OWC CAMPAIGN NEWS - distributed by the Open World Conference in Defense of
Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights, c/o S.F. Labor Council, 1188
Franklin St., #203, San Francisco, CA 94109. To subscribe or unsubscribe,
send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Phone: (415)
641-8616 Fax: (415) 440-9297 (Please excuse duplicate postings. Feel free
to duplicate and re-post.)
IN THIS MESSAGE:
1) Register Today for the OWC; Early Registrations Needed by Dec. 31
2) Registration and Hotel Costs
3) Registration Coupon and Information
4) Support Builds for OWC in Seattle
******************
1) REGISTER TODAY FOR THE OWC!
February 11-14, 2000
Cathedral Hill Hotel
San Francisco, California
Sponsored by:
San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO)
Western Hemisphere Workers Conference Continuations Committee
International Liaison Committee for a Workers International
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Please join us in building a major international labor conference to defend
our trade unions and democratic rights - the Open World Conference of
Workers in Defense of Trade Union Independence and Democratic Rights.
Now being prepared by trade union federations, union locals and community
organizations in 74 countries, the Open World Conference is the next step
after Seattle. It will bring together trade union leaders and activists to
discuss concrete ways in which we can work together to defeat the "free
trade" agenda of the multinational corporations and to defend the hard won
gains of the workers' movement. We seek to preserve the independence and
combativity of our unions which are indispensable to their survival and our
ability to struggle for our rights.
The Open World Conference will take place at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in
San Francisco, Friday, Feb. 11 through Monday, Feb. 14, 2000.
Join the ILWU, Teamsters Joint Council 7, the Labor Party, FLOC, the Labor
Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Pride at Work, Global
Exchange, International Forum on Globalization, Campaign for Labor Rights,
United Students Against Sweatshops and countless other union locals and
organizations throughout the world in forging an international fightback.
We hope you, too, will participate in the OWC and encourage others to join
us in San Francisco. We encourage you to register by December 31, 1999.
This conference is financed exclusively by those who support its
objectives. We urge you to send a contribution, even if you cannot attend.
This will help bring international labor delegates from such places as
Bangladesh and South Africa to the OWC. Together, we can make a difference!
In Solidarity,
Ed Rosario and Mya Shone
OWC Co-coordinators
***********
2) REGISTRATION and HOTEL COSTS for OWC
* Registration Fee: $100 USD includes banquet, conference bulletins and
packet.
* Hotel Rates per person/per night (includes tax): Single-$125
Double-$62 Triple-$49 Quad-$37
* Foreign registrations and hotel fees due by Dec. 31, 1999.
* Early U.S. registrations and hotel fees due by Dec. 31, 1999.
Registrations will be accepted till Jan. 28 of the year 2000 (but please do
not wait till the last moment).
NOTE: There is a scholarship fund for those who cannot afford to pay the
full registration fee. We do ask those who apply to be willing to help out
for a few hours with some of the conference organizing efforts -- before
and during the conference itself. Please send us a note if you require some
assistance and are willing to lend a hand.
*******************
3) REGISTRATION INFORMATION AND COUPON
(Please Copy and Send by regular mail to OWC, c/o San Francisco Labor
Council, 1188 Franklin St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94109. PLEASE SEND US A
COPY BY EMAIL SO THAT WE CAN KNOW IN ADVANCE THAT YOU HAVE REGISTERED OR
SENT A CONTRIBUTION.)
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
Country
Union/Organization (if any)
Phone
Fax
email
[ ] I am enclosing the registration fee of $100 USD per person.
[ ] Enclosed is _____________ for hotel expenses for ___________ nights.
Hotel cost per night: Single - $125 Double - $62 Triple -
$49 Quad - $37
[ ] Here's a contribution of $ ___________________ toward conference
expenses.
[ ] I cannot attend, but would like to receive conference publications
and reports.
[ ] I am interested in your scholarship fund and in volunteering for the
conference.
Make checks payable to the WHC. Send your Endorsement/Registration to OWC
c/o San Francisco Labor Council, 1188 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA
94109 tel: 415-641-8616 fax: 415-440-9297 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
**********
4) Support for OWC builds in Seattle
During the week of November 26 to December 3 -- a week that shook the WTO
and the entire world -- supporters of the Open World Conference in Defense
of Trade Union Independence and Democratic Rights mobilized in Seattle at
the various anti-WTO events and demonstrations to promote the OWC, which
will be next February 11-14 in San Francisco.
We were fortunate to be joined in this effort by a leading figure in the
independent trade union movement in China, Cai Chongguo, international
relations director of China Labour Bulletin. Cai spoke at numerous events
and press conferences, where he discussed one of the central questions
facing the WTO: the issue of China's imminent entry into the WTO and the
increased attacks this would represent for China's workers and peasants.
Cai also explained the reasons why the independent trade union movement in
China, which has been fighting the sweatshops and slave-labor conditions
imposed by the multinational corporations across China's Special Economic
Zones, has made it a priority to participate in the Open World Conference.
Throughout the week, OWC supporters distributed thousands of leaflets for
the OWC as well as for the Jan. 12 international delegation to Washington,
D.C., to demand a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Hundreds of trade
unionists and activists had already heard about the Open World Conference
and pledged they would be in San Francisco next February.
OWC supporters also gathered 428 signatures on the Appeal to Heads of State
Attending the WTO Summit, which called on them to ratify, implement and
enforce in each of their respective countries the Conventions of the
International Labor Organization (ILO). These signatures, along with 3451
others gathered during the two months prior to the WTO Ministerial Summit,
were presented at a press conference on December 1 and delivered later that
day to the Planning Committee of the WTO.
Two events in Seattle directly promoted the Open World Conference: (1) the
Labor Party reception held November 28, and (2) the forum on "China, the
WTO and Workers' Rights." Reports on both these events are included below.
Reports on these two events will be sent to you as a separate email message.
- ALAN BENJAMIN (member of the Organizing Committee of the OWC)
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