Caribbean banana farmers: livelihoods on the line
Harry Belafonte’s “Day O” lament typifies the plight of the banana worker who labors long, arduous hours and receives some of the lowest pay among agricultural workers. Yet, as exploitative and laborious as it is, the banana industry has provided livelihoods for thousands of peasant farmers in the Caribbean basin, especially the Windward Islands — the four island states of Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
National Clips
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.: SCLC opens convention; WASHINGTON, D.C.: Teach Wal-Mart a lesson; NEW YORK, N.Y.: Vets to gov’t — Release Abu Ghraib photos; TUCSON, Ariz.: Raging Grannies busted at Army recruiting station; LAS CRUCES, N.M.: Hundreds defend immigrant workers
NY subway riders wary of searches
NEW YORK — Under a new policy that many say is unconstitutional and sure to lead to greatly increased racial profiling, anyone entering New York City’s subway system is now subject to random police searches.
Calls grow to fire Karl Rove
Despite a hasty Supreme Court nomination that many say was timed to distract from the scandal surrounding Karl Rove, calls from the American people are steadily growing: “Fire Karl Rove!”
AFL-CIO demands rapid withdrawal from Iraq
CHICAGO (PAI) - Following a rousing speech by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention here voted on July 26 for a resolution demanding the U.S. “bring the troops home rapidly” from Iraq.
Festival diary: I want to learn a lot and have fun doing it
Erika, 19, is about to engage in her first political act. A Chicana student from the Los Angeles area, Erika will be attending the World Festival of Youth and Students in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 6-13. This reporter will be following her as she takes part in the festival. Here are her thoughts as she gets ready for the trip.
Downing St. Memo fuels grassroots anger
LOS ANGELES — A fiery Out of Iraq Town Hall/Teach In drew a standing-room-only, overflow crowd of 1,000 to Inglewood’s Covenant Worship Center here July 23. The multiracial crowd packing the church cheered calls for a stepped up struggle to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and bring the troops home “sooner rather than later.”
Break in labor unity challenges AFL-CIO delegates
CHICAGO — Six unions withdrew from participation in the national AFLCIO convention held here July 25-28 and hinted at the formation of a second labor federation. The break in labor unity cast a pall over the opening of the federation’s quadrennial convention, but rank and file members and leaders alike struggled to move beyond their anger and bitterness in order to chart a course for the struggles facing this country’s working class.
Wildlife Extinction Bill threatens endangered species
Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), a longtime foe of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), is about to introduce a bill that will dramatically alter the reach of the act. Titled the “Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005,” the Pombo bill has infuriated environmental groups, who have dubbed it the “Wildlife Extinction Bill.”
Jeb plays games with Florida class size
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In a decision that could have a significant negative impact on students with disabilities, Education Department officials here claim the state’s constitutional amendment limiting class size provides no flexibility for co-teachers in “inclusion classrooms.”
