After massive public pressure both here in the U.S. and around the hemisphere derailed the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), the Bush administration and its corporate masters shifted gears, focusing on bilateral (or one country) trade agreements. Proposed agreements are pending with Colombia & South Korea that have received some attention by the press and opposition by organized labor and human rights groups. However, the proposed U.S./Peru Free Trade Agreement passed the U.S. house on Nov. 8th. Despite all the mea culpas from the Democrats this election year about their support of trade agreements in the past, and new promises that they will fight for fair trade over free trade, 109 Democrats voted in favor of the Peru trade pact. The rather anemic opposition to this trade agreement now shifts to the Senate. You can read more here… http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3370 Professors Helena Worthen and Joe Berry with the Chicago Labor Education Program, will...

David Bacon is one of the most insightful and forward thinking advocates for immigrant rights in the U.S. labor movement. His analysis of the relationship between trade and migration is essential to understanding the importance of the immigrant worker's struggles to the overall revitalization of the organized labor in the U.S. He has also consistently called for the most militant and thoroughgoing strategies to care the immigrant workers struggle forward. David circulated the following statement among immigrant rights groups in California last month. The type of working class solidarity, David calls for here is not only vital if we are to win the fight for migrants rights, but could lead to a radical transformation of union locals away from the type of business unionism that has dominated for decades toward a return to unions as vital organs of social change in the broadest sense… A Solidarity Campaign in Response to No-Match Letters: In the late 1980s, when anti-immigrant raci...

MOHAWKS INFLAMED OVER TOHONO O’ODHAM TRIBAL COUNCIL COMPLICITY IN “BORDER” OPPRESSION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. Mohawks disgusted by border barrier and arrests on Indian land... Read the full report here... http://indigenousbordersummitamericas2007.blogspot.com/2007/11/mohawks-indigenous-border-delegation.html

36% of GM workers voted “No” 45% of Chrysler workers voted “No” Ford workers can vote it down! The “No” vote at Chrysler was the biggest ever “No” vote against any contract that was ratified at the Big 3. And since then, many Chrysler workers who voted “Yes” have been quoted as saying that they would have voted “No” if they knew about the layoffs that were kept secret until after the contract was ratified. They want to sell us a contract based on false promises of “job security”. They want us to forget that this contract has concessions that will lead to a devastating drop in the standard of living for current autoworkers, future autoworkers, retirees, and workers across the country... TO READ MORE CLICK HERE... http://www.xpdnc.com/files/relatednewsandreports07/zpfile000zpfile001.pdf Ford 2007 Contract Info... http://www.xpdnc.com/files/relatednewsandreports07/SOS-FordContractInfo.htm Chrysler 2007 Contract Info... http://www.xpdnc.com/files/relatednewsandreports07/SOS-ChryslerContrac...

"I have been working for Starrh and Starrh for five years", Alejandro Gil told us. "The working conditions are awful. We are exposed to a lot of dust and we do not have any protection. In the last two or three days, I have been feeling a pain in my chest and my back when I breathe...The owner's brother-in-law always puts pressure on workers. He wants more production. The brother-in-law always carries a gun on his waist to scare workers." "We never had bathrooms, fresh water or water to wash our hands. Sometimes we do not get any breaks. They put a lot of pressure on us to work faster. When I helped them packing hay, I worked up to 16 hours without breaks." said Gerardo Negrete. "I am a sprayer and they do not give us what we need to protect ourselves from the chemicals. I have sprayed [pesticide] without gloves, masks or overalls. They only give those to us when we are close to roads where maybe some inspectors can see us...The foremen make fun of...