period is up for the Local Labor Board to notify SITEMAG whether their petition for legal recognition will be recognized. CAT believes Matamoros Garment, PUMA, the Local Labor Board, the C.T.M., and perhaps even the Izúcar de Matamoros government and the Puebla state government have consciously orchestrated the events of this ill-fated week, including the intentional denial of legal recognition to SITEMAG Stay tuned for updates and please call, email, or fax those listed above to support the Matamoros workers. BACKGROUND Two hundred factory workers staged a work stoppage at the Matamoros Garment Factory on January 13th, protesting the non-payment of wages, forced overtime, the imposition of a sweetheart union and the dangerous practice of locking workers inside the factory during work hours. They also called for the recognition of an independent union, Sindicato Independiente de la Empresa Matamoros Garment (SITEMAG), in conjunction with Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador (CAT). The factory management responded by informing the workers that as a result of their actions, well-known German sportwear company PUMA terminated its contract. Massive international pressure forced PUMA to enter into discussions with CAT about the workers charges. Also at issue at these talks was PUMA refusal to acknowledge that violations of workers rights have occurred and that workers had a right to freely choose a union without company harassment or pressure. The workers called on PUMA to withdraw recognition from the sweetheart union, Sindicato Francisco Villa of the CTM. In violation of discussion protocols and in an attempt to circumvent the independent union, PUMA issued a public statement in early February refuting the workers claims. On February 12th, CAT responded with a scathing denunciation and reissued a call for international solidarity. Negotiations were ongoing between PUMA and CAT. At a press conference in Cologne, Germany on February 25th, CAT restated its demands, and PUMA agreed to place new orders that day. However, in the past two weeks, no new orders have been placed. URGENT ACTION NEEDED CAT has called on US/LEAP, Maquila Solidarity Network, United Students Against Sweatshops, Mexico Solidarity Network, Campaign for Labor Rights, No Sweat, Clean Clothes Campaign, and all of their supporters to urgently help prevent the Local Labor Board from denying the unions registration, demand that Melitóns government do everything possible to protect its citizen-workers, and blast PUMA for failing in its responsibility to the workers. WHAT YOU CAN DO BY ORDER OF IMPORTANCE! 1. CALL, FAX or EMAIL the Mexican Embassy or a consulate closest to you to intervene on behalf of the workers (see below for a full list of telephone numbers and/or email addresses) 2. EMAIL OR CALL Director of Government, Professor Melitón Lozano Perez and the Izúcar de Matamoros government to demand that the government intervene. Demand that they solve the land tenancy question of Matamoros Garment so the owner John Kim can legally take over the factory. Challenge the Local Labor Board to grant the independent unions registration and intervene to ensure the workers well-being, and meet with the CAT and SITEMAG to find out how he can be their ally in this process. Prof. Melitón Lozano Perez Honorable Ayuntamiento de Izúcar de Matamoros Palacio Municipal S/N Colonia Centro Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, México 74400 Tel: (243) 4360006 Email: info@izucar.com.mx 3. EMAIL OR CALL the Local Labor Board in Puebla, Mexico and demand that they grant SITEMAG its legal registration and intervene to assure the workers well being during the time of their plant closure. Lic. Armando Toxqui Quintero Presidente Junta Local de Conciliación y Arbitraje 7 Norte 205 Colonia Centro Puebla, Puebla, México Tel: (222) 2322551 Send an email here: http://www.puebla.gob.mx/gobierno/escribealgobernador.html 4. EMAIL or FAX Puma and blast them for avoiding responsibility to workers at the Matamoros Garment factory who make Puma apparel and demand that they work with owner John Kim and the workers to bring its production back when the plant reopens. PUMA A.G. Reiner Hengstmann and Jochen Zeitz Email: reiner.hengstmann@puma.com and jochen.zeitz@puma.com Fax: 49-9132-812246 EMBASSY OF MEXICO For a local consulate in your area, visit: www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm back to top 1.2 CIW Hunger Strike Ends: Taco Bell Boycott ContinuesCONTINUE to boycott Taco Bell, corporate heads refuse to dialogue. Visit www.ciw-online.org for more information on how to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their historic campaign. Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) members say: The hunger strike ends with the boycott stronger than ever. Heeding religious leaders appeals to end the fast and their promise to take up the workers struggle, on Day 10 of their hunger strike, farmworkers from Immokalee, FL, and their allies ended their fast outside Taco Bell headquarters on March 5. The ten-day fast was launched to bring attention to the human rights abuses -- from sweatshop conditions to modern-day slavery -- in the tomato fields where Taco Bell buys its tomatoes. The hunger strikers ended their fast symbolically with the breaking of bread in an Ash Wednesday service in honor of the strikers on the street in front of Taco Bells towering glass office building in Irvine, California. The hunger strike was the largest such protest in US labor history, with more than 50 fasters participating in the action. The strikers stayed day and night in an encampment outside Taco Bell headquarters, and were honored in a mass convergence and rally at the strike site on Friday, Feb. 28th, by more than 1,000 people coming from across California and from Arizona and Oregon. In the final days of the fast -- over the course of which three hunger strikers were hospitalized -- several religious allies expressed their concern for the strikers health. The National Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ, all wrote urging the strikers to break their fast, with the promise to help carry the workers struggle forward in the coming days. Visit www.campaignforlaborrights.org and www.ciw-online.org for more information. back to top 1.3 Duro Workers in Mexico Win Case but are Denied Reinstatement, Still Need International Support One More Time- EMAIL, CALL, FAX or WRITE Charles Shor, CEO of Duro Bag Manufacturing Company and tell him to reinstate the workers, pay all workers their due amount, and improve conditions at the Duro factory in Mexico. - DONATE to the Duro Workers so they can continue their struggle for justice. Duro Bag Company workers assemble shopping bags used by giant corporations such as Hallmark and Nieman Marcus in factories in the border town of Rio Bravo, Mexico earning barely $4.00 a day. In 2001, they attempted to establish an independent union, but lost after fraudulent elections and the firing of 150 workers. Many others were threatened and beaten. The fired workers refuse to stop organizing, and formed a workers center and have been fighting for their jobs and back wages ever since. Duro workers are on the verge of getting their jobs and back wages, or getting their severance payments, but they need your support one more time. On March 12, 2003, the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (CAB) of Mexico denied the Duro Company appeal of an earlier decision; Duro must now reinstate the workers with their back pay or, if it refuses to reinstate, it must pay them FULL severance according to the Mexican Federal Labor Law. Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM) and its members are working on sending letters to all Duro Company clients to pressure the Duro Company into abiding by the CAB resolution. The Workers requests are as follows:
In its latest ploy, the Duro Company is trying to trick and pressure the workers into accepting their liquidation paychecks instead of paying them their back wages and reinstating them back to work as the CAB resolution mandates. Duro has offered a significantly reduced severance payment amount for all the workers involved. The company also does not want to include the Government mandated salary increases for 2001. Duro is offering to pay their liquidation instead of their severance and, in addition, Duro continues to wrongly tabulate the seniority of the workers in order to avoid paying them their due. There is a significant difference between liquidation and severance. With liquidation, Duro will pay workers 12 days of wages for each year they have worked with the company, while severance will pay workers 90 days of wages plus 32 days for every year worked at the factory. CJM does not have resources to keep financing the transportation and expenses of the legal advisers from Mexico City to represent the workers every time the CAB is calling for a hearing on the border. Duro workers need your support in order to be able to end the case and their labor rights be respected. EMAIL, FAX, CALL or WRITE Charles Shor, CEO of Duro Bag Manufacturing Company at: Duro Bag Manufacturing Company DONATE to the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras at 4207 Willow Brook, San Antonio, TX 78228 and write Duro Workers on the memo of your check or donation. Information for this Action Alert came from Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, http://www.coalitionforjustice.net. back to top 1.4 FTAA Campaign Update - March 2003For more updates on the campaign against the FTAA, visit www.campaignforlaborrights.org MOBILIZING FOR MIAMI - Date and Venue Set The US Trade Representative will hold the Americas Business Forum at the downtown Miami Hyatt, and the November 20-22 trade ministers meeting at the nearby Intercontinental. Activists are educating, building coalitions, and making plans for this crucial event. Check www.ftaamiami.org for updates. GET IN ON THIS TOUR: This year, the 10th anniversary of the passage of NAFTA, Global Exchange is organizing a Tri-National No NAFTA Expansion Tour featuring Mexican campesino organizer Victor Quintana, a Canadian union healthcare worker, and US leader Cheri Honkala. The tour starts in DC on April 11 and tours the east coast, including Miami and Tampa. On April 21 it appears in Texas, visits the Southwest till the 30th, and heads through California for Oregon and Washington. For information contact David Edeli at Global Exchange at (415) 575-5553 or trade@globalexchange.org. AND COME TO MIAMI FOR THESE IMPORTANT DATES: June 19, 2003: Jobs with Justice is hosting an international meeting on the FTAA in Miami. JwJs national conference follows, June 20-22. Visit www.jwj.org for more information. November 19-22: The AFL-CIO, Citizens Trade Campaign, the Florida Fair Trade Coalition, and Jobs with Justice are among those organizing teach-ins, seminars, reality tours, concerts and more! To hook in or learn more, interested groups can contact CTC at 202-778-3320, ftaainfo@citizenstrade.org , or FFTC at 727-869-8224, info@flfairtrade.org. AFL-CIO Passes Resolution against FTAA; Labor Maps out Plans for Miami! On February 27, the AFL-CIO Executive Council issued a statement against the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas: Now is the time for the American labor movement to mobilize a grassroots education and outreach campaign here in the United States to build awareness about the FTAA and to educate our elected officials and candidates in preparation for the 2004 elections. Our actions now will determine the FTAAs future and thus the direction of economic development in the region for years to come. The Executive Council has identified Miami as an important opportunity to defeat the flawed FTAA. Their campaign plans include: Developing popular materials on the FTAA, coordinating to educate union members through town meetings, speaking tours, and local events; Launching a postcard campaign (print and Internet) for hundreds of thousands of union members to denounce the FTAA, with postcards to be delivered in Miami; Working with global allies to highlight international solidarity and develop a more just alternative to free trade; Focusing public scrutiny on the big corporations pushing the FTAA at the expense of worker, environmental and consumer protections; Working with Congress, state and local officials to build broad-based political support for an FTAA alternative and to democratize the debate on trade leading up to the 2004 elections. For the full text of the resolution and updates on the campaign against the FTAA, visit www.campaignforlaborrights.org. CAFTA UPDATES The FTAA deadline is the end of 2004, but the Central American Free Trade Agreement is on a fast track for completion this year. CAFTA is a US plan to preempt continued opposition to the FTAA. If it passes, it will be harder to stop the same pernicious trade rules in the FTAA. Many local and national activist groups understand this urgency and are fighting against CAFTA, here and in Central America: 50 people protested at a recent CAFTA meeting in Cincinnati; CISPES and other international labor and human rights groups successfully occupied the Salvadoran Consulates in New York and San Francisco last month to protest the Central American governments privatization of health care, treatment of unions, and free trade initiatives; the consulates were forced to shut down temporarily. LOCAL REPORTS - Pittsburgh Looking to Hook Up in Miami Pittsburgh Organizing Group www.organizepittsburgh.org is interested in talking with other groups about their plans for the Miami ministerial meeting in November. They are looking to maybe coordinate some teach-ins at the event, and will be looking for possible speakers. Contact POG to get the ball rolling at pog@mutualaid.org. - New York City Calls for Organizers! The New York City Peoples Consultation is off the ground and looking for new members! Meetings are at 7pm every first and third Wednesday of the month, at 130 West 29th Street, 9th floor. All are welcome to come get involved in any of the three committees: Media and Literature, Outreach, and Congresswatch. Contact them at 212-760-0333, or go to www.ftaareferendum.org to find out more. - Global Justice Roadshow Sweeps the US, Creates Documentary on Free Trade! The Global Justice Roadshow, an Arizona-based collective, successfully conducted 23 workshops in 15 cities this fall, educating and organizing students and citizens around the IMF/World Bank, the FTAA, CAFTA, and the PPP. Workshops included slide presentations from the refugee camps and aerial spraying in Colombia, MST camps in Brazil, maquiladora workers in Mexico, and the OCP pipeline in Ecuador; the presentations inspired an uproar of horror, discussion, and excitement from the crowds gathered to learn more about neoliberal policy. Justin Rohde, one coordinator, says: people making connections between their struggles and others in the third world or inner city, between imperialism and free trade, between racism and US foreign policy inspires me to this day . . . [we] proved that anyone could collect the information and touch the lives of hundreds of people by being honest, personal, and creative. In January, GJR went to Argentina and the World Social Forum to film a documentary on the economic crisis, privitization, and free trade. Rohde offers some insight for activists interested in similar projects: Through Indymedia Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Arizona I have been able to open a clear mode of communication and solidarity, and recommend that more people in the US learn to use those sites to listen more