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Inside Authentic Labor Front Building Coalitions Within and Beyond

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Inside Authentic Labor Front Building Coalitions Within and Beyond ................................................ NEWS FROM GRASSROOTS INTERNATIONAL SUMMER 2004 VOL. 18 #1 Authentic Labor Front Building Coalitions Within and Beyond Mexican Borders Benedicto Martínez, a member of the National Coordinating Committee of the seeking negotiation with various Authentic Labor Front (FAT), traveled from Mexico City to the World Social Forum government bodies and officials, to in Mumbai in January. He went to share his organization’s experiences fighting for build a dialogue. We’ve been able to workers rights against pro-corporate fiscal reforms, transnational corporations and gain the support of some members of parliament, which ultimately led the ravages of free trade agreements and to build international coalitions to help the legislature to dismiss the fiscal the FAT in their struggle. The FAT is a federation of unions, cooperatives and neigh- reforms that were proposed by the borhood organizations with combined memberships of more than two million. GRI’s government. So, we’ve already had support to the FAT focuses on their community organizing and leadership develop- some small victories. ment work in the Lagunera region of Coahuila and Durango in northern Mexico. Who are you seeking to connect with here in Mumbai? We are meeting with workers from General Electric’s transnational factories, people from Brazil, India, the U.S. and France. The goal is to Mural by Mike Alewitz celebrating the strategic alliance between the FAT and the United Electrical Workers depicts heroes of the Mexican and American labor movements. come up with viable plans to be implemented in our different coun- Interview and translation from the ultimately allow our government tries, all around a specific company. Spanish by Nisrin Elamin to impose taxes on food, books and Because these companies will only medicine that would hit the work- sit down to negotiate if they are Tell me about the work you are ing class in particular. We believe being pressured from all around currently doing in Mexico. that we have been building strong the world. Otherwise they will For several months we’ve been alliances and we are hopeful that not understand. We cannot situate involved in a struggle against the we will be able to stop the reforms. ourselves only in our national or Mexican government’s attempts to regional struggles because then the So, the FAT has been working privatize electricity and social secu- companies can quietly take their within larger coalitions? rity and to push forward fiscal and plants and production somewhere labor reforms that will benefit the We are participating as members of Continued on page 2 large transnational corporations. In the National Union of Workers and all these activities we are collabor- we have also connected with the ating with other organizations. In social and farmer’s union to form a December, we launched a strong much broader struggle. We will be Inside campaign with coordinated actions coordinating workers, farmers and Letter from the Director . 2 and mobilizations; we organized sit- the general population nationwide Pictures from Palestine . 3 ins at local and national government through our various popular move- offices and parliaments to protest ments. At the same time we are Working Assets Customers . 4 the fiscal reforms, which would organizing actions, we are also 1 Interview continued from page 1 From the Director ................... else and continue working without thinking or caring about the prob- lems they leave behind and the A Festival of Alternatives thousands of workers that are left without jobs. So we need to enter The Boston Social Forum This week, GRI’s Maria Aguiar is Walden Bello and Manning Marable heading to São Paulo for a series of who will draw people with their We cannot situate meetings sponsored by Via names. But the event is designed Campesina, an international alliance to give anyone that can organize a ourselves only in our of progressive rural organizations. workshop a chance to tell people Our friends there will have many about their work. We at GRI are national or regional questions for Maria about the mobilizing for several workshops. upcoming U.S. elections. We have also invited Hasan struggles because then Barghouthi of the Democracy and How can there be a presidential Workers’ Rights Center (Palestine) the companies can election in the U.S. with so little dis- and Paulo de Marke of the Landless cussion of real alternative policies? Workers’ Movement (Brazil) quietly take their plants We have no magic answer to this to bring their message to the question, but at least an organiza- forum. Very familiar with the spirit and production tion based in Boston has something of the World Social Forum, both exciting to talk about this summer. Hasan