United Electrical workers vote
to endorse Ralph Nader
Erie, Pennsylvania, Aug. 30— The United Electrical, Radio
and Machine Workers of America (UE) voted at their annual convention
Aug. 30 to endorse Ralph Nader’s candidacy for President, saying,
“the wasted vote in this election would be for the pro-business
Democrats and Republicans.”
The 35,000-member independent union represents
workers in manufacturing, public sector and private non-profit
sector jobs. “Decades of corporate-controlled Democratic and
Republican presidencies convince us that we have no choice but
to escape the two-party trap,” states a resolution passed by
UE, which has endorsed just four other presidential candidates
in its 65-year history. “Nader’s energetic and principled candidacy
will bring us closer to real labor law reform, national health
care and a challenge to – if not controls on – the power of
multinational corporations.”
The union praised Nader’s pro-labor platform,
which calls for triple back pay for workers fired illegally
during an organizing drive, expanded power for the National
Labor Relations Board to issue injunctions to stop unfair labor
practices, a ban on the permanent replacement of strikers, and,
most prominently, repeal of the anti-labor Taft-Hartley Act.
The UE is the third union to officially throw
its support behind Nader. In June, the 31,000-member California
Nurses Association, the largest organization of registered nurses
in the country, endorsed Nader, praising his “outspoken stance
on behalf of an overhaul of the nation’s health care system,
and strong advocacy of nurses’ and patients’ rights.”
The 1,200-member AFSCME Local 1108 followed with
an endorsement of Nader in August. The union of nonprofit workers
– which represents Los Angeles area Head Start, child care and
social service workers – cited Nader’s support of universal
health care, expanded child care and better wages for child
care workers as reasons for the endorsement.
Nader’s history of support for labor rights and
his strong pro-labor platform have earned the enthusiastic support
of growing numbers of rank-and-file union members, who are organizing
Labor for Nader groups in major metropolitan areas around the
country. One of the strongest Labor for Nader chapters is in
Detroit, Mich., where Nader plans to appear on Labor Day, Sept.
4.
National strike in Honduras
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Aug. 29— Thousands
of striking civil servants in Honduras disrupted education,
transport and health services for 24 hours Monday in protest
of the government’s plans to privatize state-owned companies.
Called by the Popular Bloc (BP) —comprising workers,
farmers and students— the strike closed down the National Autonomous
and National Teaching universities, local media reported.
Hundreds of workers blocked a major highway linking
San Pedro Sula and El Progreso.
BP said the strikers were opposing plans by the
administration of President Carlos Flores to privatize the electricity,
telecommunications and social security sectors to comply with
International Monetary Fund requirements.
Monday’s modest strike was the latest in a series
of work stoppages since the beginning of the year. The country’s
three main labor unions have announced a massive strike by some
750,000 workers demanding increased wages on September 4.
Source: Agence France Press
Nike evades sweatshop issue
By Community Aid Abroad
Sydney, Australia, Sept. 1— A sacked Indonesian
Nike factory worker and an American athlete will arrive in Sydney
today to challenge the sportswear giant to live up to the Olympic
ideal.
However, major Olympic sponsor Nike has refused
to face its critics in a public debate over human rights abuses
in its suppliers’ factories in Asia.
The Indonesian Nike worker was recently sacked
for union organizing. Former American soccer pro, Jim Keady,
spent August living in Indonesia trying to survive on a Nike
worker’s wage of AUD $2 a day and has received national US coverage
as the only known professional athlete to publicly refuse to
endorse Nike.
Their arrival coincides with the release of a
disturbing report based on new research into Nike’s Indonesian
contract factories. The report, called ‘Like Cutting Bamboo,’
cites examples of previously unknown human rights abuses including:
*Forcing women factory workers to undergo humiliating
physical examinations in order to claim menstrual leave, as
is their right under Indonesian law,
*Threatening workers involved in independent union
activity with violence by hired thugs.
An international campaign coalition including
Fair Wear and the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia
has invited Nike to a public debate on Monday, Sept. 4. Nike
has refused the invitation to be part of the debate. To find
out more about NikeWatch campaign, visit the website at www.caa.org.au/campaigns/nike/index.html
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