clearly to our Latin American sisters and brothers. back to top 2. International Struggles2.1 Anti-War UpdateFrom US Labor Against the War (USLAW): RESPONSE TO WAR ON IRAQ Despite the enormous effort of many millions of people around the globe -- including many trade unionists -- to prevent this war, the U.S. and Great Britain have launched an invasion of Iraq. We condemn this military invasion. We have said from the beginning that we are gravely concerned about our own economy: jobs, health care, pensions, education, housing, and other social needs. This now includes making resources available to care for the veterans of the war on Iraq. We will defend Arab people in the U.S. against racist violence and political persecution that this war may provoke. We intend to make sure that the cost of the war is not used as an excuse to prevent us from meeting these urgent needs or as a basis for eroding civil liberties and trade union rights in the name of national security. We support and defend the right of the people to protest this unjust war and restore the path to peace, including the actions taken by trade unions and workers around the world ranging from demonstrations to work stoppages. We urge union members in the U.S. to participate in local antiwar events and activities, to make their voices heard, to lobby their representatives, and to take action consistent with their convictions to demonstrate their opposition to this war on Iraq. For full text of statement and more information about USLAW: back to top --- Iraq: Global Unions Deplore Unacceptable and Unjustified Decision To Go To War (ICFTU statement) The launching of this military conflict by certain governments in the absence of clear United Nations authority is unacceptable and unjustified. Real possibilities for resolving this crisis through peaceful means and with the broadest international support have been squandered by this rush to war. Working people and their trade unions around the world have raised their voices to call for the Iraq crisis to be resolved peacefully and through the UN. Now, many trade unions are calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The international trade union movement shares these concerns and fully supports all legitimate and peaceful protests by trade unions against this decision to go to war. New determination and new initiatives to tackle conflict peacefully must now be the resolve of the entire international community, and we must redouble our struggle to make social justice a reality for all people. The Global Unions grouping will continue and redouble its efforts to ensure that the paramount objectives of international peace and security are met at all times in accordance with the provisions of international law, through the United Nations. We call on all our affiliates to intensify their actions to promote respect for the United Nations and commitment to its vital role in avoiding and resolving conflicts peacefully. Global Unions is the grouping of international trade union organizations comprising the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Global Union Federations, and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD. For full text and more information, visit www.icftu.org. back to top 2.2 Support Levis Workers in SaipanTell Levis it is high time they settled the Saipan lawsuit. Levis Jeans are an American icon and their logo is recognized by consumers around the world, even in the most remote regions of the globe. Many consumers identify with the logo but are unaware of Levis refusal to settle the Saipan lawsuit, even though they spent 14 years on the island profiting from the exploitation of workers. On January 13, 1999 in the first-ever industry-wide attempt to hold US retailers and manufacturers accountable for the mistreatment of garment workers in foreign-owned factories operating on US soil, a lawsuit was filed against top US clothing companies, including Levi-Strauss & Co, for denying workers their basic human rights and for keeping workers in a state of indentured servitude. On March 19th 2003, Fairness meetings were held in Saipan and it is expected that the $20 million dollar settlement will be approved. 26 retailers and 23 manufacturers settled the case, and Levis is the only retailer who refuses to settle. Tell Levis that as a consumer you care about the workers in Saipan and as a 4 billion dollar company they should take responsibility for their involvement in the Saipan garment industry. SAMPLE LETTER (Date here) Robert Haas, Chairman Levi-Strauss & Company Dear Mr. Haas: As a Levis customer, I want to express my concern about the sweatshop conditions and labor abuses on the island of Saipan. As a global company contracting in dozens of countries worldwide, Levis has an obligation to its customers and its workers to reverse the race to the bottom in labor standards that is occurring in the garment industry. In Saipan and across the globe, Levis has a responsibility to lead the way towards ending labor and human rights abuses by taking steps to: · Protect workers rights, including the freedom of association and collective bargaining. · Abolish the use of labor contracts that deny workers their basic human rights. · Ban