INSIDE Double victory: sales drive and Pathfinder Fund surpass goals! THE -PAGES A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 66/NO. 45 DECEMBER 2, 2002 Thousands U.S., British planes bomb ofNewYork health-care southern Iraq, kill seven BY BRIAN WILLIAMS cided with a series of air attacks by U.S. they had responded to ground fire. They As United Nations Security Council "in­ and British planes. also claimed that Iraqi planes had "pen­ workers rally spection" teams arrive in Iraq, Washington On November 15 they bombed an air etrated" the zones. is attacking the country with forces already defense communications center in southern A White House spokesman claimed that in place, as it steps up its buildup of troops Iraq in Najaf province 85 miles southeast such Iraqi self-defense measures were a jus­ for contract and equipment for the coming invasion. of Baghdad. The Iraqi government reported tification to launch a war. "The United States Chief inspection official Hans Blix ar­ that seven people were killed and four believes that firing upon our aircraft in the BY RUTH ROBINETT rived in Baghdad November 18 armed with wounded in the assault. no-fly zone, or British aircraft, is a viola­ NEW YORK-Chanting "we want the recent UN resolution containing a rapid­ Further raids were launched November tion-it is a material breach" of the UN reso­ raises," thousands of home care union fire set of ultimatums and deadlines for 18 in both the northern and southern "no­ lution, said Scott McClellan November 18. members pumped the air with signs read­ Baghdad to submit to open-ended inspec­ fly" zones established a decade ago by the The resolution outlaws "hostile acts," ing "Fair Contract for Home Care Work­ tions of an estimated 700 sites. U.S. and British military. Repeating their broadly defined, on the part of the Iraqi gov- ers" as their meeting opened November 13 The deployment of the inspectors coin- standard explanation, U.S. officers said Continued on Page 2 at New York City's Javits Center. Local 1199 of the Service Employees Interna­ tional Union (SEIU) called the meeting in the face of the refusal by a number of em­ Cuban revolutionary speaks in Florida ployers to sign a contract. The 60,000 home care workers organized by the SEIU provide personal services, such as bathing and other nonmedical tasks like Cuba Africa: cooking and cleaning, to the chronically ill and those just released from the hospital. The workers, who are overwhelmingly women and mostly Black or Latina, are the lowest-paid sector in the health-care indus­ try, with wages ranging from $6.50 to $7.50 an hour. "Management needs to know you have an action plan if they don't sign," said George Gresham, secretary-treasurer of the local. "Stand up and say 'yes' if you want to go on a one-day strike." Union members rose to their feet with shouts of "Yes! Strike!" Union officials said that if the agencies do not sign a contract union members will be notified of the strike date. Gresham an­ Jacquie Her1der·son nounced that a mass picket line will be held Left, audience at Florida International University campus in Miami at meeting for Cuban revolutionary Victor Dreke, sharing the at the negotiation site in midtown Manhat­ platform with Ana Morales. Right, Dreke speaks at the University of South Florida in Tampa the day before. tan November 20. "This was beautiful," said Annie Massenberg, a home care worker for 21 years, of the meeting and the vote by accla­ A Miami first: meeting for a A Tampa first: Continued on Page 2 leader of the Cuban Revolution the truth about INS begins BY MARY ANN SCHMIDT Directorate in the Escambray mountains of AND ARGIRIS MALAPANIS Central Cuba, he reached the rank of cap­ 'Cuba, Africa' MIAMI-Some 250 people filled a ball­ tain by the time of the revolution's triumph room at the Florida International University in 1959. Following that victory, he com­ BY RACHELE FRUIT checkpoints AND JACQUIE HENDERSON campus in North Miami November 13 to manded the forces in the Escambray moun­ hear Victor Dreke, a leader of the Cuban tains that successfully combated U.S.­ TAMPA, Florida-"The Cuban Revolu­ Revolution, speak on "Cuba and Africa: backed counterrevolutionary guerrilla tion has had an internationalist outlook from on Michigan From 1959 to Today." bands, which murdered hundreds of farm­ the beginning," Victor Dreke said before an Also speaking was Ana Morales, a leader ers and workers during the U.S.