Meatpackers Strike IBP Over Wages, Speedup
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· AUSTRALIA$2.50 · BELGIUM BF60 · CANADA$2.50 · FRANCE FF10 · ,..,_ UK £1.00 · U.S. $1.50 Interview with Cuban Brig. Gen. Harry Villegas THE - International Socialist Review, PAGES 7-16 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 63 1NO. 25 JULY 12,1999 Meatpackers strike IBP Imperialist troops over wages, speedup expand BY LEA KNOWLES PASCO, Washington- Members of the control Teamsters union, other unionists, and strike supporters rallied and marched here June 19 in solidarity with the 1,200 meatpackers from ofKosova Teamsters Local556 on strike against Iowa Beef Processing (IBP) in nearby Wallula, BYARGIRIS NL\LAPANIS Washington. The action was co-sponsored by Two weeks into their occupation ofKosova, Teamsters Local556 and MEChA, a Chicano student organization. The 700 marchers as the Militant went to press June 24, U.S. NATO troops were expanding control of the chanted, "Sf se puedl!' (Yes, we can do it) and "What do we want? A contract! When do we province with a force projected to exceed want it? Now!" Signs in the crowd included, 50,000 soldiers. In the process, they are deal "Long live the union" and "Strike for justice." ing blows to the right ofKosovars to national A popular chant at the rally was "Vote no!" self-determination and deepening divisions referringtotheupcomingvoteonthecompany's betweenAlbanians and Serbs there. latest contract offer- a $1.57 wage increase As Duci Petrovic, a leader of the Students over the life ofa five-year contract. This wage Union of"fugoslavia, put it in a June 23 phone offer is only a slight improvement from the interview from Nis, "NATO is setting up a $1.05 wage increase IBP offered last week. The protectorate in Kosova. They intend to stay union is demanding a $1-a-year wage increase there a long time to control the situation. In over the life ofa three-year contract. Continued on Page 3 Workers described health, safety, and speedup as other central issues. Kill floor vet eran Edelmiro Vera said that years ago the plant killed 1,500 head ofcattle in eight hours. BuildAugust Today the number has risen to 2,050; between two shifts the average daily output is 3,600. The march ended in Memorial Park where Militan,t/Sc,ott Breen active workers Continued on Page 6 IBP strikers and supporters hold mass picket at plant in Wallula, Washington, June 12. conference BY MARriN KOPPEL Join July 7 actions to free Jose Solis, Seven politically active youth attended a recent discussion on "Youth and the commu nist movement" in Chicago, YS member Jay other Puerto Rican politicalprisoners Paradiso told the Militant, reporting on the summer school program sponsored by the BY JOSHUA CARROLL At a gathering at the Puerto Rican Cultural cated in part to the Puerto Rican prisoners. Young Socialists and the Socialists Workers Party in that city. The next day, six of them CHICAGO-Thousands turned out for the Center following the Chicago parade, Jose Lo On July 6-9, the United Nations Special marched together with several hundred other annual Puerto Rican People's parade here June pez, director ofthe center, spoke about the fights Committee on Decolonization will hold its 19. ·The event was officially dedicated to the to win justice for Solis and to oppose the ha annual hearings on Puerto Rico's colonial sta Continued on Page 18 people ofVieques, an island of Puerto Rico rassment ofthe Cultural Center. The center has tus. Supporters ofPuerto Rico's independence that is occupied by a U.S. Navy base, and to now been targeted with five subpoenas by a are planning a delegation to testifY at the hear ' ·-. Jose Solis Jordan, a Puerto Rican independence federal grand jury investigation. Lopez urged ings, as well as public events in New York City. · Tedie>w-orkersvote'i'br .· activist wh() was convicted March 12 on frame participation in the July 7 picket lines as well The focus of the testimony at the hearings up charges ofterrorism. as the July 22-25 actions in Washington, D.C., will be on the fight to get the U.S. Navy out of ·.. uaioain N;.CaroHna •- Supporters ofthe campaign to free Solis will to demand the release ofall Puerto Rican po Vieques and the campaign to free the political hold a picket line at the Chicago federal build litical prisoners in U.S.jails. prisoners, reports Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz, a BYMII(EJ.TALIE . .. .· .. ing July 7, the day he is to be sentenced here. The day following the parade, 50 people leader ofthe Committee for the Rescue and De ATLANTA- Workers at the s-ix· There will also be picket lines that day at fed showed up for a Fathers' Day vigil outside the velopment ofVieques, who will be one ofthose Fielderest ·Cannon textile. plaats li( eral buildings in other areas, from San Juan, downtown prison where Solis is being held. testifYing along with Carlos Ventura, president Kannapolis, North~tina; voted2,2•. · Puerto Rico, to several U.S. cities-Oakland, In New York, the July 7 picket at Federal ofthe Vieques fishermen's association. 