the collection of recruitment fees and create a trust fund to repay such fees for all present and former workers, and pay return passage for any present or former worker who wishes to return home. · Set up a credible, enforceable independent monitoring system, with semiannual public reports, to ensure an end to all labor, health and safety abuses. As the Fairness hearings are meeting in Saipan, I urge you to settle the Saipan lawsuit and work towards make the garment industry a safer place for all. I thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to hearing your response. Sincerely, (Your name here) For more information on the Levis case and to download postcards and factsheets please visit: www.sweatshopwatch.org/marianas/help.html back to top 2.3 Boycott Burma Products! Call May Department Stores Every FridayCALL or WRITE May Department Stores every Friday and tell them to stop stocking products Made in Burma. May Department Stores, owner of Lord & Taylor, Kaufmanns, Foleys, Filenes, Hechts, Robinson-May, and Strawbridges continue to retail products made in the country of Burma where a brutal military dictatorship systematically presses people to work on slave labor projects, commits mass rapes of ethnic minority women and girls, and forcibly conscripts thousands of children into the military. By selling products Made in Burma or Made in Myanmar, May helps the Burma dictatorship get cash from American consumers Join in a national call-in EVERY FRIDAY and express your outrage over May Department Stores carrying Made in Burma products. CALL one of the following busy May stores: Hechts, Tysons Corner, VA - 703-893-4900 (Exec. Offices ext. 499) Hechts, North East Raleigh, NC - 919-760-1856 (Exec. Offices ext. 499) Lord & Taylor, Manhattan, New York - 212-391-3344 Lord & Taylor, Boston /Prudential Center - 617-262-6000 Robinsons-May, Santa Maria, CA - 805-349-8940 Also, call James Harner, Vice President for Customer Service at 314-342-6300. Ask to speak with the manager and then make these points in your phone call: 1. You are aware that May does not source private-label product from manufacturers in Burma; but that their Vendor Responsibility Program makes little difference as long as the company continues to retail products from companies who are not concerned about the conditions under which the products are produced. 2. May Department Stores policy does not address the manufacture of products in countries with the worst labor standards of all: those where there is no rule of law, like Burma. 3. Factories in Burma, including garment factories, are closely tied to prison, convict, forced, or indentured labor and child labor which May claims to oppose. Forced labor - including forced child labor - is used in the construction of factories in Burma and infrastructure as well. 4. Other companies have agreed to stop stocking products from Burma, including Federated Department Stores, Wal-Mart, Burlington Coat Factory, Gart Sports, IKEA, Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Costco, and Family Dollar. 5. Since May carries products made in Burma from a small number of suppliers it should be easy for them to stop. 6. May perpetuates slavery in Burma by helping to create a demand for products made there, and May has the moral duty to stop. 7. MOST IMPORTANT: YOU WILL NOT SHOP AT ANY MAY DEPARTMENT STORES (or its subsidiary chains Lord & Taylor, Famous-Barr, Filenes, Foleys, Hechts, Kaufmanns, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, Strawbridges, The Jones Store, Davids Bridal, After Hours, or Priscilla of Boston) UNTIL THE COMPANY STOPS SELLINGS GOODS FROM BURMA If you are outside of the calling areas listed above, you can WRITE a letter to the May Department Store CEO at the address below: Gene Kahn Chairman/CEO - May Department Stores Please send details of your conversations with Mays representatives or letters to CEO Gene Kahn to dbeeton@freeburmacoalition.org, www.freeburmacoalition.org, or call 202-547-5985. Information for this alert came from the Free Burma Coalition. back to top 2.4 Indonesian Workers in Struggle Against Wal-Mart SupplierCALL, FAX, or WRITE in support of Indonesian garment workers who make clothes for Wal-Mart. Workers at a garment factory in Indonesia that produces clothing for Wal-Mart have had their wages withheld over the past two months and need international support and pressure on the company that owns the factory, PT Mitra Guna Sahabat Utama. The Association of Garment and Textile Workers of Indonesia (AGTBeks) is requesting that individual and organizations sends letters of protest against the company. The AGTBeks hopes that the letters of support pressures the company into paying the withheld wages as well as opening up negotiations with the workers. The workers have not issued protest letters to Wal-Mart, fearing that this would result in Wal-Mart withdrawing orders from the factory. This would have an enormous impact on the 300 workers and their families, who are already suffering in a crisis. Your protest letters should be sent to: Mr. Yohanes Marjohan Managing Directory PT Mitra Guna Sahabat Utama Head Office: Branches: Please copy your protest letter to: Central Committee, ABGTeks, Jakarta. Tel/Fax: +62-21 786 4203 back to top 3.Domestic Struggles3.1 FLOC Demonstration in Mt. Olive, NC on April 13On April 13, join with hundreds of activists, people of faith, students, farm workers, and supporters who will converge in Mt. Olive, North Carolina to demand justice for the workers who pick cucumbers on farms contracted by the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. In 1999, FLOC called a boycott against the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. after they refused to negotiate contracts with thousands of workers who chose to be represented by FLOC. The Mt. Olive Pickle Co., headed by CEO Bill Bryan, has taken a strongly anti-union stance and refuses to recognize the voice of the very farm workers whose labor not only feeds us, but helps the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. reap millions in profits. These profits come at the expense of workers who are denied the right to organize, live in overcrowded and run-down housing, and often not even provided water in the fields which caused the death of Urbano Ramirez who died of heat stroke after being denied medical treatment in the summer of 2001 after picking cucumbers on a farm contracted by a Mt. Olive grower. For more information about the April 13th demonstration, visit: http://www.floc.com/april13.shtml For more information about the Mt. Olive boycott, visit: http://www.floc.com/boycott.php?frame=1 back to top 4. Announcements4.1 Cross Border Dialogues BookThe Center for U.S. - Mexican Studies, UCSD, is pleased to announce the publication of: Cross-Border Dialogues - U.S. - Mexico Social Movement Networking David Brooks and Jonathan Fox, editors Published by the Center for U.S. - Mexican Studies Paperback, $25.95 Is globalization from above really paralleled by globalization from below? The Mexico - U.S. relationship offers a paradigm case for exploring the degree to which social organizations and public interest groups from North and South are actually joining forces in an effort to influence the terms of international economic integration. This collection brings together assessments of a decade of social responses to economic integration between the United States and Mexico, documenting the emergence of social organizations and constituencies as key actors in the bilateral relationship. The studies address labor, environmental, trade advocacy, Latino and immigrant rights, small farmer, and pro-democracy/human rights movements. The authors include both key social organization strategists and researchers who have followed more than a decade of cross-border networking. This book tells the story of the uninvited guests to the transnational negotiating table, their strategies, frustrations, and limitations. For many of these broad-based social constituencies, this process involved a major shift toward thinking transnationally. Their recognition of the ways in which international policies were directly affecting their national and local interests led them to seek out counterparts across borders, though finding common ground required a willingness to agree to disagree. Beginning more than a decade ago, the broadening of the public debate over the terms of economic integration between Mexico and the United States succeeded in embedding social and environmental concerns on the international economic policy agenda and foreshadowed the widespread international questioning of globalization that followed. Jonathan Fox is professor and department chair of the Latin American and Latino Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. David Brooks is U.S. Bureau Chief for the newspaper La Jornada. To purchase this book or for more information, call (858) 534-1160 or visit http://usmex.ucsd.edu back to top 4.2 Latin America Solidarity Conference, April 10-15, 2003Organize Now for April 2003! Mobilization Against Military and Economic Intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean As The U.S. government and powerful international financial institutions are accelerating corporate globalization in Latin America and the Caribbean and the U.S asserts its regional domination by providing military aid and training to repressive governments, we must stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers throughout the Americas. The Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC), has initiated a Call to Action for the Mobilization against the Military and Economic Intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean from April-10-15, 2003 in Washington, DC. The April Mobilization will include a massive protest rally on Sunday, April 13, followed by a march to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) buildings, where their annual spring meetings are taking place. We are coordinating with movements throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to make this an International Day of Action. The Mobilization will also include the Latin America Solidarity Conference III (register now!) with direct action trainings, educational workshops and strategy sessions, a lobby day to close the School of the Americas, street theatre, film screenings and more. The Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC) is an association