Yesterday (12-15-07) the newly formed Chicago Trade With Justice Working Group, held their first public action - a visit to the Chicago campaign HQ for Sen. Barack Obama. On the campaign trail, Obama has criticized those who supported NAFTA and CAFTA and promised to take a different direction in regards to trade policy if elected President. Yet he expressed publicly that he supported the recently passes U.S./Peru Free Trade Agreement and did not show up to vote against it when it was voted on by the Senate on Dec. 4th. The Working Group delivered a letter to Obama stating our disappointment with his decision not to take a stand against this dangerous extension of NAFTA to yet another country, and calling on him to oppose an upcoming trade deal with Colombia. Video of our visit to Obama campaign HQ can be viewed at the following links, thanks to the work of Larry Duncan from Labor Beat T.V… http://blip.tv/file/544160/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBw3IVwd58w You can view a copy of the...

UPDATE: VIEW THE LABOR BEAT VIDEO ON THE CYGNUS STRIKE VICTORY AT... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8bW-6kIIts After a two week strike, the immigrant workers at the Cygnus soap factory in the Chicago suburb of Riverdale, have convinced the management not to fire workers because of Social Security “no match” letters. Cygnus management had threatened workers who had asked for a wage increase, with dismissal, using Social Security “no match” letters as an excuse. As a result, the vast majority of the factory’s over 120 workers walked off the job on July 30th, demanding that all employees keep their jobs. The Cygnus workers were not union, but strong organizing by worker leaders in the plant ensured few crossed the picket line. They have since joined the IAM (International Association of Machinists). Today it was announced that management had conceded to the workers demands and the workers agreed to return to work next Monday. Proving what immigrant workers can accomplish when the fight ...

After working without a contract since April 1, 2007, NABET Local 41 newsgathering crews, editors and some producers held a protest in front of ABC Channel 7 studios in Chicago on August 15. Disney, which owns ABC, is trying to freeze the pension plan, dismantle the seniority system, offer wages less than COL, and other anti-worker measures. View the Labor Beat video on the protest here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDLvNWbvmhQ Video produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is affiliated with IBEW 1220.Views are those of the producer, not necessarily of IBEW. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. For info: mail@laborbeat.org, http://www.laborbeat.org/ . 312-226-3330. For more videos, go to Google Video or YouTube, search "Labor Beat".