Labor Photo: Opposing Privatization in El Salvador

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

With working people across the globe getting ready for yesterday’s May Day celebration, Union City Assistant Mobilizer Julia Kann reports that CISPES labor delegates visited the headquarters of the Frente Sindicato Salvadoreno (Salvadoran Union Front) on Monday, where activists painted banners to prepare for yesterday’s May Day parade in San Salvador, El Salvador, which drew tens of thousands of workers into the streets. Many banners carried messages against the Public-Private Partnership, or P3. Trade unionists are uniting across sectors against the P3, saying it will prioritize private corporate interests over the needs of the people of El Salvador, Kann says. Last December, the Metro Washington Council passed a resolution in solidarity with the workers of El Salvador, demanding the US Embassy and State Department not intervene in the legislature's decision on the P3. On Tuesday, two delegates -- including Kann -- met with a representative of the US Embassy to deliver solidarity letters from the Metro Council and many other labor organizations. The meeting was followed by a press conference outside the Embassy where labor delegates told local press about the delegation and the strong union support for the workers of El Salvador. 
- photo: May Day parade in San Salvador; photo by Julia Kann