of national and local US-based grassroots Latin America and Caribbean solidarity groups, many of which have long histories of working with grassroots organizations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. LASCs goal is to define common goals and shared strategies for these groups. LASCs work circles around several hemisphere-wide issues as well as country-specific topics. If you would like a free LASC poster, put together by the widely acclaimed propagandists the Beehive Collective (www.beehivecollective.org), please email or call the Campaign for Labor Rights at organize@clrlabor.org or 202-232-5002 For more information, visit www.lasolidarity.org or call 202-234-3440. back to top 4.3 Citizens' Trade Campaign Summer Internship 2003Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) is a national coalition of environmental, labor, consumer, family farm, religious, and other civil society groups based in the United States. We are united in a common belief that international trade and investment are not ends unto themselves, but instead must be viewed as a means for achieving other societal goals such as economic justice, human rights, healthy communities, and a sound environment. CTC is currently working to defeat the Free Trade Area of the Americas and expansion of the WTO and promote alternatives to the neoliberal model of corporate globalization. An intern will have the opportunity to learn about grassroots organizing as well as how to work with Congress to influence policy. Working in a small office offers an intern a diverse variety of responsibilities. CTCs major campaign over the summer will be the mobilization for the FTAA Miami Ministerial in November 2003. Location: Washington, DC Application deadline: April 15, 2003 To apply: Send resume, cover letter, brief writing sample, and the contact information for two references to: mhcaine@citizenstrade.org, fax: 202 293 5308 Megan Caine - Internship Search Citizens Trade Campaign PO BOX 77077 Washington DC 20013 www.citizenstrade.org back to top 4.4 National Student Labor Week of Action, March 31st to April 4th, 2003Celebrate the lives of Cesar Chavez & Dr Martin Luther King Jr by joining together to demand justice for workers on our campuses, in our communities, and around the world. Brought to you by SLAP, a joint project of Jobs with Justice and the United States Students Association. Partnering organizations for the Student Labor Day of Action are: United Students Against Sweatshops, National Movimiento Estudantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (MEChA), TransAfrica, Student Action with Farmworkers, and Not with Our Money. Students around the country are ALREADY planning major events for the week of March 31-April 4th! Check out www.jwj.org/SLAP/A4/2003.htm for the Organizing Packet, and let USAS organizers know what you are planning! Contact organize@usasnet.org. back to top 5. Resources5.1 The Front Lines - Stories from teh War Against Colombian UnionistsThe testimonies in THE FRONT LINE --given by men and women in public and private sector, blue- and white-collar jobs--tell of the violence against labor unionists in Colombia. They are the stories of the unionists who, in October, 2002, were living in Washington, DC as participants in the Colombian Trade Union Training Program. All names and places have been changed. These workers lives are at risk because of their involvement with labor unions in Colombia, the most dangerous country in the world for union workers. In 2001, 195 labor unionists were assassinated. In the last decade, over 1500 were assassinated. The assaults, kidnappings, forced disappearances, and death threats number in the thousands. These testimonies depict the nature of this violence in a way statistics cannot. The Colombian Trade Union Training Program brings threatened workers to Washington, DC for a sixth-month course in English, computer skills, and collective bargaining. The participants spend a second six months interning at various union locals across the U.S. The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center hosts the program. For the full testimonies, go to: www.ips-dc.org/colombian_unionists. back to top 5.2 Aziz Choudry on WTO, War, and GlobalizationCheck out this phenomenal piece by Aziz Choudry, from ZNET, on the CLR website: http://www.clrlabor.org/alerts/2003/Mar23-WTO-War.htm back to top 5.3 EPZ Organizers Meeting, May 25-27, 2001 -- Notes and PapersThe Solidarity Center of the AFL-CIO has published the workshop proceedings of the Globalization, Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and Labor in the Maquila Sector workshop held in Puebla, Mexico on May 25-27 2001. Sections include: Summary Notes and Recommendations, Organizing Experiences in the Maquila: Success and Failure, How Local Organizations Create Global Connections: The Case of Mexico, and EPZ and Maquila Factories in the Context of the Global Economy. Contact Marc Bayard at the Solidarity Center for copies. His phone number is 202-778-4615, and his email is mbayard@solidaritycenter.org. back to top 6. Jobs6.1 STITCH Central American Program CoordinatorCentral American Program Coordinator Application Deadline - Open Job Description Overview of