Phyllis Walker, president of AFSCME Local 3800, delivered the following speech in Detroit Sept. 12 to hundreds of labor activists attending a conference organized by the publication Labor Notes. AFSCME Local 3800 represents nearly 1800 University of Minnesota clerical workers, 93% of whom are women. As we go to press, Local 3800 has announced its intent to strike against a concessionary contract proposal.

Minneapolis, MN – A sharp battle is under way between University of Minnesota workers and a university administration that's pushing an agenda of layoffs, benefit cuts and a wage freeze.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 150 clerical workers at the University of Minnesota protested Governor Tim Pawlenty when he came to campus on Feb. 28. Pawlenty had the nerve to show his face on campus just a week after he proposed to cut the University’s budget by $185 million. He was also pushing a wage freeze for University workers and yet another large tuition increase for students, who have already suffered two years in a row of 13% tuition increases.

Speech by Phyllis Walker, AFSCME 3800 president

St Paul, MN – An increasing number of local labor unions are speaking out against a possible war with Iraq. The following is a speech given by the president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3800, Phyllis Walker, at an anti-war rally Oct. 26, 2002 at the Minnesota State Capitol. More than 10,500 people attended that rally.

Minneapolis, MN – University of Minnesota workers have won some real victories, and look forward to winning more.

St Paul, MN – On Oct.1, 28,000 members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) started striking for better health benefits and wage increases. This is the largest public employee strike in MN state history, and one of the most prolonged strikes of public workers in U.S. history.

Minneapolis, MN – Nurses at two hospitals, Fairview Southdale and Fairview Riverside, went on strike demanding better pay, along with better and safer working conditions. 13 other area hospitals ended up settling their contracts.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 400 clerical workers showed up in the mid-February cold to celebrate the growth of their union and to kick off their contract campaign. The event coincided with the ten-year anniversary of the founding of AFSCME Local 3800 at the University of Minnesota.

The campaign to boycott ‘Killer Coke’ is spreading fast. The Coca-Cola boycott was launched July 22 by the Colombian food and beverage workers’ union, SINALTRAINAL, to shine a light on the murders of nine Coca-Cola trade unionists.

Nine trade unionists at Coca-Cola in Colombia are dead – murdered by paramilitaries with ties to Coca-Cola management. In response, the Colombia Action Network (CAN) is calling on student, community, religious and anti-war groups, as well as unions, to join protests against the Coca-Cola Company beginning July 22.

Minneapolis, MN – For 13 days, members of Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 17 walked the picket lines at Twin Cities hotels. The strike for better wages, dependent healthcare and dignity on the job garnered national attention. “This was a fight for the lowest paid and the most exploited worker,” said Jaye Rykunyk, principle officer of Local 17.

St Paul, MN – 1000 public employees and supporters rallied at City Hall, August 25, to oppose Mayor Coleman's “Compete St. Paul” privatization plan. This scheme is designed to turn over taxpayer money to private companies, allowing them to profit from providing city services.

Kalamazoo, MI – This city has been the scene of another attack on working people.

A review of the pamphlet Build a Fighting Workers Movement by the Labor Commission of Freedom Road Socialist Organization

This past Dec. 5, 250 workers occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory on Goose Island in Chicago. They had been told a few days earlier that the company was closing and that there would be no severance pay, or even payment of wages or sick or vacation pay owed them. Their protest, targeting their company and the Bank of America, became a national symbol of working people’s anger at the rich and powerful. “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out,” they chanted as their story was reported across the world.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following letter from Liliany (Lily) Obando who is a Colombian trade union organizer with FENSUAGRO, the largest peasant and agricultural workers federation in Colombia. She writes academic papers and makes documentary films about the struggles of Colombian campesinos. On Aug. 8, Lily was arrested and imprisoned by the ‘anti-terrorism unit’ of the Colombian National Police. She has been charged with “rebellion” and “managing resources related to terrorist activities.” Her story is tragically familiar in a country where thousands of trade unionists have been threatened, arrested or killed by the U.S.-backed Colombian government. The following letter will be read from the stage and at the Fight Back! forum on Colombia at the School of the Americas demonstration in Fort Benning, Georgia Nov 21-23 by speakers for the Colombia Action Network.

Workers Take Fight Back To Washington D.C.

Washington DC – Ten thousand militant workers and students gathered here, Sunday, Oct. 17, to rally and march at the Lincoln Memorial. The Million Worker March demanded living wage jobs, health care for all and an end to war and occupation in Iraq. The same demands were echoed by union organizers and labor activists across the U.S. The Million Worker March united the advanced – the grass roots of the labor movement who understand that those who fight back can win.

Four thousand union members took on the management of one of America’s most elitist bastions of the rich – Yale University. Fight Back! interviewed two leaders of the Yale Strike: Laura Smith, President of Local 34, which represents the Clerical and Technical workers and Shirley Lawrence of Local 35, which represents Service and Maintenance workers.

Using a variety of innovative tactics and gathering national media attention, 4000 union members took on the management of one of America’s most elitist bastions of the rich – Yale University. By combining some flexible tactics with impressive community support, union members represented by HERE Locals 34 and 35 were able to win major gains in wages and pensions. After working without a contract for two years, the workers went on strike Aug. 27 and struck for 23 days before settling.

Pedro Eusse is the Secretary General of the Food and Beverage Union, and the Secretary General of the United Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CUTV).