22373: Vilaire: Re: 22358: Harvey Re: 22352: Vilaire: On the Grupo M Debacle (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Vilaire@aol.com

Sean Harvey writes:

<<While I certainly wouldn't want to demonize Batey Ouvriye or any other
worker's union, I think they may have been a little heavy handed in their
strategy, and the
end result is that a lot of people now do not have much needed jobs that
they had until last week.>>

Mr. Harvey, what are the specific "heavy handed" tactics of which you accuse
Batay Ouvriye of using in their strategy? Aside from hyperbole remarks from
Grupo M's officials calling the group all sorts of names, there has not been any
independent report to substantiate that Batay Ouvriye is anything other than
a legitimate workers' rights organization using appropriate means to defend
workers. Hey, that's what workers' rights organizations do! As for Grupo M, it
would be a gross understatement to call their actions heavy handed.  To wit,
officials from the AFL-CIO (not known for aggressive labor defense in Latin
America) have forcefully condemned Grupo M's use of paramilitary forces to
brutalize workers, and the frequent incursions of Dominican soldiers on the plant's
grounds to beat up on Haitian workers.

Marx-Vilaire