and Paulo are more than somewhere else. No, it is not the Democratic ready to come. Benedicto Martínez, FAT National Convention, which will In addition to workshops and large occupy Boston for several days at public meetings, the BSF will fea- the end of July. Our news is that ture a cultural festival with a special into broader alliances in order activists from around the world are emphasis on what Boston’s diverse to be able to increase our ability converging in Boston just before the youth culture has to say about the to succeed in negotiating our DNC for the Boston Social Forum. social issues of the day. collective contracts and the rights The Boston Social Forum hopes to Precisely because it seeks to reflect of our comrades. bring the spirit of the World Social the inclusive, democratic spirit of Forum to Boston…and the spirit of How do you see organizations the World Social Forum, the BSF social change organizing in Greater will be chaotic and challenging for like GRI helping in that struggle? Boston to the WSF movement. The those of us who seek order in all We’ve built a relationship with GRI WSF has tried to create a space—in things. GRI is supporting the BSF over the years, and the solidarity Brazil and in India, so far—where because we think that it will project that GRI has expressed to us has activists from many countries come an important message about social been very valuable. We have to together, learn about each other’s alternatives at a moment that the work and talk about real alternatives struggle on various fronts. We need eyes of the world will be on Boston. to the politics of militarism and to create broader coalitions and globalization. If you live around Boston, mark alliances. Education—for our affili- your calendars. If you live further ates, in the communities where we From July 23-25, several thousand away, why not spend a long week- work and for the broader public—is people will take over the campus of end here in late July? The BSF very important. We are particularly the University of Massachusetts, organizers NEED your pre-registra- interested in strengthening and Boston to have the same sort of "fes- tion, so sign up today on the web at intensifying the solidarity between tival of alternatives" right here in www.bostonsocialforum.org. See The Hub. workers around the world, because you there! we are convinced that this is the The BSF will feature people like only way we can win. Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, 2 Pictures from Palestine These photographs were taken by Daniel Moss, GRI’s Director of Development and Jennifer Lemire, GRI’s Program Coordinator for the Middle East and Horn of Africa, on a two-week visit to Palestine at the end of March. While there, they met with GRI's partner organ- izations in the West Bank and Gaza and visited project sites. The rest of their photo-essay is available on the web at: http://www.grassrootsonline.org/gol_0504_pal.html Rooftops, Jabalia Refugee Camp The population density of Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip is incredible. Established after the 1948 war to house 35,000 Palestinians who had fled their villages, Jabalia is now home to 103,646 registered refugees (according to UNWRA reports as of June 2002). All of these people live in an area that is less than 1.5 sq km. The Casbah historic district, Hebron The historic district of Hebron, known as the Casbah, felt like a ghost town. At the time of our visit, only a handful of Palestinian families remained in what was once a bustling neighborhood. As set- tlers established themselves here, settler and soldier abuse have driven Palestinian families out. You may recall that Hebron is the home of the Tomb of the Patriarch—birthplace of Abraham—a father to both Judaism and Islam. It was here in 1994 that Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians in a mosque. The Hebron settlements are considered by Sharon and Bush to be part of the non-negotiable settlements that will permanently stay in the West Bank. Not coincidentally, below Hebron lays one of the most productive aquifers in Israel/Palestine. Woman raising pigeons, Jabalia The Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee’s (PARC), a GRI partner, runs urban agriculture projects in several refugee camps in Gaza, including a project that helps refugee families raise pigeons in rooftop coops. The birds give families a much-needed source of protein and also fetch a fair price on the market. Nutrition indicators have been plummeting in Gaza as closure has tightened, the economy continues to deteriorate and humanitarian aid deliveries are restricted. 3 VOTE FOR GRASSROOTS INTERNATIONAL Grassroots International 179 Boylston Street, 4th fl. • Boston, MA 02130 (617) 524-1400 • fax: (617) 524-5525 Attention Working Assets Customers e-mail: [email protected] More votes for Grassroots International means Board of Directors more funding for global activism projects.
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