Zimbabwe Bars U.S. Unionists

Monday, September 25, 2006

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

 

A delegation of black labor leaders and educators from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), a constituency group of the AFL-CIO, were denied entry into Zimbabwe on Friday, September 22, CBTU reports. The members of the delegation were Bill Lucy (AFSCME), Harold Rogers (AFT), Robert Wilson (UFCW), Miriam Poe (UAW), Henry Nicholas (AFSCME) and Marguerite Morrison (AFSCME). Demonstrations have been held around the world – including in DC-- in recent weeks to protest the September 13 beatings and arrest of 256 Zimbabwean labor leaders. “The group was planning on conducting an educational and study tour of the Zimbabwean labor movement,” reports CBTU. “This denial of entry to Zimbabwe is a desperate effort on behalf of the Zimbabwe government and the security and police forces to prevent international labor officials from seeing and understanding the dreadful conditions of the Zimbabwean economy and its impact on everyday citizens and workers.” While CBTU was denied entry into the country, a concerned member “perhaps of the Zimbabwe Passport Control staff gave to our delegation a DVD recording that graphically depicted the brutal and illegal and unprovoked attack of the police and security forces on workers on September 13th.” Stay tuned for more local actions.

 

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