Urgent: Colombian autoworkers on a hunger strike for justice need our support!
In Colombia union organizers operate under the threat of violence, torture,
and even death. More union organizers are killed in Colombia than in any other
country in the world. Corporations like General Motors take advantage of the
anti-union climate.
Our Colombian brothers and sisters working at GM Colmotores are seeking our
help in their fight for justice. Their working conditions are horrible; they
work at breakneck speeds and perform backbreaking tasks over and over. After
any number of years they are unable to work due to repetitive motion injuries
and other conditions. Then GM fires them and they have no source of income.
That’s why the Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of GM
Colmotores (ASOTRECOL) has maintained an encampment outside the U.S. embassy
(because the U.S. government bailed out and still owns part of GM) in Bogota
for over 500 days. For months ASOTRECOL President Jorge Parra has been in this
country seeking a meeting with GM officials, but they have refused. On November
20 Jorge and his companions in Colombia began their third hunger strike. He has
sewn his lips shut. They are on hunger strike until GM executives in Detroit
agree to a meeting.
When ASOTRECOL told Colmotores management they wanted to be rehired and
retrained for jobs they could perform with their limitations, the company flat
out refused. Why? Because, they were told, if they were rehired they
would organize a union.
In other words, GM would rather let our brothers and sisters starve
to death than let them have a union.
After waging this struggle for over 16 months the brothers and their
families desperately need our support. They are losing their homes (which we in
the U.S. can relate to) and watching their children go hungry. The U.S. embassy
has threatened to evict them. Here is what you can do right now, from wherever
you are:
Post on General Motors’ facebook (facebook.com/generalmotors) and twitter (@GM-General Motors)
accounts. Demand they meet with ASOTRECOL to discuss their just demands.
Call General Motors, 800-462-8782
For more info: www.asotrecol.com, www.facebook.com/SolidarityWithGMHungerStrikers
