Greek workers on the move
2013 2013-02Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 11 →
The words are the paper's own, from its digital file; the division into articles was made by machine, so a box or caption can end up inside the article next to it.
Scan page 11
SOCIALIST ACTION FEBRUARY 2013 11 (continued from page 8: “Popular movements organize in Honduras”)
She proudly states, “We will not compro mise with the government.”
We talked about the recent Chicago Teachers Strike and how teachers in Chi cago are struggling against the closing of public schools and the corporate take over of education in the United States. Suyapa said, “This is an international problem.” The government is also cutting art and mu sic classes.
Suyapa took me to the offices of her union to meet the president, Oscar Recarte. He had the current copy of the Honduras news paper, El Heraldo, spread out on his desk. It had a three-page article entitled “Los 10 Villanos [Villains] Nacionales.” There was his picture at number nine. They cited his opposition to the Fundamental Law Of Ed ucation and a protest against teacher evalu ations based on student tests. He found it humorous.
Honduras is an important country to of mass movements in the past couple of decades. If the LIBRE Party continues to maintain popular support as it gets closer to the November 2013 elections, we should be aware of the strong possibility of U.S. intervention. Nil Nikandrov, writing for the Strategic Culture Foundation, stated, “The U.S. Department of State, the CIA, and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Department are not the only agencies diverting top-level human resources to Honduras. USAID and the Peace Corps are also there, and vast em ployment opportunities are open for con tractors with combat experience or record of service in the special forces.” The Civil And Human Rights Committee of SEIU 503 (Oregon) and the Alliance For Global Justice will be holding forums on Honduras in four cities (Portland, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene) on March 4-7 to educate workers and community members about attacks on unions and the LGBT commu nity in Honduras as well as the role of the Obama administration. n On Jan. 19, dozens of cities around the world demonstrated as part of a global day of action against fascism in Greece, including recent murder ous attacks on immigrant workers by Golden Dawn.
Greek capital is using Golden Dawn as a battering ram against a still de fiant working class. Subway workers struck in late January for over a week, and when a court ordered their re turn to work, they defied the order and were joined by workers from other public transport sectors. The strike folded, however, when the gov ernment threatened to imprison all strikers.
Nonetheless, workers in other sec tors will launch their own strikes soon, and Greek ports were recently tied up in a four-day strike. Greece’s largest private-sector union federa tion has called a general strike for Feb. 20.
As Greek-American activist Despina Lalaki pointed out in a recent inter view, however, the general strikes in Greece and elsewhere on the conti nent in recent years have failed to yield substantial results: “European capitalists will make no concessions unless a continuous general strike is called.” She also pointed to forms of resistance such as refusal to pay taxes and fees.
She cited the need for leftist party Syriza to tighten links with unions and social movements, in turn giving the masses an opportunity to halt the feared slide to the right as Syriza’s electoral fortunes improve.
—ANDREW POLLACK
Scan page 12
SOCIALIST ACTION Harouna Traore / AP