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Feature: Globalization & Dialectics
May 2001
Runaway shop protest
Chicago--At noon on April 21, 700 noisy, enthusiastic people rallied at 48th
and Western Avenue on Chicago's southwest side in solidarity with the
protesters in Quebec City against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
The large puppets that have become characteristic of these events since the
Battle in Seattle added to the festive feeling. An ad hoc committee
organized the demonstration. Members of Jobs With Justice, the Campaign for
Labor Rights and the Steelworkers Union participated in a major way.
The rally's location was chosen because it is the site of Hendrickson
Spring, an automotive parts company whose owners have decided to relocate
80% of its operation to Mexico and 20% to Canada. The workers had given
concessions, yet they couldn't prevent the move.
According to Jack Ailey of Steelworkers Local 1053, the spirited
demonstrators feel that the FTAA will "intensify something that is already
hurting them."
Leo Gerard, president of the Steelworkers Union, deplored the fact that
workers can't participate while oligarchs plan the future in secret
meetings. The delegates to the FTAA value their own power and wealth higher
than workers' families and human lives. He emphasized that workers do have
power and that time and economic trends are on our side. We will win, but
not without intelligence and sacrifice, he said.
Honking horns and other indications of approval from passing motorists
accompanied the festive march as it proceeded to McKinley Park at Western
Avenue and Pershing Road. A program of music, speeches and a skit
portraying a "Race to the Bottom" of social and economic conditions filled
out the demonstration.
--January
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