Hands off Colombia!

In light of the international row over the expansion of US bases in Colombia, Americans may well ask just how many wars Mr. Obama plans to escalate. But Obama's planned accord with the Uribe regime will not only intensify American participation in a civil war that has raged unabated since 1964, but also array increasing numbers of American guns and dollars against the most beleaguered national labor movement in the world.

I'm hardly competent to explain to anyone the history of US-Colombian relations, the US-backed army's atrocities and collusion with right-wing paramilitaries, or how this toxic brew of military aid and training, political reaction, and social repression has made Colombia the most dangerous country in the world for labor unionists. Instead I recommend this brief introduction by David Bacon, perhaps complemented by more recent articles in the Colombia Journal, the NACLA Report on the Americas, and the Narco-News Bulletin.

I also recommend that those of us who prioritize international solidarity organizing begin incorporating Colombia into our work if we haven't already. Any number of national organizations that have been active on this front - the Colombia Action Network, the Colombia Support Network, SOA Watch, the US Labor Education in the Americas Project, Witness for Peace, etc. - offer a variety of perspectives and strategies, some of which should prove suitable for every left orientation.

And if you are at all the type of person who does this sort of thing, now would be an excellent time to write your congressmember.

Could labor tip the scales?

Thompson can't outspend the mayor. He will have a hard time out-organizing the mayor. But when it comes to unions, he has a shot at outmaneuvering the mayor.

"There are no shoo-ins in any of the races," said a longtime labor operative. "For a while it looked like Bloomberg was that in the mayor's race. But it's not like that anymore."

The Daily News

What would it mean for organized labor, along with the union-backed Working Families Party, to singlehandedly deliver Gracie Mansion to a longshot candidate challenging an incumbent who happens to be the wealthiest person in the city and whose shrinking poll lead peaked at 22%? And is that possible?