US/Cuba Labor Exchange
P.O. Box 39188 Redford, MI 48239 Phone/Fax: (313) 318 5159 E-mail: laborexchange @ aol.com
Join the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange to participate in a: IV Union Meeting ” Nuestra America” at Managua, Nicaragua -Hundreds of unions within the region decided to invoke the Union Organization of our America. This is a political and union initiative with the objective of raising the level of struggle and unity of the worker movements of the continent, “Our America” Uniting America’s Working Class and Increasing its Influence Raising the level of struggle and Unity of the Worker Movements. A Labor delegation to Managua, Nicaragua, from Wednesday August 24 to Saturday September 3, 2011 We will participate in IV Union Meeting ” Nuestra America”. Also, in Managua we will have a Nicaraguan Labor seminar, visit the ALBA projects : popular clinics, “educational missions. How the Nicaraguan people has benefited from the ALBA projects, The price of the trip will include: round trip International airfare (from Fort Lauderdale, Florida; to Managua, Nicaragua), hotel (double occupancy), breakfast, Dinner, internal transportation to and from the program, translation, and the program.* The price of $1,550 is good until the end of May, The price may increase for any application made after that date.
A group of trade unionists and workers are exercising their constitutional right to travel to Managua, Nicaragua, to gather educational information and to have an exchange of ideas with other workers of the world. These rights are guaranteed by the US Constitution and by the International Human Rights declaration of the United Nations.
All questions MUST be completed. PLEASE PRINT neatly and/or type. The original application must be submitted, with a copy of your passport attached and $300 d deposit made payable to the Labor Exchange. All information will be kept confidential
Legal Name (as it appears on passport):_____________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________________
City_______________________________ State ______________________ Zip Code___________
Phone/Fax _____________________________e-mail: ____________________________________
Union/Organization__________________________________________________________________
How/from whom did you learn about the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange ___________________________
Passport#_________________________________ Expiration Date_________________
Date of birth__________________________ Place of birth __________________ _______________
Please mail your application to:
US/Cuba Labor Exchange
P.O. Box 39188
Redford, MI 48239
Phone/Fax:(313) 318 5159
mailto:laborexchange @ aol.com
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Meeting of Workers Organizations
1. Declaration of Principles
I. An important and never enough number of workers from our America are creating together a space for debate, reflection and coordination in order to contribute to union of action, solidarity and struggle of all our class.
II. We do not ask from where they are coming. We want – together – to direct to where our class and peoples are going to. We want to contribute with our struggle, to the urgent and necessary social justice related to the definitive freedom of our America.
III. For this struggle are called all strugglers and trade union and social organizations based in the working class that defend the class interests, do not mind their international affiliation.
IV. This space has not an executive direction with distribution of positions, but a coordinator worker group renewable in each meeting, having the ampler and more representative possible struggle path.
V. We embrace the common interests of our class, all forms of struggle and we propose an effort to reach the necessary unit of action of all organizations, without competition among them. We are internationalist ones.
VI. We come from the core of our history; recalling the rebellion of our liberators, we joint the experience of thousand of struggles of workers, students, retirees, women, Indians, black people and peasants everywhere and every time in our America. We believe in the socialism as the system for the human development.
VII. For this reason, in front of the permanent attack of imperialism and in the middle of several crises of capitalism we rescue the increase of the class struggle that generates the highest political conscience, enabling the existence of actual revolutionary process and left governments in our region.
VIII. We can, have to and want to take part of the historical construction for the transformation of our America, which necessarily pass by the economical, political and social integration of the peoples of region.
IX. The defense of democracy, auto-determination of the Latin American peoples and active participation on the social transformation process that our continent are living in.
THE UNIT OF ACTION OF ORGANIZED WORKING CLASS IT IS A PARAMOUNT TOOL TO DEEP THE INDISPENSABLE CHANGES, IN ORDER TO PROMOTE THE SOVEREIGN DEVELOPMENT OF OUR PEOPLES, TO ELEVATE THE LIVING CONDITIONS, TO SHARE THE WEALTH, TO ELIMINATE THE SOCIAL INEQUALITIES ANS PROMOTE THE SOVEREIGN INTEGRATION OF OUR AMERICA TOWARDS ITS FREEDOM.
Caracas, April 29, 2010.
