[fse-esf] Janitors' Victory in Houston, USA

[akis gavriilidis]

I forward to you a message received today from our comrade Valery 
Alzaga, mexican trade unionist and inter alia participant to the 4th ESF 
in Athens.

-------- ?????? ?????? --------
????: 	Janitors' Victory in Houston - THANK YOU
??????????: 	Tue, 21 Nov 2006 17:09:53 +0100 (CET)
???: 	Valery Alzaga <valery at kein.org>
????: 	undisclosed-recipients: ;



Compas!!!

After 4 weeks of Houston janitors striking and a heavy escalation last
week (88 arrested in civil disobediences, local, national and
international coordinated actions and a heavy corporate campaign against
Chevron and Hines) janitors won a big victory!

The City-wide union contract will more than double income for more than
5,300 janitors and families - the latest victory in our national fight for
good jobs with health care.

The police attack and the outrageous legal sanctions against protestors
helped bring the city to a crisis. Civil rights, political and civic
leaders sided with the janitors, making the courts reduce the legal
penalties against protestors and forcing companies to go back to
negotiating table last friday.

Janitors won higher wages, more hours, and health insurance in their first
city-wide union contract. The contract will lift hundreds of janitors out
of poverty, more than doubling their income within 24 months and
guaranteeing secure affordable health care.

Houston is the second major victory for janitors in less than a year, and
is being seen as a major breakthrough in the South and for low-wage
workers around the country.

Thanks for all your amazing support in Berlin, Hamburg, London, Moscow,
Mexico City, Panama City and Milan. Never before have low wage janitors in
the U.S. received such unprecedented solidarity and support from activists
and trade unionist across the world.

Si Se Pudo!

En solidaridad,

Valery


For more details go to www.houstonjanitors.org

other links -

http://houston.indymedia.org/

http://www.labourstart.org/radio/podcast/stephenlerner.mp3

http://www.labourstart.org

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8LFQDG00.html
<https://email.seiu.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8LFQDG00.html>

In addition, here's a link to TV and radio clips from the past week-end:
http://media.vmsnews.com/MR.pl?id=112006-653686-X000827480
<https://email.seiu.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://media.vmsnews.com/MR.pl?id=112006-653686-X000827480>










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