Tuesday, May 4th, 2004
From: The International Labor/Religious/Community Fact-Finding Delegation to Haiti (April 26-May 2nd) organized
by the San Francisco Labor Council
A nine-member international labor/religious/community fact-finding delegation has just returned from a week spent in Haiti.
Its objective was to assess and report on the current situation of Haitian workers, the Haitian labor movement, and the state
of human rights in that country. Within this mandate, particular attention was given to understanding the new realities following
the coup d'etat that deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on 29 February 2004. The brief statement, which follows, is an
initial report on our findings.
The delegation's work focused on interviews with Haitian trade unionists and workers, as well as political leaders and activists. Part
of this time was spent attending the National Congress of the CTH (the Confederation of Haitian Workers), the largest labor federation in
Haiti composed of 11 different union federations. Based on these interviews and discussions, we can report that in the labor movement is
in significant crisis, brought on in large part by the decade-long economic and political destabilization campaign orchestrated in Washington.
The crisis has become much worse since 29 February, with the campaign of violence by the US-backed opposition that preceded and followed
the coup. Facing a massive problem of unemployment (estimated at some 70% in the formal economy), the turmoil and economic difficulties
of recent years has only been worsened with the change of government.
The coup regime was formed by a coalition of the unelected political opposition; the governments of France and the United States;
former Haitian military and paramilitary death squads (FRAPH); and the Haitian business elite - particularly the "Group 184", led by
Andre Apaid. Mr. Apaid, a US citizen who is known by Haitian workers as the single most notorious owner of Haitian sweatshop factories,
has been a virulent opponent of unions organizing in his factories. The delegation heard reports of extremely dire working conditions
in the Apaid-owned sweatshops, with little or no access to safe drinking water, and wages at the legal minimum of 70 Haitian gourdes
(approximately US$1.80) per day - or less. Those workers courageous enough to attempt the organization of trade unions face dismissal.
Clearly, Mr. Apaid and his clique are no supporters of Haiti's workers or their labor movement.
The coup also led to serious attacks on Haiti's trade unions. The delegation heard reports from one union, the FTPH (Federation of
Public Transport Workers of Haiti), of criminal attacks on over 100 of the buses that they had purchased for use in the bus cooperative
operated by the union. These attacks involved the torching and destruction of the union co-op's buses, yet went unreported in the North
American media, despite having taken place in the days immediately following the 29 February coup d'etat (the peak period of international
media presence). Given their timing, and the fact that the union bus cooperative's success had been viewed as a positive symbol of social
advances under the Aristide government, such attacks were seen by the union as acts of political reprisal by supporters of the coup. No
arrests have been made in association with these attacks.
The general living conditions of Haitian workers and the general population havedrastically worsened since the coup of 29 February. The
delegation heard that the price of rice has jumped dramatically, as much as doubling. Other vital foodstuffs have seen even more serious
price inflation. Several witnesses testified that whereas before the coup, Haitians were able to eat at least once per day, the cost of
food has reduced this to as little as 3 meals per week. Even those Haitians fortunate enough to have a job are barely subsisting.
As for human rights, things are even more serious. The coup which deposed President Aristide has led to a serious wave of attacks and
persecutions of supporters of President Aristide and his Fanmi Lavalas Party. The delegation heard testimony from an elected member of
Parliament for the Fanmi Lavalas who is living in hiding, having been driven out of his town under gunfire. Other political leaders and
known activists have also been forced into hiding, living underground, fearing the death threats and violence directed at supporters of
the ousted government. Despite its obvious popularity, the Fanmi Lavalas movement is not currently able to have political demonstrations
or otherwise take open political action due to the threat of attack. The coup regime, supported by an international military coalition
led by the US, France and Canada, has not provided security for those currently most at risk. The names of Lavalas supporters - and even
those suspected of being Lavalas supporters - are being read off on right-wing radio stations as an implicit threat.
Neither the coup regime nor its international backers have taken action to contain what many Haitians refer to as an anti-Lavalas "witch hunt"
that continues to this day.
Based on six days of interviews, meetings, recorded testimony, and on-site
examinations, the International Labor/Religious/Community Fact-Finding
Delegation has collected extensive material to compile and report. We
wanted to provide this brief summary as soon as possible for immediate
use. A more detailed written report will soon be published and circulated
which will contain a more detailed overview of our findings.
Participants:
- Reverend Dr. Kwame O. Abayomi, is the Baltimore City Council 6th District Representative
and Senior Minister of Unity United Methodist Church in Baltimore.
- Dave Welsh, a San Francisco Labor Council delegate, was for many years Executive Vice President of Golden Gate
Branch #214 of the Letter Carriers Union. He has been active in Haiti support work since 1991, and speaks French.
He was part of a Pastors for Peace delegation to Haiti in 1997.
- Johnnie Stevens is an activist with the International Action Center. He represented Ramsey Clark on a recent
delegation that met with Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the Central African Republic, where the Haitian President had
been taken after his abduction. Their meeting paved the way for press interviews with Aristide, and his return to
the Caribbean region. He also attended the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, and
is a co-founder of Labor for Reparations.
- Sharon Black Ceci, a Registered Nurse, is Labor Coordinator for
the Haiti Commission of Inquiry. She is a shop steward with United
Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local #27, and was a founding member
of the All Peoples Congress, a community organization in the Baltimore
area.
- Charlie Hinton is a member of the Printers Union (GCIU) and a member
of a worker-owned cooperative, the union printing company Inkworks
in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a long-time solidarity movement
activist and member of the Haiti Action Committee.
- Sister Maureen Duignan, is a Franciscan nun who runs the East Bay
Sanctuary Covenant, which has a long history (as does Sr. Maureen)
of solidarity and sanctuary work with Central American and other refugees,
from the 1980s to the present. Sister Maureen has been to Haiti a
number of times and speaks French.
- Michael Zinzun is director of the Los Angeles-based Coalition Against Police
Abuse (CAPA), which he co-founded in 1975. He was also a founding
member of Police Watch and Communities in Support of the Gang Truce,
and recently attended Haiti's Bicentennial celebrations in Port-au-Prince.
As a result of his activism around police issues, he suffered a police
beating which left him blind in one eye.
- Kevin Skerrett is Research Officer for the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE), Canada?s largest union. He has done significant
research on the international trade union movement, and speaks French.
- Dr. Adrianne Aron is a clinical psychologist who works with victims of political repression. She has worked in the
solidarity movement for many years, and served as an election monitor in Haiti during the 2000 elections there.
