Jan 24, 2004

Nora Castañeda, president of the Women’s Development Bank in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, will be touring the United States from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9 to speak on the topic of “Creating a caring economy in Venezuela.”

BERLIN – Eleven left-wing and communist parties, meeting in Berlin on Jan. 11, agreed to found a party called the European Left. The parties adopted a common program, but plan further discussions on the new party’s rules and leadership structure.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s unelected and ultra-conservative Guardian Council, which earlier this month disqualified thousands of potential candidates in next month’s elections, reversed the disqualifications of 200 candidates on Jan. 20 and promised that more would be reinstated soon. But the move did not allay anger among reformists.

New Zealand: Protesters highlight U.S. use of facilities / India: Tests show Coke is toxic / South Africa: YCL emphasizes elections, public education / Venezuela: Chavez says include Cuba / U.K.: Union seeks to organize call center workers

PHOENIX – Arizona retirees and all senior residents now have an organization ready to do battle on their behalf, as nearly 100 delegates and guests met Jan. 14-15 to found the Arizona chapter of the Alliance of Retired Americans (ARA).

Workers’ Correspondence

I just got off the phone with a very nice young woman by the name of Gail, who handles legislation and lobbying for the national office of the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C.

CHICAGO – A sea of yellow signs demanding “No fares for sweatshop wear” confronted directors for Metra, Northeast Illinois’ commuter rail line, as they conducted business Jan. 16. Cintas workers and their supporters were at the meeting to demand Metra not renew its uniform contract with Cintas.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – More than 1,000 home health care providers and recipients gathered Jan. 13 outside the State Capitol to answer the call to battle against Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger and the vicious cuts he proposes as a part of solving California’s budget problems.

North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential aspirant John Edwards criticized the Bush administration for failing to protect U.S. workers and issued a comprehensive program to strengthen the Occcupational Saftey and Health Administration (OSHA) on Dec. 31.