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Uniting America’s Working Class and Increasing its Influence
Raising the level of struggle and Unity of the Worker Movements
1.- Latin America is embarking on a rich and promising
political transition, marked by the ascension of progressive and
anti-imperialist forces against the governments of many countries. They
are contesting the imperialism of the United States of America; they
are cultivating both democracy and repeated neoliberal electoral
losses. We are living, therefore, in a situation favorable to the
struggle of the working class, the union movement, and those in favor
of sovereignty and social transformations. This is a very different
environment from the hostile one that was prevalent during the 90s (in
the past century), in which hegemony and neoliberal politics were ideal
after the defeat of socialism in Europe. This constrained the left and the
union movement, and required them to be on the defensive.
2.- In a sense, this political scenario can be considered the
antithesis of what existed before. ALCA’s recolonization project,
which was launched in the Conference of the Americas in Miami in 1994,
was “stopped”; the imperialists could not impose t
heir project on the entire continent and had to change their tactics
concerning the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. In contrast, the
countries that rejected ALCA bet on the growth and prosperity of
MERCOSUR and proposed the creation of the South American United
Nations (UNASUR). The decision that was most relevant in terms of
integration is the emergence of ALBA and the TCP, which help the
government and the people relate to one another, and are based on
solidarity, cooperation, and complementation. these social movements
breathe more freely and conquer a lot of territory and
preponderance in the political struggle. Such movements, however, are
not supported by Colombia and Peru, which are led by puppet governments
who serve Yankee imperialists.
3.- Regardless, it is necessary to say that this process of change is
not quite definitive; it is a little uncertain. The right has not
suffered a definitive loss. Imperialism has not yet been put to rest
despite such political (and military, in the case of Iraq and
Afghanistan) events, the imminent failure of the dollar, and the crisis
and depression in the North American economy.
4.- Recent events, like the violation of Ecuadorian territory by
Colombia and the separatist efforts in Bolivia, among other things,
indicate that the reactionary forces look to create conditions to
launch an offensive front against the class struggle in the entire
region. Neoliberalism has not been abolished; it monopolizes the main
mediums of communication and exercises powerful influence over the
economy. The philosophy that is the origin of the proposal of ALCA has
been continually implemented through “free trade agreements” (such as
the European Union), of the privatizations, liberalization of change,
and inversion flows, among other things. The possibility of regression
has not disappeared. By losing political ground, American imperialism
is formenting the arms race and creating provocations of all sorts with
the objective of improving upon the military and multiplying conflicts
between the nations in the region.
5.- War is an instrument used by the imperialists to solve or attenuate
their economic crises; it is clear that the United States is looking
for a pretext in America to initiate it and, in doing so, erase all of
the progress made up until this point. We workers must be alert in
order to escape any intent of aggression against our emancipatory
processes.
6.- In such circumstances, we must accentuate the responsibilities of
the union movement. We must impose the desire and need to amplify the
mobilization and conscientiousness of the working people to struggle alongside other progressive
forces, for two intertwining objectives: defeating reactionary
neoliberalism and inciting transforming actions. By concentrating its
energy on such actions, the union movement can overcome its obstacles,
regain strength, amplify its mobilization capacity, and contribute (in
a decisive manner) to the concrete affirmation of the centralization of
the workplace and the elevation of the leadership of the working class in the
political destiny of the Latin American nations.
7.- Following this path is not as easy as it appears on sight; it will
require much determination and initiative as well as conscientiousness
and working class spirit. The union movement was hit hard by
neoliberalism and the so-called productive reconstruction in most of
the world was debilitated by rising unemployment and increasing
informality/precarity in worker-employer relations as well as the
diminishment of the socialist perspective after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
8.- The working class is also resentful of the offensive imposed by
capital; it finds itself more fragmented, divided, and vulnerable to
the ideals of the capitalist business, which are operated through
different means, mainly with the backing of those who promote the
collaboration and conciliation of classes. The paradigms of competition
and individualism were strongly promoted and created roots,
harming the spirit of class solidarity and fermenting division and conformism. This
constitutes a difficult situation, objective and subjective all at once, which the union
movement must confront and defeat.