2,102 in favor qfjoining the Union of . California; Minneapolis; New York; Boston; Plaza and the July 22-25 actions are being Repeated demonstrations have been held Needletrades,Industrial and Textile EJn;. Miami and Orlando, Florida; Washington, D.C.; built by several organizations including Pro in Puerto Rico against the U.S. Navy's use of ployees; The June 13--24 eleetion was the·· Philadelphia; Camden, New Jersey; Cleveland; Libertad, National Committee to Free Puerto Vieques for bombing practice. A major action fifth orgarrizing attemPt $ince 1974~ and Des Moines, Iowa. Rican Prisoners ofWar and Political Prison will take place July 4 in Ceiba, at the en Pillowtex, which bought the Fieldcte$t The Des Moines action has been initiated ers, Committee in Solidarity with Dr. Jose Solis trance to the Roosevelt Roads U.S. naval base. mills in 1997, is protesting the uniop's . by the Socialist Workers Party in collabora Jordan, and Interfaith Prisoners ofConscience victory; and an 285 additional ballots are tion with theAd Hoc Committee on Human Project. In New York's huge Puerto Rican Day Rose Ana Berbeo in New York and Martin being Chall:\.tue;'-'U........... "- c;~ Rights, an immigrant rights group made up Parade June 13, a prominent contingent, in Koppel contributed to this article. predominantly of workers at the giant Swift cluding family members of the prisoners, meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, Iowa. marched with a float. The parade was dedi- $20 Special oHer good through June 27 Seoul sinks N. Korean boat, Capitalism's World Disorder U.S.gov'tbacksprovocation Working-Class Politics at the Millennium JACK BARNES "We have watched the first large-scale war take place in Eu BYNL\trnaCEWILL~S Vincennes and the Mobile Bay, as well as elec After several days of escalating naval tronic warfare aircraft and antisubmarine air rope in almost half a century. There has been massive, sus provocations, south Korean warships fired 150 craft. The DPRK's ambassador to the United tained artillery shelling. Air power has been used to bomb ci artillery shells and more than 7,000 machine Nations, Li Hyong Chol, urged the UN Secu vilian populations in Europe for the first time since the bomb gun bullets at vessels from the Democratic rity Council June 18 to "take a measure to ing of Dresden, London, and other cities during World War People's Republic ofKorea (DPRK) June 15. cease at once the military provocations on the II.... All this has been taking place in Yugoslavia. It is a war The barrage set fire to a north Korean patrol part ofthe U.S. and the south side." Li said that has brought to the surface the deepest conflicts among boat and sank it, killing all 17 crew members. Washington was deployingAC-130 ground at the imperialist powers in Europe and North America since the Washington, which maintains some 40,000 tack planes, as well as F -15 and F -18 fighter collapse of the Stalinist apparatuses at the opening of the 1990s."- Dec. 31, 1994 troops and a naval armada in and around south bombers in south Korea, had moved its war Korea, immediately announced it was deploy ships into the area, and put U.S. Marines on Available from Pathfinder, see stores on page 16 ing more force, including two cruisers, the Continued on Page 4 Colorado miners face boss threat to hire scabs -page 6 IN BRIEF--------------- Iraq rejects 'new' sanctions plan the border said 17 homes Mexico's banks held thou Baghdad rejected June 18 a proposal spon were hit by Russian heli Workers protest in south Korea sands of bad loans when the sored by British and Dutch government offi copter rockets and mortar. peso was devalued in 1994. cials to accept a '·new inspection agency" with Attempting to crush the Under new legislation. several a new group of UN "arms inspectors" in ex Chechen independence Mexican banks were for the change for a partial lifting of the U.S.-led movement, the regime of first time taken over by impe embargo imposed on Iraq in 1990. Boris Yeltsin launched an rialist banks, including Wall AbdulghaniAbdughafur, an Iraqi govern invasion in December 1994 Street's Citibank. The new law ment official, said the deal would only "pro by 30.000 Russian soldiers. ratified a government ''bail long the unfair embargo on Iraq." The pact This was a deeply unpopu out"" of the \ltexican banking would require UN Security Council approval lar war among working system of some S60 billion - every four months and could be scuttled any people in Russia.