In 1997 the San Francisco Labor Council, in conjunction with the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC), convened the Western Hemisphere Workers Conference Against NAFTA & Privatizations. More than 400 delegates from unions and community organizations in 20 countries attended the conference.
In January 2000, the S.F. Labor Council -- in alliance with the ILC, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and many U.S. trade unions -- organized the Open World Conference in San Francisco with the participation of close to 600 delegates from 61 countries. Since that time, other Open World Conferences have been held in Germany (2002) and Spain (2005).
All these events have helped promote an international labor-community fightback against the assault launched on workers and oppressed peoples the world over by the international financial institutions of global capitalism and the transnational corporations.
On November 27-29, a new Open World Conference will be held in Algeria, at the initiative of the ILC, the Workers Party of Algeria, and the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA). More than 400 delegates from 64 countries are expected to attend.
Most of you have been receiving the Algeria Conference Preparation Bulletins published biweekly by the conference organizers for the past 20 months.
Ten U.S. delegates will be attending the OWC in Algeria. They are:
- Gene Bruskin (US Labor Against the War)
- Alan Benjamin (San Francisco Labor Council)
- Eric Blanc (El Organizador)
- Don Bechler (single-payer healthcare organizer)
- Suzanne Ross (Mumia coalition-NY)
- Colia Clark (Mumia coalition-NY)
- Monadel Herzallah (Arab-American Union Members Council)
- Robert Irminger (member, ILWU-IBT)
- Melina Juarez (El Organizador, student organizer, CSU-Stanislaus)
- Lucy Carrillo (student organizer, UC Berkeley)
Three other people have been part of the Algeria OWC Organizing Committee in the United States, but unfortunately, because of health reasons, they will not be able to attend the conference, as they had hoped. They are Nancy Wohlforth (leader of Pride at Work and a member of the National Executive Committee of the AFL-CIO), Denice Lombard (USLAW Iraqi Labor Rights Task Force) and Al Rojas (Frente de Mexicanos en el Exterior and Sacramento Labor Council for Latin American Alliance).
For many months we have been raising funds to help sponsor two U.S. student activists from the United States -- Melina Juarez and Lucy Carrillo -- and one youth activist from Haiti: Jean-Willy Belfleur. They will participate both in the OWC and in a special international youth conference convened by young Algerian antiwar activists.
Our fundraising goal was $5,000 to cover the travel, registration and lodging fees for these three youth. To date we have raised, $3,500 toward this fund. We are short $900 for the young Latina activists from California, and $600 for the young Haitian activist.
We are appealing for your urgent help in raising these additional $1,500. Many of you have already contributed to this fund drive, and we thank you for your continued and generous support. But many of you have not yet sent in a contribution. We need your help so that we can pay the registration and lodging fees next week for these three youth activists.
We are taking out a loan because we need to be able to cover the on-site expenses in Algeria for these youth. We need your help so that we can repay this loan as soon as possible.
Please send a check, large or small, to support this effort.
Please make your check payable to "OWC" and send it in at your earliest convenience to OWC, c/o San Francisco Labor Council, 1188 Franklin St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94109.
Also, please fill out the Fund Drive Coupon below so that we know that your check is in the mail.
Our first Western Hemisphere Workers Conference in 1997 was co-chaired by our deeply esteemed late California labor leader Jack Henning. Brother Henning argued with great passion that we need to build "global unionism to fight global capitalism." This is more true today than it was 13 years ago.
Please join us in building this powerful movement for global unionism.
Thanking you in advance for your support,
In solidarity,
Walter Johnson
Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus
San Francisco Labor Council
Ed Rosario
Co-Coordinator
Open World Conference Continuations Committee
Alan Benjamin
Co-coordinator
Open World Conference Continuations Committee
* * * * * * * * * *
ALGERIA CONFERENCE FUND DRIVE COUPON
[ ] I will send a check for US$ _____ to help sponsor three young organizers to the Open World Conference in Algeria. I will make my check payable to "OWC"
and I will send it to the SFLC address listed above.
NAME
UNION/ORGANIZATION
CITY & STATE
EMAIL:
(please fill out the coupon above and return to <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>)
------------------
OPEN WORLD CONFERENCE
c/o San Francisco Labor Council
1188 Franklin St. #203
San Francisco, CA 94109
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