Open
World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
OWC - Open World Conference in Defense of Trade Union
Independence & Democratic Rights, c/o S.F. Labor Council,
1188 Franklin St., #203, San Francisco, CA 94109.
Phone: (415) 641-8616 Fax: (415) 440-9297.
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
This is to update you on the agenda and logistics of the April 24th
Conference in Mexicali in Defense of the Maquiladora Workers and Against
NAFTA & the FTAA.
The conference will take place on Saturday, April 24 at the hall of the
Sindicato de Trabajadores del Colegio de Bachilleres (Pasaje Vallarta
1133, Centro Cívico) in downtown Mexicali.
* Registration and the distribution of conference packets will take place
at the union hall from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
* At 10 a.m., there will be a press conference (to show the broad
international support for the Daewoo and other maquiladora workers) at the
Conference Room of Sanborn's Restaurant (Plaza Fiesta del Centro Cívico y
Comercial). Sanborn's is two blocks from the union hall.
* Following the press conference, at 10:40 a.m. -- all the conference
delegates and supporters will march with banners in support of labor
rights for the Daewoo workers to the union hall via the State Office
Building of the Governor of the State of Baja California.
* The conference will convene at 11 a.m. with greetings and presentations
from the local unions in Mexicali, testimonies from the maquiladora
workers at Daewoo, Flor de Baja, Cananea and other workplaces -- as well
as presentations from the OWC Continuations Committee and the Liaison
Committee of the Sao Paulo (Brazil) Conference Against the FTAA.
International greetings will also be read. A round of discussion from
conference delegates will follow.
* At 2:30 p.m., a Lunch Break/Workshop session will take place (till 4
p.m.) Lunch will be brought in to all delegates (food choice/vegetarian or
other preferences will be requested upon registration) participating in
the Workshops. Three workshops will take place concurrently. (Participants
will be asked to list workshop at registration to allocate room
assignments.) The workshops are as follows
- Workshop 1: The Struggle Against Privatization and Deregulation &
For the Independence of the Trade Unions and Labor Rights (three or four
speakers will introduce the discussion)
- Workshop 2: The Fight Against NAFTA and the FTAA and in Defense of
National Sovereignty (three or four speakers will introduce the
discussion)
- Workshop 3: Cross-Border Organizing in Defense of the Maquiladora
Workers: Strategy and Action Proposals (three or four speakers will
introduce the discussion)
All workshops will be asked to submit action proposals for consideration
of the conference plenary session. Each workshop will select a
representative to report on the workshop discussion and proposals to the
final plenary session.
* At 4 p.m., the conference plenary session will reconvene for reports on
the workshops and plenary discussion of the Final Conference Declaration
and Action Proposals. The conference will adjourn with final comments from
the Organizing Committee at 5 to 5:30 p.m.
Following the conference, there will be a separate youth & student
meeting at the hall of the Siete Días weekly newspaper, three blocks from
the conference. For more information about this youth gathering, please
contact Eric at <ricoblanc@hotmail.com> and/or Liliana at <tutulisehua@hotmail.com>.
Later that evening, there will be a social event at the Hotel Cosmos,
which is two blocks away from the union hall where the conference will be
held.
Additional Notes About Logistics
* All youth and student delegates will be housed the INJUVE facilities.
These are dorms (with bunkbeads, cafeteria) for students and youth at the
Instituto Nacional para la Juventud, a government center. Buses provided
by the teachers' union will take the foreign students and youth back and
forth to the conference site. The dorm facilities are available at no cost
on Friday and Saturday nights. Delegates should bring sleeping bags.
* Other conference delegates will stay at the Hotel Cosmos. The nightly
rate (two double beds) is $55 per night. If you wish us to make
reservations for you at the Cosmos Hotel, please RSVP to <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>.
* There will be a conference registration fee for all foreign delegates of
$10 (which will cover lunch and conference expenses).
* Delegates arriving by car from the United States, especially those
driving rental cars, will be able to park their cars in parking lots in
Calexico, Calif. -- and then walk across the border. There will be a bus
pickup for all Friday evening arrivals at the Hotel del Norte, just across
the border. Youth and students will be taken to the INJUVE dorms; others
will be taken to the Hotel Cosmos.
If you need more information, please call Alan at 415-626-1175 or Gema at
Tel: 011-52-65-66-73-92.
Thanks, in advance for your interest and support,
Alan Benjamin and Gema Lopez Limon
For the Mexicali Conference Organizing Committee