Event ends: May 6, 2012 – 2:00 pm
Meet up with ILRF at the Labor Notes Conference 2012 [1] at the following workshops. ILRF is hosting hosting Iris Munguia from Coordinating Body of Latin-American Banana & Agro-Industrial Workers’ Unions (COLSIBA) and Gerry Rivera from Philippines Airlines Employees Association (PALEA). To arrange to meet with or inteview either speaker, contact Liana Foxvog at 413-320-7276.
Organizing along the Food Chain
Friday, May 4, 3:00-4:45pm
Venue: Balmoral room
Food chain workers are making the connections from farm to table. Hear how big employers are trying to lock down the food chain, driving down pay and working conditions. Workers in restaurants, cafeterias, stores, warehouses, and fields are onto their game, exposing the bad food and bad work that results from corporate control.
Erik Forman, IWW, Jimmy John’s
Saru Jayaraman, Restaurant Opportunities Center
Iris Munguia, COLSIBA (Coordinating Body of Latin-American Banana & Agro-Industrial Workers’ Unions), Honduras
Representative, Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Facilitator: Diana Robinson, UFCW Local 1500
Labor Movements in Latin America
Saturday, May 5, 10:15am-12:00pm
Venue: Kennedy room
Latin America is marked for its labor militancy and strong ties between shop floor activists and their communities. This workshop will provide a glimpse into struggles ignored by North American media. Come learn some new strategies and tactics.
Herbert Claros, Metalworkers union, CSP-Conlutas, Brazil
Marcos Garcia, labor attaché, Venezuela
Benedicto Martinez, Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (Authentic Labor Front), Mexico
Iris Munguia, COLSIBA (banana workers), Honduras
Jorge Parra, ASOTRECOL (auto workers), Colombia
Estela Ramirez, SITRASACOSI (garment workers), El Salvador
Facilitator: Dan La Botz, editor, Mexican Labor News and Analysis
Organizing against the Odds
Saturday, May 5, 2:00-3:45pm
Venue: Ideation room, Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel & Conference Center
What do workers in Mexico, Philippines, and Wisconsin have in common? In this workshop, local leaders of campaigns
demanding the right to meaningful union representation will share stories of struggle, challenge, and victory. We will
explore similarities and differences in these accounts involving the importance of freedom of association and solidarity.
Juan García de la Cruz, STIMAHCS, Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (Authentic Labor Front), Mexico
Hilario Nava Maldonado, STIMAHCS, Frente Auténtico del Trabajo, Mexico
Ellen La Luzerne, Wisconsin Education Association Council
Gerry Rivera, Philippines Airlines Employees Association (PALEA)
Facilitator: Robin Alexander, United Electrical Workers (UE)
Each of these workshops will be interpreted in Spanish.