Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 22:40:51 -0500 From: RS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: OPEN WORLD CONFERENCE MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > This article appears in the November issue of the Dispatcher, newspaper > of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union > > OPEN WORLD CONFERENCE OF WORKERS TO BE HELD IN SAN FRANCISCO > >From across the United States and around the world trade union leaders > and activists will gather in San Francisco, Feb 11-14, 2000 to discuss > how to work together to combat the global corporate "free trade" aganda > and defend their hard-fought for gains. Sponsored by the San Francisco > Labor Council, AFL-CIO and endorsed by unions in 74 countries including > the ILWU and Teamsters Joint Council 7, the Open World Conference of > Workers in Defence of Trade Union Independence and Democratic Rights is > a pivotal next step after protests in Seattle against the WTO. > Baldemar Velasquez, President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and > co-chair of the Labor Party is a member of the OWC Organizing > Committee. Velasquez stressed, " Corporatre owners are determined to > undermine and eliminate unions as independent organizations acting to > defend workers' interests. Besides their direct attacks on workers. > their schemes of 'roundtable agreements' and 'social pacts' are ploys to > make trade unions responsible for carrying out layoffs, downsizing, > elimination of benefits,part-time work and an end to job security." > The objective of the conference is to develop specific campaigns to > reinforce our rights to organize and link struggles internationally. > For more info contact Mya Shone and Ed Rosario, OWC conference > coordinators at (415) 641 8616 or at www.owc@igc >
