OWC NEWSLETTER NO. 1 (PART ONE)
****************
Table of contents of
OWC Conference Building Newsletter No. 1:
(1) Support Begins to Build for Open World Conference of
the Year 2000: A Letter from the Conference coordinators
(2) Interview with USWA Legal Counsel Carl Frankel on the
USWA's Anti-NAFTA Lawsuit
(3) The Struggle Against Social Pacts in the United States,
by Alan Benjamin
(4) Appeal from the Support Committee for Maquiladora
Workers (Tijuana, Mexico)
(5) Interview with ILC Coordinator Daniel Gluckstein on the
fight for the independence of the trade unions in Europe
today
(6) The Struggle for the Independence of the Trade Unions in
Latin America Today: A Letter from Brazilian Unionist
Julio Turra.
(7) The World Bank and The Trade Unions, by Alan Benjamion
Note: The first four texts are included below in Part 1 of this
e-mail posting. The three remaining texts are included in Part 2.
Thank you,
OWC Coordinators
++++++++++++++++++++++
PART ONE
(1) Support Begins to Build for Open World Conference of
the Year 2000: A Letter from the Conference coordinators
Dec. 20, 1998
Dear Friends:
We invite you to join us in building the Open World Conference of
Workers in Defense of Trade Union Independence and Democratic
Rights.
This Open World Conference will be held January 14-17 of the year
2000 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in San Francisco. The conference
was initiated by the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) in
conjunction with the Western Hemisphere Workers Conference
Continuations Committee (WHC).
The Appeal for the Open World Conference [see separate email
message]
was made public on Nov. 15, 1998, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at
a reception for representatives of the international labor
movement
held during the first national convention of the Labor Party.
The reception was titled "Building an International Labor
Fightback
in Defense of the Independence of the Trade Unions and Democratic
Rights" and was co-sponsored by the Western Hemisphere
Workers� Conference (WHC) Continuations Committee and the
International Liaison Committee for a Workers� International
(ILC).
Reception co-chairpersons were Baldemar Velasquez, president of
the Farm Labor Organizing Committee/FLOC and co-chairperson of
the Labor Party, and Ed Rosario, coordinator of the WHC
Continuations Committee.
Speakers [see earlier e-mail posting for full list of speakers]
pointed to the importance for the workers� movements in
their respective countries of the Appeal for an Open World
Conference. Many of those attending the meeting agreed to support
the conference and take stacks of the Conference Appeal to their
unions and organizations.
The list of endorsers to date includes trade union activists and
leaders in more than 50 countries. [For the full list, please
write the
organizing committee, c/o S.F. Labor Council.]
Following is a partial list of endorsers:
UNITED STATES: Western Hemisphere Workers Conference
Continuations Committee; San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO);
Baldemar Velasquez, President, Farm Labor Organizing Committee
(FLOC/AFL-CIO); International Longshore and Warehouse Union
(ILWU); Jack Henning, Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus, California
Labor Federation (AFL-CIO); Jerry Gordon, trade unionist; Walter
Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, San Francisco Labor Council; Global
Exchange; Labor/Community Alliance (Central Calif. Jobs with
Justice); WarZone Education Foundation (Decatur, Ill.); Frank
Martin del Campo, National Executive Board member, Labor
Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); Ed Rosario,
Coordinator, Western Hemisphere Workers Conference; Alan
Benjamin, Editor, The Organizer newspaper; Robert Irminger,
former defendant, Neptune Jade Defense Committee; Duane
Campbell, California Faculty association, SEIU 1983 & Chair, Anti
Racism Commission, Democratic Socialists of America; Jeff Lustig,
Professor of Government, Calif. State Univ., Sacramento; and
President CSUS chapter, California Faculty Association; Norma
Campisi DLC 784 President CSEA; Rep. Terry Bouricius, member
of the Vermont House of Representatives; Hal Sutton,
member,UAW Local 1268 (in a personal capacity); Larry Duncan
Labor Beat tv program co-producer.
INTERNATIONAL: Daniel Gluckstein, national secretary of the
Workers Party of France and int�l coordinator, ILC; Enrique
Hernandez, General Secretary, National Workers Union (UNT),
Baja California section & organizer October 6 (Han Young)
workers� union. Bangladesh: Tafazzul Hussain, President Jatiya
Sramik Federation (Bangladesh National Workers Federation-
BJSF). Brazil: Luis Eduardo Greenhalg, National Deputy,
Workers Party; Julio Turra, trade unionist, CUT executive
commission. Britain: Jimmy Nolan, Liverpool Dockers steward.
Haiti: Cajuste Lexiuste, honorary president of the Workers General
Confederation of Haiti (CGT); Gerard Pierre, general secretary of
the Workers General Confederation of Haiti (CGT) (CGT); Hong
Kong: Chan Kai Wei, Christian Industrial Committee; Apo Leong,
Asian Monitor Resource Centre; Bong G. Angeles, APEC Labour
Rights Monitor. Indonesia: Rekson Silaban, Int�l Dept., SBSI Trade
Union Federation. Pakistan: Gulzar Hahmad Chudhary, General
Secretary, All Pakistan Trade Union Federation; Rubina Jamil,
Coordinator, Working Women Organisation. Sri Lanka: Anton
Marcus, trade unionist, General Trade union of Industry and
Transports Workers. Taiwan: Jeng Tsuen Chy, Centre of
Information for Education through work. Thailand: Abdus Sabur,
Asian Resource Foundation.
We urgently need your endorsement of the conference appeal and
your financial support. Please send us your endorsement as soon as
possible, and list exactly how you would like to be identified.
Your endorsement and financial contribution, large or small,
should
be sent to the OWC, c/o San Francisco Labor Council, 1188
Franklin St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94109. Please make checks
payable to WHC.
You can also reach us by phone at (415) 681-5868 or fax (415) 440-
4297.
Our email addresses are <theorganizer@igc> or
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
In Solidarity,
Ed Rosario, Mya Shone
co-coordinator, co-coordinator
OWC OWC
+++++++++++++++++++++
Ve e e ee rrrrr yyyyy long message.
The rest of message has been deleted by the LL moderator.
If you are interested please follow up with the above address.
end
==============
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html
The Year 2000 Bug - An Urgent Sustainability Issue
http://www.peg.apc.org/~psutton/grin-y2k.htm
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
