Jun 29, 2002

NEW YORK – On Sunday, June 9, the Harlem/Washington Heights Friends of the People’s Weekly World held a forum on the dramatic events in the country of Venezuela.

OAKLAND, Calif. – A lively crowd of more than 50 pickets from several Bay Area unions and community groups marched and chanted slogans in front of the Port of Oakland Building June 18, demanding that the Port Commission take action to implement the Charter Amendment.

HIGHWOOD, Ill. – They were all smiles here June 21, as Carousel Linen workers, their families and friends celebrated their victory for union recognition. The 37 industrial laundry workers, mostly young Mexican immigrant women, had been on strike for eight months and had fought for recognition of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The chambers of Cleveland’s City Hall were filled with the chants of 400 people rallying June 24 for prescription drug coverage. The meeting, hosted by Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell, urged passage of two bills before the Ohio legislature, HB-290 and SB-127. The bills would create a prescription drug program for the state.

One of our best-kept secrets is the degree to which a handful of huge corporations control the flow of information in the United States.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The National Organization for Women (NOW) lived up to its activist, “in-the-street” tradition at its national conference here last weekend. Delegates and guests took to their feet and grabbed their picket signs following a speech from United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) Vice President Susan Phillips.

The Court skirts the issue/Bush Mideast policy a non-starter

War is the great threat to medical and public health. The tragedies that take place on a daily basis in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are testament to this fact.

Colombian strike protests killing/Greek workers fight pension cuts/Peruvian dockers urge fair hiring system/South Africa celebrates Freedom Charter/Millions strike in Spain/Canadian G-8 summit draws protests/China-Taiwan informal trade talks urged

TEL-AVIV – The Israeli government has begun to erect a so-called “Defensive Fence,” part concrete, part wired net, all with barbed wire and equipped with sophisticated electronic warning systems. In its first stage, the wall will run approximately 70 miles, roughly parallel to the 1949 armistice line (the “Green Line”) but within the eastern, Palestinian side of the line. In several places, it will leave on its western, Israeli side settlements that were set up on confiscated Palestinian soil. The construction of this walled fence will take more than a year and will cost an estimated one billion shekel ($210 million).