Feb 8, 2003

Two British organizations recently released a report that paints a grim picture of working conditions on cruise ships, tarnishing the fun, romantic image that the cruise ship industry has cultivated.

Trade unionists in Colombia continue to face threats to their very lives as they fight an uphill battle to protect the rights of both urban and rural workers. Last week the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) reported that Guillermo Rivera Zapata, vice president of the Colombian rural workers union SINTRAINAGRO, was suddenly deprived of the security measures, including bodyguards, previously provided by the government.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil – The principal actors in work stoppages in Venezuela are the bosses – particularly in the oil industry – who do not represent the workers, a group of Venezuelan labor leaders told the World.

Russia: Battle of Stalingrad remembered

In a moving ceremony on Sunday, World War II veterans from across Russia were joined by political leaders and foreign ambassadors in marking the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad.

The United States’ largest environmental organizations are bracing themselves for what they say will be an unprecedented assault on environmental laws in the new Congress and throughout the next two years of the Bush administration. Across the board on issues of clean air, clean water and natural resource conservation, the Bush administration has already demonstrated its willingness to override public opinion and public health concerns to weaken environmental regulations, according to a panel of environmental experts who spoke at a briefing in Washington, D.C.

Home ownership is often regarded as the key to the American dream, including economic security, accumulating wealth and passing wealth on to the next generation. This is shown by the latest Survey of Consumer Finances, published by the Federal Reserve Board (FRB). In 2001 the median (typical) family that owned its home had a net worth of $171,700. Those without a home had a net worth of only $4,800. Although the typical homeowner is far from wealthy, those without homes have almost nothing to fall back on.

A whole new area of occupational health is getting more attention from workers and their unions. The scientific term is Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP).

Washington – “In the best Orwellian tradition, the Bush administration is trying to convince us that left is right, up is down, war is peace and that its so-called Commission on Opportunity in Athletics actually cares about women’s equal participation in sports,” said National Organization for Women (NOW) Membership Vice President Terry O’Neill.

CHICAGO – Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a new 10-year Plan to End Homelessness. The plan “focuses on moving the homeless into permanent housing as rapidly as possible, and providing additional social services to help resolve the problems that caused them to lose their homes” according to a Jan. 21 press release.