-organized audience of 125 people at the University of of Cuba's medical missions in Africa, who dirty war there. South Florida (USF) November 12. highways joined Dreke in a month-long speaking tour In 1965, Dreke served as second in com­ The Cuban revolutionary leader spoke of seven cities. mand under revolutionary leader Ernesto about the hundreds of thousands of Cuban BY DON MACKLE For the largely student audience, this was Che Guevara in an internationalist combat volunteers who over the years have joined DETROIT-For the first time, U.S. Bor­ a unique opportunity to hear a commander mission of 128 Cuban volunteers in the with anticolonial and anti-imperialist fight- der Patrol agents in Michigan have begun of the Cuban Revolution speaking firsthand Congo. He returned to Africa in 1966-68 Continued on Page 12 setting up random checkpoints on state about the revolution and its record of soli­ as the head of Cuba's military mission to roads, stopping cars under the guise oflook­ darity with national liberation struggles in Guinea-Bissau, where Cuban troops trained ing for "undocumented" workers. The Africa. It was the first time a Cuban leader and fought alongside soldiers led by Ami lear moves have brought to the U.S.-Canadian ofDreke's stature had spoken in Miami. Cabral in the war for independence from Also Inside: border methods familiar to workers along A small minority of right-wing opponents Portuguese colonial rule. In the past decade the Rio Grande and the rest of the border of the Cuban Revolution came to try to shout he has helped lead Cuba's work assisting Miners fight bosses' cover-up with Mexico, as well as other parts of the down the speakers and prevent a discussion. African development projects. of Quecreek disaster 3 country. Because of the breadth of forces sponsoring TheN ovember 13 meeting was sponsored Teams of federal agents began setting up and attending the meeting, and the prepara­ by the ad hoc Afro-Cuban Interest Commit­ What is the the two-hour checkpoints on November 12, tory work by students and faculty who were tee. Among the groups and individuals at targeting secondary roads in Port Huron and determined to hold such an event, the dis­ FlU that lent their support were professors Puebla-Panama Plan? 3 Trenton, two small communities to the north rupters failed, and the program proceeded. Jean Rahier of the Anthropology Depart­ and south of Detroit. Stopping all traffic, they "This was a victory for academic freedom, ment, Peter Craumer of International Rela­ Minnesota meat packers demanded proof of citizenship from travel­ for free speech," said Carole Boyce Davies, tions, Ron Cox of Political Science, and Ken discuss union victory 8 ers they deemed "suspicious." Their "primary director of FlU's African-New World Stud­ Lipner of Economics; the department of objective" was not "contraband" but "illegal ies department, one of the sponsors. African-New World Studies (ANWS); and Afghan protesters condemn aliens," said Loretta Lopez-Mossman, acting Dreke spoke as a cadre with nearly five the International Relations andAfrican-New murderous cop attack on chief Border Patrol agent in Detroit. decades of revolutionary activity. As a teen­ World Studies students associations. students in Kabul 9 The week before, Latino, a weekly Span­ ager living in central Cuba in the early Also backing the meeting were the Afri­ ish language newspaper, had published a 1950s, he became involved in the popular can Club at the University of Miami; Famn Nurses in California strike for front-page article warning that the Immi­ struggle against the U.S.-backed Batista dic­ Aysiyan Miami (Haitian Women of Miami); pensions, reduced workload 13 gration and Naturalization Service cops, tatorship. Joining the July 26 Movement led Miami Coalition Against the U.S. Embargo known as Ia migra, would be stopping by Fidel Castro in the mid-1950s, and then of Cuba; and Alianza Martiana, a Cuban- Continued on Page IO the front organized by the Revolutionary Continued on Page II U.S., UK planes bomb southern Iraq, kill 7 Continued from front page in what appears to be a huge logistical trans­ openly proclaim its buildup on the grounds force whose main base will be established ernment and military. port operation to the Middle East by the U.S. that the November 8 UN resolution "creates in Kuwait. "I do find it unacceptable that Iraq fires," military that would involve around 50 char­ a window oflegitimacy" for the war option. The plan calls for U.S. forces to seize ter­ Rumsfeld told a news conference in Santiago, tered freighters," reports a November 14 ar­ "Until now," Krauthammer wrote in his ritory and operate out of forward bases in Chile, the same day. "It is for the president ticle in the Asia Times. Washington has al­ November 15 column, "we have been qui­ northern, western, and southern Iraq. In the of the United StLates and the U.N. Security ready stockpiled tanks and heavy equipment etly expanding our air base in Qatar, mov­ northern Kurdish territories, Special Forces Council to make judgments about their view for more than 30,000 troops in several gulf ing troops into Kuwait, sending our bomb­ troops would set up staging and refueling oflraq's behavior over a period of time." states and ships nearby.