[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: Labor Council Opposes Move Against Venezuela Unions

[Paul Etxeberri]

>
>
>San Francisco Labor Council Opposes Move Against
>Venezuela Unions
>
>In 10 days the ILO's Committee on Freedom of
>Association will be meeting in Geneva. On its agenda
>will be the Article 26 joint complaint filed by the
>Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce FEDECAMARAS, and the
>U.S.-backed Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV)
>against the Venezuelan government and the newly formed
>National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNT)
>
>On February 28 the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-
>CIO) adopted a statement opposing the FEDECAMARAS/CTV
>complaint against Venezuela in the Geneva-based
>International Labor Organization (ILO). The SF Labor
>Council statement also called upon the California
>Federation of Labor to concur. [See SFLC statement
>below.]
>
>This complaint before the ILO recommends a Commission
>of Inquiry into trade union freedoms in Venezuela. It
>has been endorsed by business associations from 23
>countries as well as the Bush administration.
>
>The  purpose of the complaint is to discredit and
>attack the ever-growing UNT, a new progressive
>Venezuelan labor federation, by charging the Venezuelan
>government with alleged "violations of trade union
>freedoms," said JoEllen Chernow of the Venezuela
>Information Office and Alan Benjamin of the OWC
>Continuations Committee in a statement relased February
>29. "UNT is largely regarded to represent the majority
>of organized workers in Venezuela. The purpose is also
>to set the stage for a new and more direct intervention
>by the Bush administration against the Venezuelan
>people, their democratically elected government and
>their sovereignty." They termed the move "an
>unprecedented democratic and transparent process to
>determine the future of union representation in
>Venezuela."
>
>They urged union activists ask theit union locals and
>federations, and/or city and state councils to adopt a
>similar resolution to the one passed by the San
>Francisco Council.
>
>Latin America's largest labor federation, the Unified
>Workers Confederation of Brazil (CUT), has already
>issued a statement in opposition to this complaint.
>[See CUT statement below.]
>
>Statement on Venezuela Adopted unamiously by the San
>Francisco Labor Council at its February 28, 2005
>Delegates Meeting:
>
>The San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) opposes the
>complaint initiated by the Venezuelan employers
>association, FEDECAMARAS, before the ILO recommending a
>Commission of Inquiry into trade union freedoms in
>Venezuela. This Complaint has been endorsed and
>supported by employers' associations in 23 countries,
>including the United States. It is our view that the
>convening of an ILO Commission of Inquiry is designed
>to undermine the very progress of the labor movement
>within present-day Venezuela.
>
>Today in Venezuela, workers are participating in a
>democratic, transparent , and inclusive process to
>strengthen the organization of labor groups.  The
>Venezuelan Constitution protects a worker's right to
>organize, the freedom of association and collective
>bargaining.
>
>We recognize and respect the right of Venezuelan
>workers to determine their own processes and procedures
>in accordance with the ILO mission to promote social
>justice, human and labor rights.
>
>The San Francisco Labor Council also calls upon the
>California Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO) to concur with
>this resolution. Last summer, the California Federation
>of Labor adopted a resolution opposing NED funding by
>the national AFL-CIO for the purpose of promoting U.S.
>government policy in Venezuela. Opposition to the ILO
>Commission of Inquiry on Venezuela by the U.S. labor
>movement is part of the same struggle to promote a new
>foreign policy by labor that is independent from U.S.
>State Department objectives.
>
>(resolution submitted by Alan Benjamin, delegate to the
>Council from OPEIU Local 3)
>
>***
>
>Resolution on Venezuela Adopted by Nine-Million-Member
>CUT (Brazil):
>
>The National Executive Committee of the Unified Workers
>Confederation of Brazil (CUT), at its meeting on
>February 16-17, 2005, learned of the "Open Letter to
>the ILO Workers Group" issued by leaders of the
>National Workers Union of Venezuela (UNT).
>
>The CUT rejects the proposal by FEDECAMARAS, the
>employers' organization of Venezuela, to have the ILO
>Governing Body at its upcoming meeting in March endorse
>the call for a Commission of Inquiry concerning the
>situation of trade union freedoms in Venezuela.
>
>Jo“o Antonio FelÌcio General Secretary National
>Executive Committee Central Unica dos Trabalhadores
>
>www.owcinfo.org
>
>_______________________________________________________
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand