Los Angeles -- July 22 -- More than 100 activists rallied in front of Occidental Petroleum’s headquarters in support of Colombian workers and their unions.

    Literally thousands of union activists have been murdered in recent years in Colombia by the paramilitary.  Multinational corporations, such as Occidental, BP, Coca-Cola and Chiquita, are reaping the benefits of these murders.

    The rally, called by the United Steelworkers, included presentations by Bob LaVenture from the United Steelworkers District 12 offices and USW Local 675 Secretary-Treasurer Dave Campbell.  In addition representatives from Amazon Watch, the Mexican American Political Association, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and exiled Colombian union activists also spoke.

    Activists from USW Local 675, with the assistance of David Solnit, put together a short play dramatizing the struggle in Colombia.  The play uses eight foot tall puppets built by Master Puppet-Makers Solnit and Lisa Fithian.  With the assistance of intern Micah Jost, the Local was able to produce two videos that have been placed on YouTube (links on the left).

    To find out more about the struggle in Colombia click here.

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