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News :: Labor |
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Labor Headlines 3-13-04 |
Current rating: 0 |
by Peter Miller
(No verified email address) |
14 Mar 2004
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International Labor Movement Responds to Spain Bombings; Haiti: Thugs who overthrew Aristide break union at Levi's factory; China Criticizes US Protectionism; Hearing Officer Affirms Trusteeship Over Laborers Union Local in Chicago. Headlines were broadcast during the Illinois Labor Hour, Saturday at 11 am on WEFT 90.1 FM, Champaign. |
International Labor Movement Responds to Spain Bombings
Immediately following the terrorist attacks in Spain last week, the international labor movement issued a statement condemning the action and offering solidarity with the Spanish people. On March 11, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions issued the following brief statement. Quote, "With national elections set for this coming Sunday March 14, this terrorist atrocity is clearly an attack on Spanish democracy and on innocent working people. Every effort must be made to find those responsible and bring them to justice. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Spanish trade union colleagues, and extend our deepest sympathy to those affected and their families." The ICFTU has two national affiliates in Spain.
www.icftu.org
Haiti: Thugs who overthrew Aristide break union at Levi's factory
The Haiti Support Group and the Campaign for Labor Rights are calling for international pressure on a contractor that makes clothing for Levi-Strauss. On Monday March 1st, managers fired 34 members of a new trade union in a north-east Haiti free trade zone were free trade zone. The next day, as workers at the another free trade zone began to take action in support of the union, members of the armed militias who last week helped overthrow the Haitian government arrived at the factory with guns and began intimidating and harassing the workers. After several workers were handcuffed and others beaten up, managers forced the remainder of the workforce back to work. Later, the militias revealed that factory managers had contacted them and told them that workers were going to "make problems". The Haiti Support Group is calling on labor supporters to contact the factory's owners demanding that the 34 fired workers be reinstated. Letters should be sent to Levi-Strauss and to the contractor.
http://lnn.laborstart.org/more.php?id=140_0_1_0_M
China Criticizes US Protectionism
Two of the world's largest economies traded barbs last week in a dispute over trade policy. US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick threatened to take action at the secretive World Trade Organization to compel China to comply with global trade rules and eliminate discriminatory tax policies. The next day, China accused the United States of protectionism and charged that Washington doesn't conform to the spirit of the WTO agreements. The criticisms are included in China's first ever report assessing US trade policy, and it comes shortly after India made similar accusations about unfair US trade policies. The report stated, quote, "Amid a sluggish economy and the growing trade deficit, protectionist tendencies have clearly got stronger in US trade policies, while its enthusiasm to solve disputes multilaterally has clearly waned," unquote. It also bemoaned non-economic such as human rights and national security as factors negatively influencing trade between the giants. For instance, the report states, quote, "The American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations often lobby Congress and government agencies to sanction China over so-called human rights problems," unquote. The United States has imposed trade restrictions against China in recent months and regularly complains about Beijing not fully implementing its commitments since it joined the WTO in 2001. China is the third largest trading partner of the US and it boasts a trade surplus with the US of over $100 billion annually.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040312/bs_afp/china_us_trade_wto_040312152157
Hearing Officer Affirms Trusteeship Over Laborers Union Local in Chicago
An independent hearing officer for the Laborers Union ruled on March 2 that a trusteeship was warranted over Local 1001 in Chicago because it was influenced by organized crime, undemocratic, and tainted by gross financial malpractices. The international's general executive board appointed Steve Hammond, a LIUNA vice president as the trustee. Officials of Local 1001 have filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in an attempt to enjoin the international from imposing a trusteeship.
Daily Labor Report, #42, March 4, 2004, p A-14 |
See also:
http://www.campaignforlaborrights.org
http://www.labourstart.org
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