the Organization: STITCH, formed in 1996, is a network of US women organizers, trainers, and activists which supports and connects Central American and US women organizing for economic justice. STITCH believes women across borders face many of the same challenges and can support each other in strengthening womens leadership, building their organizations, and challenging injustices in the workplace and global economy. In Central America, STITCH works primarily with unions in the maquila and banana sectors in Guatemala and Honduras. STITCH is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with one full-time Director and one part-time Assistant Director based in Washington, DC in addition to the Guatemala-based Program Coordinator. Responsibilities: Coordinate all aspects of the current Central America program, including: Training Exchanges and Workshops. Identify the training needs of new and established women leaders in Central American unions. Plan and carry out workshops on topics related to organizing, leadership and union-building. Develop and oversee training and education programs for women workers, in collaboration with Central American partners. Build relationships between Central American and US unions, womens NGOs and other trainers. Language School Delegations. Plan and setup all aspects of the delegation, including meetings with partners in Guatemala, language classes, logistics and publicity materials. Lead delegations of US women activists and organizers in Guatemala. Plan and assist in US-based follow-up work with delegation participants Documentation Project. Collect testimonies and stories from women workers in Central America for use in published booklets and other outlets in the US. Write articles for STITCH Board, publications, allies, and website. Carry out other program responsibilities as they arise, such as campaign support work and coordinating the participation of Central American women at US training conferences, workshops and speaking events. Program Development. In coordination with US staff and Board, expand and develop the training program with Central American union and womens NGO partners. Investigate program possibilities in new industries and countries. Develop and maintain relationships with key labor and NGO partners in CA, trainers and allies. Monitor and understand current events in Central America, especially regarding labor and womens rights. Maintain STITCHs Guatemala Office. Provide regular reports on program activities and progress to US staff, Board and donors. Provide financial oversight to Central American-based programs including developing and monitoring program budgets and record-keeping. Oversee volunteers and interns, as needed. Qualifications: Bilingual in English and Spanish essential. 3-5 years hands-on experience in labor or community organizing. Experience with worker education (labor education, community-based training, popular education), developing training programs around leadership and organizational skills, for both organizations and individuals. Ability to lead groups and delegations. Willingness to travel frequently in Central America and the US. Must be a self-motivator, with an ability to work alone with minimal supervision. Excellent oral and written communications skills. Must enjoy interacting with people and be able to relate to people with a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail. Computer skills. Familiarity with Central America, especially Guatemala or Honduras, a plus. The position is fulltime and is based in Guatemala City (open to relocating to other areas of Central America where STITCH currently operates). Preferred start date is May 1st, 2003, open to negotiation. For more information on STITCH please visit http://stitchonline.org Salary Info - Competitive, depending on experience Benefits - Full health insurance, paid vacation leave. One round trip ticket annually between Guatemala and the US for home leave. To Respond - Please send a resume and cover letter by March 24th, 2003
to STITCH: back to top 6.2 Bilingual Program CoordinatorWestern MassCOSH, A 27-year old, Springfield-based non-profit, seeks to hire a part time bilingual Program Director. Community health education and/or community organizing experience, and fluency in Spanish are required. Background with labor unions and grassroots political organizing is helpful. Selected candidate would work with our staff to direct a growing program area, the Massachusetts Immigrant Safe Work Initiative, which will address workplace health and safety issues faced by immigrant workers in Western Mass. Work will include outreach to Hispanic workers, organizing meetings and trainings, assisting with translation of literature and outreach materials, and advocacy work. Salary range $30,000-$33,000 (annual) depending on experience; paid vacation, holidays and sick leave, health care, (all pro-rated for this part-time position); and schedule flexibility. For more information, contact Aaron Wilson at (413) 731-0760. Please send resumes and references by 4/1/03 to Hiring Committee, c/o Western MassCOSH, 640 Page Blvd., Suite 104, Springfield, MA 01104. back to top |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
