Salvadoran unionists hold conference for peace

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UNTS members for peace and earthquake assistance Against the background of civil war and the most forceful labor upsurge in seven years, a conference "In Search of Peace" was held in San Salvador on Nov. 22-23.

Sponsored by the National Unity of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS), the largest coalition of worker and peasant organizations in El Salvador, the conference brought together 175 North Americans with some 300 Salvadorans who represented a broad array of unions, peasant cooperatives, and organizations of indigenous people. This was the largest peace delegation ever to gather in El Salvador.

Despite the persisting war and the continued repression and torture of political activists and unionists, Salvadorans continue to organize. To openly hold a peace conference under the eye of the U.S.-backed dictatorship was, in itself, an important accomplishment.

Powerful testimony was heard from COMADRES, the committee of mothers of the disappeared, as well as from Humberto Centeno, president of ASTTEL (the telecommunication workers union), who was captured by the military along with his two sons in November 1985.

Centeno was released after a national strike by ASTTEL workers, but was told that his sons would not be freed until he stopped his activity. Centeno refused to bend, and to this day his sons still remain in prison. Adrian Esquino Lisco, head of the National Association of Indigenous Salvadorans (ANIS), told of the massacre of Las Hojas, where 74 villagers were killed by the government for being "subversives."

Strengthening solidarity

While the U.S. labor movement was not strongly represented in the delegation, several union presidents were there. They included Luis Doran, president of Service Employees International Union Local 660, Jim Henle is a leading member of the Boston Central American Solidarity Association (CASA). He attended the UNTS conference in November. and Mike Urquart, who represented Ken Blaylock, president of the 300,000-strong American Federation of Government Employees.

Several important steps were taken to strengthen solidarity and communication between American labor and the UNTS. A tour of the United States by UNTS members was projected, and an invitation was extended to the UNTS to speak at the upcoming April 25 Peace, Jobs and Justice demonstration in Washington, D.C.

The conference also took up the issue of the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD). AIFLD, which has been providing labor support to the Duarte government, acts as the foreign-policy arm of the U.S. government inside Latin American labor. It has also created company unions and works with the military to oust legitimate unions that are considered "subversive." Salvadorans at the

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Socialist Action/Jim Henle conference were adamant about the need to remove AIFLD from El Salvador.

Conference participants observed a march and rally sponsored by the UNTS on Nov. 22. Called to support an end to the civil war and to promote higher wages, the rally also demanded earthquake relief for the hard-hit poor areas of San Salvador. While Salvadoran workers suffer under rapid inflation and a decline in real wages, these problems have only been compounded by the October earthquake.

Conference participants viewed the devastation of the city, with streets still cluttered with rubble and people living in half-fallen structures. Residents testified that they have received no aid whatsoever from the government.

In light of this situation, the church and the UNTS have been organizing relief efforts on their own. This is another example of how workers are moving to center stage in the crisis and taking the lead in organizing society through workers' organizations. (To contribute, send checks to FENASTRAS/Earthquake Relief Fund, 1300 Connecticut Ave. #808, Washington, D.C. 20036).

Three main themes While the UNTS, as a broad front, incorporated many viewpoints, three main themes emerged.

The first theme was that the struggle for basic human rights and the rights of workers to organize in their legitimate unions must continue. Second, there was an overwhelming desire for peace. The need for a genuine peace movement is now more urgent than ever. Third, the U.S.-backed Duarte government was clearly identified as an obstacle to peace. The recent earthquake only served to dramatize the indifference and corruption of this government.

The UNTS peace proposal calls for an end to U.S. intervention in El Salvador as a prerequisite for peace. It calls for the unions to play a greater role in the peace process. It fails, however, to specify the content of any future peace accord.

As it stands now, Duarte's base is being steadily eroded while the desperation of the Salvadoran people is being channeled into the organizations of the workers and peasants.

The movement in the United States has a profound responsibility to spread the truth about El Salvador and to build opposition to U.S. intervention—especially within the U.S. labor movement.

A key factor in the struggle of the Salvadoran workers and peasants will be our ability to stay the hand of the U.S. government, which keeps the Salvadoran military in power. Building mass actions here will help join our struggles in action.

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