At Social Forum
Venezuelan union leader brings message of solidarity
By
Cheryl LaBash
Detroit
Published Jun 30, 2010 4:58 PM
On June 25 Tony León, Secretary-General of Venezuela’s National
Workers Union of the Ministry of People’s Power for Energy and Petroleum,
met with U.S. workers and union leaders during the U.S. Social Forum in
Detroit.
The two-hour meeting explored deepening collaboration, exchange and solidarity
efforts. Current and retired U.S. autoworkers, letter carriers, and public
service workers, including union leaders from the United Electrical workers,
participated in the round-table discussion along with Mexicans, Colombians and
others from Latin America.
The June 24 reflection by Fidel Castro, “How I wish I was wrong,”
was read in English and Spanish and warned that while the world was watching
the World Cup soccer match, U.S. and Israeli warships were moving toward Iran
to impose a naval inspection zone for ships entering and leaving Iranian ports.
This aggression threatens a wider imperialist war there and also against the
Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea where the sinking of a South Korean
military vessel was used to inflame war fever against the DPRK.
Fidel’s message reinforced the urgent need for uniting working class
forces in unions and social movements internationally to confront the
intractable global capitalist crisis that, without intervention by working and
oppressed people, drives relentlessly to war.
U.S. military aggressive moves are aimed at Latin America, too. The U.S. Fourth
Fleet and expanded U.S. bases in Colombia target Venezuela and Cuba. León
characterized that as a grab for natural resources, since the U.S. has only a
10-year supply of remaining oil.
León extended an open invitation to the Third Union Conference of Nuestra
America (Our America) scheduled for July 22-24 in Caracas. Ecuadoran and
Brazilian national central unions hosted the previous meetings, first in Quito
and next in Sao Paolo, to develop a common understanding of the global economic
crisis and agenda for united struggle for workers and their organizations.
The benefits of unity and collaboration for improving the lives and futures of
the workers, Indigenous and socially excluded people are evident in Venezuela.
The advances achieved there in the past 10 years, particularly in education and
health care through the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America and
the Peoples Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), are exemplary.
U.S. slander that Venezuela gives “free” oil to Cuba under the ALBA
trade agreements was debunked by León. Venezuelan oil is exchanged at
market rate, but it is not traded in U.S. dollars. This form of exchange using
the sucre international trade currency is outside the imperialist-dominated
capitalist economy.
Not only Cuba and Venezuela have benefited, but Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua,
Honduras prior to the 2009 coup, Haiti through Petro-Caribe, and more. Through
this collaborative effort, illiteracy has been abolished in Venezuela and
Bolivia using Cuba’s ‘Yo si puedo’ (Yes I can) program, and
the international mobilization is determined to help all ALBA countries develop
their most basic important resource — the people.
What we aspire to from this point forward, summarized León, as he opened
the floor for questions and discussion, is to have meetings to see how we can
work together with ALBA, including workers from the United States.
In response to a question about unions hearing the voice of their members,
León said that a political view of union work was necessary. Workers
cannot continue losing rights; organizing has to focus on more than shop
issues.
A San Francisco labor council delegate described how a massive labor-community
solidarity action in the Port of Oakland stopped the unloading of an Israeli
ship for 24 hours on June 20 in solidarity with the Palestinians under siege in
Gaza as well as the victims of the Israeli pirate attack on the Mavi Marmara
and the Freedom Flotilla.
León pointed out that solidarity is urgently needed with the Sindicato
Mexicano de Electricistas — the electrical workers in Mexico who provided
electricity and were driven from their jobs by the military. Demonstrations are
needed at Mexican consulates demanding that President Felipe Calderon respect
the right of labor unions to organize and restore jobs to SME members.
To join a U.S. delegation to Venezuela for the Nuestra America III, e-mail
[email protected].
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