Stand by Colombia's Victims of Violence

 
We just celebrated Labor Day here in the United States, but Colombian workers have no room for celebration.

In our last alert we told you we would keep you updated on the injured workers from ASOTRECOL. Well, it turns out they need our help again. GM failed to propose realistic solutions to their demands during their mediation. Now, our friends from ASOTRECOL are restarting their hunger strike. As they continue to pressure GM for due compensation, we need to tell Congress to stand up for labor rights in Colombia and enforce the Labor Action Plan.  As you recall, both governments signed the Labor Action Plan before the Free Trade Agreement was passed by Congress.

After a year of protesting in front of the U.S. Embassy with no response, injured General Motors workers in Colombia go on a hunger strike. Help them fight for their rights!

Jorge Alberto Parra was 30 years old when he began working for General Motors, Colmotores in Colombia, in 2004. Now eight years later, he and four colleagues from the Association of Injured and Ex-Workers of GM Colmotores de Colombia (ASOTRECOL) are taking drastic measures.  They have launched a hunger strike to protest their firing and lack of compensation.

It was a beautiful day in Bogotá, Colombia. It had not rained at all and the sun was shining with no clouds. Taking in the beautiful sunshine and enjoying the chilly yet comfortable temperature, my colleagues and I sat in a beautiful park in downtown Bogotá and discussed our upcoming meeting with ASOTRECOL, the Association of Injured and Ex-Workers of GM Colmotores de Colombia. After a brief intro into their labor plight and subsequent firings, we hailed taxis and made our way to the U.S. Embassy.

In old city Cartagena, Colombia, elegant colonial buildings with verandas and wooden shutters contain trendy restaurants, a Benetton store and expensive shoe shops.  But the Afro-Colombians selling strands of pearls on the sidewalks, who add  life to this tropical tourist haven,  may have come from Urabá, Carmen de Bolivar, Marίa la Baja or other areas where threats and clashes between all the armed actors, paramilitaries, guerrillas and the armed forces forced them to flee the violence.