Workers to Unite Across Borders Against NAFTA and “Free Trade”

[Omaha Steve]

http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/cjmworkersunite/

Posted on October 4, 2009 by dsalaborblogmoderator

On Monday October 5 at the US-Canada International Ambassador Bridge and at the US-Mexico Hidalgo-McAllen-Reynoss International Bridge, workers from the Mexico, the United States, and Canada will come together to protest NAFTA and “free trade.”

Ernesto Lizcano, a TRW worker, traveled to Livonia, Michigan to meet with company executives at TRW headquarters, but they refused to meet with him. Since then, Ernesto has been traveling throughout the US looking for support to make TRW accountable to the workers in Reynosa, Mexico. His trip and campaign has been project of the Coalition for Jus5tice in the Maquiladoras. ( Background on the TRW workers can be found at the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladroa website.)

Members of UAW workers Local 174 from Romulus, Michigan are traveling to the US-Mexican border on October 5 to demonstrate against free trade at the international bridge in Hidalgo/McAllen, TX. The TRW workers will be demonstrating on the Mexican side in an expression of solidarity, and to show that workers are united across borders. Members of Local 174 and others have donated thousands of dollars to fund the UAW member trip as they and their families are the victims of these devastating trade policies.

George Hardy, First Vice-president of the UAW Local 174, stated, “We want jobs. We need to feed our families, but NAFTA wiped away all our jobs in Michigan and in America. We are demonstrating with TRW workers because NAFTA pit workers against one another, but now we want to tell all corporations that workers are united.”

Martha Ojeda, executive director of the CJM, explained, “Trade is not just among governments and corporations. President Obama should see the social impact of free trade and listen to the people who believed his promises for change. He said to the people, ‘YES WE CAN!’ but instead of change for workers and families, government is bailing out multinational corporations that closed plants and gave massive layoffs.”

FULL story at link.

[MichiganVote]

1. Wish I could be there. We need more things like this. Esp. in Michigan