Global Marches Demand Workers’ Rights in Mexico
 |
||||
|
||||
Across the United States and around the world, thousands of working people marched today to demand that Mexico’s government allow its workers to enjoy the freedom to form a union, to create safe workplaces and bargain for family-supporting wages. The marches are part of a global six-day week of action, which began Feb. 14, to call for an end to the intimidation and labor rights violations of workers in Mexico.
At a rally today in front of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., some 150 union members marched and chanted in English and Spanish: “Defend Trade Union Rights in Mexico” and “Workers Stand Side by Side.”
You can send a message of solidarity with Mexican workers here through LabourStart, the global workers’ news service.
Five years ago this week, 65 miners were killed in an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos mine in Mexico. An independent panel of health and safety experts investigated the explosion and concluded it was the result of negligence by the mine’s owners, Grupo Mexico. To date, no one has been held accountable for the deaths.
Activists Rally at White House for Democracy in Egypt
![Photo credit: Adam Wright/Metropolitan Washington [D.C.] Council, AFL-CIO](http://blog.aflcio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Egypt-Demo_wp.jpg "Photo credit: Adam Wright/Metropolitan Washington [D.C.] Council, AFL-CIO") |
||||
|
||||
As Egyptian flags snapped in the frigid wind, nearly 100 Egyptian American and other activists—including more than 50 union members—rallied last night in front of the White House to support the Egyptian people’s ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy.
The crowd chanted, “Egypt, Egypt will be free from the Nile to the sea,” and urged President Obama to use his influence to bring democracy to Egypt.
“More people were in the streets of Cairo today than ever,” one of the Egyptian activists told the crowd. “Raise your voice, raise your voice,” they chanted, “It’s our time, it’s our choice.”
AFL-CIO Groups Highlight Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and as part of its campaign to raise awareness about how to prevent this deadly disease, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) is teaming up with the Metropolitan Washington Council’s Community Services Agency (CSA) at one of the largest health and fitness expos in the nation.
The two groups will take part in the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo in Washington, D.C., Jan 10-11 at the Washington Convention Center. The Expo—with more than 200 exhibits, health screenings, demonstrations and more—promotes good health and provides advice in making healthy lifestyle choices.
The CLUW/CSA exhibit will focus on cervical cancer prevention, women’s health and how unions can have an impact on women’s health by bargaining contracts with strong health care provisions. The first 1,000 visitors who show a union card or union label will receive a “Pearl of Wisdom” pin, symbol of a new cervical cancer awareness program set to launch later this month.
