Protesting 12-hour days
Garment industry workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 18th, protest a government edict adding four hours to their eight-hour shifts.
African American laundry womens strike of 1881
With slavery less than two decades behind them, thousands of African American home laundry workers went on strike for higher wages, respect for their work and control over how their work was organized. In the summer of 1881, the home laundry workers took on Atlanta’s business and political establishment, and gained so much support that they threatened to call a general strike, which would have shut the city down.
WORLD NOTES
Japan: Peace committee says, ban the Marines. Colombia: Reveal plot to kill unionists. Tanzania: Teachers need respect, support. Britain: Union wins historic equal pay award. Afghanistan: Bitter winter kills children.
Israeli land grab continues in West Bank
On March 21 the Israeli government confirmed its approval of plans to build 3,500 new housing units in two new neighborhoods in Ma’ale Adumim, an illegal West Bank settlement. The construction would significantly expand the settlement toward the northeast and around east Jerusalem, a move that will tighten the Israeli stranglehold on Jerusalem and its Palestinian residents even further.
New initiatives to end U.S. travel ban to Cuba
The U.S. ban on travel to Cuba has become a focus for people of all shades of opinion working to reverse U.S. policy toward Cuba. Announcements are now out for a conference and several trips this year are planned as direct challenges to the travel restrictions.
World recoils at Wolfowitz nomination
Coming on the heels of his nomination of extreme right-winger John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, President Bush has delivered another slap in the face to the international community with the appointment of Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank.
Cesar Chavez to be honored
Celebrations of the life and work of the great Mexican American labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), are being held throughout the country between now and April 3.
A simple message: Don't Sell Out Our Kids
Hundreds protest California Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger’s proposed cuts in education and public services.
Californians demand reps take the pledge
The California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) campaign to maximize strong opposition to the Bush administration’s proposals of privatized Social Security accounts is picking up steam. The group, working with its 105 labor and community affiliates, is organizing 12 town hall meetings throughout the state during March and April focused on convincing congresspersons to sign the AFL-CIO pledge to defend the system.
Senators reject Clear Skies smokescreen
While environmental activists scored a victory March 9 with the apparent defeat of President Bush’s so-called “Clear Skies” initiative, they still have a fight on their hands over recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules.
