Driving While Organizing

In Colombia, organizing a union can cost you your life. Those of us who follow either Colombia or unions (or, in my case, both), already know this:

More than 4,000 Colombian union leaders have been assassinated since 1986, according to the U.S. State Department, accounting for most union murders in the world during the period.

Many of these people organize unions within foreign companies in Colombia or within subsidiaries of foreign companies -- Coca-Cola bottlers are particularly notorious, as I recall. In this case, it's an Alabama-based coal company.

The lawsuit alleges Drummond's top Colombian executive was seen handing money to paramilitary thugs in exchange for killing the men, who were arguing with the company over higher wages and better workplace safety at the time.

And in case you missed this one, speaking of notorious US-based companies operating in Latin America.

Earlier this year, in a case that never went to trial, U.S. banana giant Chiquita Brands International Inc. pleaded guilty to paying $1.7 million in protection money to Colombian paramilitaries between 1997 and 2004.

tags technorati : Colombia Unions Labor anti-union violence

Gay Rights in . . . Colombia???

The Colombian legislature has voted to recognize same-sex unions.

"I think this is an incredible victory that should resonate across both continents, north and south," said Scott Long, director of the gay rights program at Human Rights Watch in New York. "It should definitely be an example to the United States. Colombia is a country that's Catholic, with a conservative government, and they still recognize that this is the right thing to do."

Colombia, like most Latin American countries, does not have fundamentalist groups with the kind of influence and funding to launch a national campaign against gay rights. But it does have a powerful Catholic Church, which argued that extending rights to same-sex couples would violate church doctrine. "This gives legal sanctity to families that are artificial and false," said José Galat, a prominent Catholic activist.

After a long public battle, advocates from groups such as Diverse Colombia slowly won over many lawmakers in Congress. Among those who support the bill is President Álvaro Uribe, a conservative Catholic. He is expected to sign the measure.

OK, there's still that matter of paramilitaries and of half of US military aid going right back to American contractors, but still . . .