9.- The struggle on an ideological level, for the conquest of the
hearts and minds of the working class and the elevation of social
conscience, has achieved noble goals. They have worked to destroy the
deplorable role that the media has played in winning the war on ideas
in favor of the imperialist and neoliberal order dictated by the
United States, disseminate lies, and promoting a true mediatic
terrorist with the intent on defaming and discrediting the progressive
forces and ideas of change. The battle for the democratization of the
media is progressing day by day and the union movement cannot be aloof
to this struggle.
10.- The demands around which the integrational processes in the
region are centered around, which are marked by the new conditions
created by the governments and the struggles which are opposed to
American unilateralism, demand a better political and ideological
comprehension. This is because it is necessary to count on the social
factor more and more each day in the entire integrational struggle.
11.- Dozens of unions within the region decided to invoke the Union
Organization of our America. This is a political and union initiative
with the objective of raising the level of struggle and unity of the
worker movements of the continent,
especially Latin America and the
Caribbean, by conquering ground in terms of ideas, culture, and
political/social matters. We are convinced that the first step to achieving this
objective of elevating the protagonist of the working class in the
political struggle throughout Latin America should be attempting to
unify not only the union movement, but all of the social movements as a
whole; elaborating platforms and agendas of mobilization and common
struggle in the environment of each nation and on a more ample
regional plan.
12.-We propose the construction of a political space where workers of
all Latin American nations can debate topics relevant to the time
period and viable conjoined actions against the imperialist, neoliberal
order and in defense of th e interests of the majority of the people
that l ive in the region. We understand that it is necessary to create
a worker movement organization that is not restricted to a union
setting. The union movement must have leadership guaranteed by the
organization and join other political and social sectors with the
purpose of advancing in the political, econom
ic, and social struggles
and in revolutionary processes. Today, numerous networks and campaigns
are struggling to resist and confront the diverse actions of neoliberal
policies in which the workers, in general, play quite a limited role
when in reality they should be playing a much more active role.
13.- We are defending a common space for unilateral action and
articulation, of an inclusive nature, with social actors with interests
common to those of the working class. We desire unity of action,
the construction of one sole platform, the politization of the
social movements face to face with the defiances that emerge in Latin
America and provoke the social movement, directed toward the
emancipation of the working class as well as other exploited and
excluded sectors of society.
14.- Unity will take place i n the struggle to defend the working class
and the popular sectors against neoliberal imperialism and
globalization, which allows
mass unemployment, decrease in salary, discrimination increase, and
flexibility/diminishment of rights. In response to neoliberal
globalization, we will chart the pathway for the globalization of
struggles, integration, and working class unity in Latin America. This
is in order to act forcefully and obtain a more progressive social
character for the integration of the nations in the regi on.
15.- The reaction of the neoliberal right wing and the imperialists to
these changes stimulates the class struggle in defense of popular
interests and national sovereignty. One must acknowledge active
so
lidarity with revolutionary and progressive governments, who have
been blindsided with a forceful offensive by the United States through
various types of provocations, distorted lies by the capitalist media
and various initiatives with the objective of destabilization. We must
observe the historic resistance of Cuba, the daring of the Bolivarian
revolution, the brave determination of Ecuador and Bolivia, and how
they have confronted the right and persisted progressively. Brazil,
with a democratic and progressive government, has contributed to
altering the correlation of forces in the region. Latin American
unions, in a mple alliance with the social movements and other forces,
cannot waver in defending the conquests and the democratic,
progressive, and revolutionary governments.
16. – Neoliberalism has been an extraordi nary regression in terms of
social relations; it has helped to significantly increase exploitation
in the w ork force. Those most discriminated include: women, African
Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, and youth. It is necessary to
struggle to get the people to fight privatization, to obtain salary
increases, to help isolated sectors of society, to fight precarity in
contracts, discrimination, flexibility of rights, reduce work hours,
and obtain more rights for workers. At this point in time, it is
necessary to stru ggle for these goals in these nations, to obtain more
spending on public and social needs; doing so will provide for better
ammunition against isolation and extreme poverty.
17.- We are convinced that Lat
in American history, throughout which the
struggle between oppressive imperialism and the light of a socialist
and sovereign future has gained clarity, will depend on the leadership
of the working class in the great political struggles that are already
taking place. Unions together with social progress will play an
important role in our common destiny – that is, if they can overcome
economic issues and raise the level of their mobilization and struggles
on the political plane.
colareboenglish 
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