70 Labor Activists Assassinated in Guatemala over 9 Years

[Judi Lynn]

70 Labor Activists Assassinated in Guatemala over 9 Years
Published 29 April 2016

This new report suggests that the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, has done little to protect workers in Guatemala.

Seventy labor activists were murdered in Guatemala between 2004 and 2013, the Network of Labor Rights Defenders said Thursday.

All but 18 of those crimes remain unpunished, the Network said.

"The levels of impunity continue to be alarming," said Julio Coj, an official with the Unsitragua union, adding that violence against union members "is doing a lot of damage to the movement."

He cited figures showing that the level of union membership had declined from nearly 12 percent of workers in 1996 to 1.2 percent currently.

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/70-Labor-Activists-Assassinated-in-Guatemala-over-9-Years-20160429-0037.html

[Hulk]

1. Guatemala...a wake up call

I drive for Uber and Lyft...two companies that exploit their willing, desperate employees. But I'll leave that story for another day.

Just recently I had two riders that had visited Guatemala, and their stories stunned me. Not sure how accurate, but if even close, it's alarming.

I have wanted to visit Guatemala for years, but it's down a few notches on my "to do list". But both riders shared stories about Guatemala City as being one of the most dangerous in the world. I thought nothing could come close to Ciudad Juarez, but they shared stories of murder rates that challenged those of the Mexican frontier.

This was sad news. This story doesn't take me by complete surprise.

[dreamnightwind]

2. This is how global labor movements are destroyed

Thanks for increasing awareness of this, most people do not know.

If labor was allowed to organize locally and globally, as capital is, we'd be living in a more human world.