>One of the early shots at Mine-Mill workers and their union came across the >bargaining table from a Falconbridge Noranda Vice President, who referred >to workers as “bottom-feeders and scum-suckers.” > >“We are not bottom-feeders and scum-suckers. We are human beings, with >families, who deserve and have a right to respect and dignity,” said Rolly >Gautier to a mass picket and rally Oct. 14 outside the smelter. The event >was jointly organized by the union and the Sudbury Coalition for Social >Justice. > >With the strike costing the company $1.5 million a day, it's clear that the >real issue is union-busting. Gautier also thinks the company may be trying >to test the CAW, which Mine-Mill is now part of. > >It's an old story in Sudbury, with a new twist by a new transnational. The >stakes are high. Since what happens here may be repeated in mines and >smelters across Canada, local activists say this strike must not be lost. > >Molly Hancock, spokesperson for the Sudbury Social Justice Coalition, told >strikers that the community fully supports them. > >“Sudbury is a mining union town,” she said earlier in an interview. “This >strike and the way it's being conducted by the company, is making an >impression on the community about how working people are viewed by this >particular company. We've never seen anything like it before... It seems to >us that it's the beginning of this corporate globalization movement in the >mining industry.” > >Mass support has come from the labour movement and the community, including >from the USWA and miners at INCO, construction workers, teachers and the >federations, and other unions in the public and private sectors. Shelly >Martel, NDP MPP for Sudbury expressed her support for the strike. The >Charlie McClure Club of the Communist Party, which helped build the rally, >gave its full support. > >Gautier said one of the keys to victory was to make sure the young people >in the union know what the struggle is about. Judging by the young people >on the picket line, Gautier has delivered the goods. > >Two young strikers and their wives interviewed by People's Voice at the >rally said the company has seriously underestimated the workers. “They >think we're stupid. But you know, many of us have university and college >degrees. We may have to read the contract two or three times, but we can >read what they mean.” > >When the company sent personal letters home to all the strikers -- twice, >including its final offer -- Rob Gravelle and Darren Nixon pulled out >calculators and worked it out for themselves. The offer was “bullshit,” >worse than they had thought. > >Now it's time to shut the mine down, say many of the strikers. “Yeah, we're >going to try,” said one. “I don't know how long we have to wait to get the >okay to shut down Falconbridge, but it's coming. We'll have to do it.” > >The company is claiming high levels of production, up to 50%, but Gravelle >and Nixon say it isn't more than 20%. “They're running at 50%, but they're >throwing away about 30% because the quality is garbage. They're running >empty trucks through the picket lines. You can tell by the tires, they're >running them back and forth empty. > >“They tape everything we say. They videotape us all the time. They listen >in on our cell-phone conversations. These guys are there for intimidation >purposes. They've forked out a million dollars just on security. They use a >firm called Accufax from Hamilton, they're union-busters.” > >Mining unions in Norway have declared Falconbridge Noranda hot, and will >stop the refining of Falconbridge ore by the end of October. The impact >will help bring production to a stop in Sudbury too, say the strikers. > >“International solidarity -- that's what we need to beat globalization,” >said Nixon. > >The union will soon hold another membership meeting. Pressure to stop the >scabs is building, and support for the strike is growing across the North. > >“We're not going to let this company rule us. We going to stick to our >guns. We're the ones who live here,” said Gravelle and Nixon. > >********************* > >6/ VANCOUVER DEMO BLASTS “CUBAN ADJUSTMENT ACT” > >Special to People's Voice > >FIFTY PEOPLE took part in a late afternoon rally on Oct. 10 at the U.S. >Consulate in downtown Vancouver, a location quite visible to the heavy >pedestrian and car traffic. The protest was organized by members of the 8th >“Che Guevara” Volunteer Work Brigade, who recently spent three weeks in >Cuba working and learning about the current situation. Other solidarity >organizations took part, including the Canadian Cuban Friendship >Association (CCFA) and the Cuban Youth Tour Committee. > >The demonstrators chanted slogans against the U.S. blockade of Cuba, >calling on the public to oppose the Torricelli Law, the Helms-Burton Law >and the Cuban Adjustment Act, all of which violate international laws. > >Noting that October 10 was International Cuba Solidarity Day, >CCFA-Vancouver President Nazir Rizvi welcomed the participation of young >people. Volunteer work in Cuba is a special sign of friendship, Rizvi said >that “as a matter of fact, this demo is an example of friendship and >solidarity with Cuba.” > >Calling on Washington to end the “illegal and immoral blockade against >Cuba,” Rizvi added that it is the duty of Canadians to call on our own >government to speak up against this U.S. action. Cuba has made achievements >we can all learn from, he said, referring to Liberal MP Dr. Carolyn Bennet, >who has publicly reported about some positive features of the Cuban health >care system and the lessons for Canada. > >The second speaker, “Che” Brigade coordinator Nino Pagliccia, referred to >the less well-known Cuban Adjustment Act. Signed by President Johnson in >1966, the Act establishes that any Cuban arriving in US territory in any >way, even illegally or by risking the lives of others, can receive the >status of permanent resident in the USA. > >This “American law that kills Cubans,” as Pagliccia said, is known by >Cubans as the “Law of Death.” He pointed out that “there is no Mexican >Adjustment Act. There is no Guatemalan Adjustment Act. There is no >Colombian Adjustment Act. There is no Canadian Adjustment Act.” > >The U.S. government has been granting only 7% of the visas out of the >20,000 a year stated in the U.S.Cuba Migratory Agreement. Instead, >Washington promises certain privileges under the Cuban Adjustment Act, and >at the same time finances the broadcast of 2,300 weekly radio hours from >Florida to encourage the illegal migration of Cubans. In this way, the U.S. >government incites Cubans to undertake actions such as armed hijackings of >aircraft and vessels, and smuggling of people for profit. > >In one recent incident, a small plane stolen from Cuba crashed in >international waters, claiming one life. The nine survivors should have >been returned to Cuba, according to the Migratory Agreement. But the U.S. >government let them free without a single charge for the crime of stealing >an aircraft. > >The most cruel side of the story is that the mother of the Cuban who died >applied for a visa to attend her son's funeral in Florida; the U.S. >Interest Section in Havana denied the visa, saying “she might opt to remain >in the U.S.” If this same mother risked her life on a raft to reach >Florida, she would be granted residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act. > >Calling this policy “absurd, irrational and criminal,” Pagliccia concluded >that “U.S. authorities are completely responsible for over three decades of >loss or risk of human life. Even children are forced to embark on such >adventures as a consequence of a policy that is immoral, outdated, >absolutely unethical and inhumane. We will continue to publicly identify >this senseless Cuban Adjustment Act as `the law of death' that kills Cubans.” > > >*************************************** >Communist Party of Canada >290A Danforth Ave., >Toronto, Ont. M4K 1N6 >416-469-2446 (voice) >416-469-4063 (fax) ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >http://www.communist-party.ca _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
