As part of a six-member Solidarity Center delegation, Florida State AFL-CIO Vice President Mike Williams learned about Colombian workers’ constant struggle for social and economic justice—and why U.S workers need to hear their story.
Day 4—We started the day with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Fruit juices and coffee are a mainstay. We will travel later in the day to meet with workers providing food services to the miners. Juan (local) and Dewin (national) are union representatives assigned to our delegation as guides. During breakfast, they explained how food service workers provide meals for the miners.
The typical miner work schedule: 12-hour workday for seven straight days, then four days off; then another 12-hour workday for seven straight days, then three days off. The cycle is then repeated. The miners receive three hot meals per workday. Food is prepared in a central kitchen area and transported to specific cafeteria areas. The cafeterias are cargo containers that can be moved.
Our first stop was to visit the newly acquired union hall in Chiriguana. We were proudly given a tour of the building being remodeled to have offices, computer stations, a meeting room, and a nursery or daycare. Raúl Sosa Avellaneda shared information on how the union started, the struggles involved, the growth of membership, and the victories and defeats that define the workers’ movement today. Raúl is the national president of this mineworkers union. He is very unassuming with no pretense, dressed in the casual clothing of a mineworker. However, in his conversations about the union, there is no doubt about his intensity and toughness. As he traveled the day with us, we also witnessed his fairness and compassion for the workers he represents. I am privileged to have spent time with Raúl.
Our next destination was a meeting hall in the mining town of La Loma, where we met with food service workers. The workers’ hall is a room about 12 x 20 ft with no air conditioning or means to circulate air. An open front and back door did little but suck in the stifling hot air from the outside. After five minutes, I was soaked in a continuous dripping sweat. We were told about the unbearable conditions of working for the private company (co-op) that is contracted to provide miners their meals. These conditions include dehydrating heat, debilitating air quality, lack of safety equipment and clothing, sexual harassment, noise, fumes, health care deductions but no health care, and excessive work hours. The food service work schedule: 12-hour days for 26 straight days, then four days off. Repeat the cycle.
The food service workers mounted a protest and work stoppage. Miners can’t work 12-hour shifts without eating. The food service workers persevered through unbelievable intimidation. There was no assistance from the government and the contractors’ close ties to the paramilitary became apparent. Union leaders were murdered and families were intimidated. Finally, the protest ended with the union making some gains including reducing the work schedule to a 12-hour workday for 12 straight days, then four days off. Repeat the cycle.
Our next stop was with workers in the mining town of La Jagua de Iberico. We heard from individual workers who were fired last year for trying to join a union. This incident is referred to as the “labor massacre.” Some of the workers have been able to go back to work, but the majority cannot find work anywhere. The company has issued a “blackball” list to all employers of the region containing the names of the workers. We were asked to write letters to specific government officials requesting attention to this suppression of worker rights. I hope we have the influence that this group of workers believes we have! We were also given information regarding the termination of workers who attempted to join or form a union in several other locations around the region.
The impact on workers was exemplified by a truck driver, fired for labor activities and now blackballed: “Look at me! See how I am dressed in these ragged clothes. I have a large family that I cannot take care of. I am a good worker but no one will give me a job because I am blackballed. Please help me and help all of us!” I have to say that his request left me feeling somewhat helpless. What the hell can we really do that has some tangible meaning? Well, I believe that is the purpose of this trip. To figure it out!
Until later.
Click on the links below to read the rest of the daily logs:
Day 1, July 20: The Journey Begins
Day 2, July 21: We Meet True Worker and Human Rights Champions
Day 3, July 22: Colombian Miners: “We Are Treated Like Pieces of Coal”
Day 5, July 24: Meeting the “Forgotten” Workers
Day 6, July 25: “For Union Workers, Our Government Has Abandoned Us!”
Day 7, July 26: Worker Solidarity: “Do Not Forget Juan’s Face!”
Day 8, July 27: “The Most Beautiful Place in the World”
Day 9, July 28: An Informative Political Briefing
Day 10, July 29: “The Circle of Death” and Other Issues
Day 11, July 30: A Not-So-Sweet Homecoming
