American Activists Become Internationalists!

 

Jobs with Justice activists at the 2000 national conference heard speakers from Haiti, France, South Africa and Cuba as presenters. Guests from a number of other countries also attended and took part in discussions.

 

Lancelot Giba of the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) addressed 500 American activists. He told them that his federation had been established in 1985, during the dark days of apartheid, and had grown in power since. "Whoever wants to silence COSATU now is daydreaming!" he told the loudly approving crowd.

 

Recently, COSATU held broad discussions on how the nation should go about rectifying "the imbalances and inequalities of the past." They agreed on a program which was later approved by the governing party, African National Congress, and is being used to rally people in elections.

 

COSATU is opposed to privatization, deregulation, job losses, and the other malignant aspects being forced on nations under the guise of "globalization," Giba said. Their recent March for Job Creation drew four million supporters, he reported. He rallied the crowd to a standing, roaring, cheer as he finished his talk with, "We have to stand up against this global concept!"

 

At dinner that evening, Giba said that the Jobs with Justice conference had made a profound impression. He said, "It is fascinating. The people of this conference will play a very big role in reviving the American labor movement."

 

The South African delegates are particularly interested in American trade union attitudes toward colonization. Giba believes, "A lot of things are happening. We have never seen the American labor movement as open as they are now." When word reached South Africa about the protests in Seattle last November, Giba said, "It gave us hope for support against colonization."

 

The broad participation of activists from civil rights, community, church, and student movements at the JwJ conference reminded Lancelot Giba of COSATU's development before the African National Congress took power in 1994: "What we saw here reminds us of the days of joint actions with students and other community organizations on themes of joint interest!"

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A Hispanic Caucus held a special lunchtime session with three Cuban trade unionists on July 21. Leonel Gonzalez was the main speaker. For most of the audience, it was the first time in our lifetimes that we had heard anything positive about the government and people of Cuba. Gonzalez gave a balanced, reasonable, and often humorous account of basic problems and current developments. He and his group were on a 12-state, 28-day tour that included the national conference of the Labor Council on Latin America in early August. They will be sharing information and seeking support to end the boycott against Cuba that is has been imposed by the United States for decades.

 

Legislation already in the U.S. Congress on the boycott was summarized by Gonzalez as follows:

"Todo es un engano." He said it was essentially a trick to cope with worldwide pressure on the U.S. to end the boycott, but would actually have no effect. He said that 157 different nations had formally condemned the blockade. He also provided a list that included many U.S. endorsers.

 

Their tour benefited from fund-raising by the U.S. Cuba Labor Exchange. The same organization is organizing a trade-union tour of Cuba for November 9-15. It costs $590 complete from Cancun, Mexico.

 

Gonzalez was proud of Cuba’s efforts toward solidarity with other nations, especially of the doctors being sent around the world and the medical training being offered. Audience members with firsthand knowledge of Cuban affairs affirmed their role in helping other nations.