Brazilian Workers Discuss Future of Labor in Brazil

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

“Certain benchmarks have been met” under Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that set an “important precedent” for the Brazilian people and labor movement, said Jorge Nazareno last Thursday. Nazareno, President of the Osasco Metalworkers Union and member of the Forca Sindical Executive Council, spoke at a lunchtime briefing at the AFL-CIO with Joao Carlos Goncalves, General Secretary for Forca Sindical, and Luiz Motta, Forca Sindical International Relations Secretary. The three discussed labor gains since Lula’s election in 2002 and the hope for continued improvements for workers with his re-election last year. They also fielded questions on President Bush’s recent trip to Brazil and globalization. The Brazilian union leaders on a three-day trip to create a common plan with the AFL-CIO on labor issues, including anti-discrimination and workers’ rights. -Report/photo by Andy Richards