PUERTO RICO
Water workers vote to continue strike
By Arturo J. Pérez Saad
The government-run Aqueduct and Sewage Authority (AAA) of
Puerto Rico, in collusion with the state, has increased its
attacks on the workers of the Authentic Independent Union
(UIA), in order to break the national strike which began Oct. 4
over changes to the workers' medical plan.
The bosses have sent letters to union leaders and the
workers giving them an ultimatum: either return to work by Dec.
27 or face expulsion and replacement. (El Nuevo Día,
Dec. 10)
The escalation in the daily repression on picketers and
protesters has demonstrated to the workers the fear and
vulnerability of the bosses. These tactics have become more
hostile as the workers prolong their strike to demand "a fair
contract." As a consequence, on Dec. 13 the union membership of
over 4,300 voted overwhelmingly in favor of continuing their
strike and rejected the AAA's latest paltry offer.
The AAA bosses are attempting to utilize and impose the
repressive U.S. federal anti-labor Taft-Hartley law on Puerto
Rico. This exposes the island's current true relation as a
colony of the U.S.
The Independent National Hostosiano Movement (MINH) objected
that the Taft-Hartley law is "a law contrary to our
Constitution," in a letter addressed to the preliminary winner
of the recent election for governor, Aníbal Acevedo
Vilá. The letter asked Vilá to step in and stop
these attacks by the AAA.
Federico Torres Montalvo, secretary general of the
Coordinator of State Workers (CUTE) and member of the Puerto
Rican Workers Federation (CPT), is awaiting confirmation of
meeting dates with Acevedo Vilá and with outgoing
governor Sila Calderón. On Dec. 18, three legislators
publicly repudiated the AAA's ultimátum.
The president of the UIA, Héctor René Lugo, at
a news conference on Dec. 20 affirmed that the union members
understand that this scare tactic is "illegal and retrograde"
and that "this action would violate our most rudimentary
collective bargaining principles and our constitutional right
to strike." (El Nuevo Día)
José Rodríguez Báez, president of the
Workers Federation, has called this latest attack on the
workers "illegal" and made a call to the labor movement on the
island to unite behind the UIA, which is a member of the
CPT.
An emergency meeting of the labor movement is scheduled for
Dec. 22 in order "to discuss tangible and concrete solutions"
in response to the latest attacks, according to Jorge
Farinacci, lawyer for the Teamsters union.
Reprinted from the Dec. 30, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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