GM to Colombian workers injured on the job: Youre on your own
FRIDAY, JUL 7, 2017 4:00 AM EDT
The U.S. blocked entrance to a protest leader, representing hundreds of employees injured in Bogota
BRUCE VAIL, IN THESE TIMES
A long-term protest by workers charging mistreatment by General Motors in Colombia received a slap in the face from the administration of President Donald Trump this month when one of the protest leaders was denied entry into the United States.
Former GM autoworker Jorge Parra was preparing to visit the United States when the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia abruptly cancelled his visa just 20 hours before his flight was scheduled to depart, says Paige Shell-Spurling, an activist with the Portland, Oregon-based Central America Solidarity Committee. The cancellation has not been officially explained, she says, and supporters suspect retaliation for the aggressive protest tactics employed by the Colombians.
Parra was headed to the United States to continue his seven-year struggle to win better treatment for workers injured at the GM plant in the Colombian capital of Bogota. Parra charges that he was among several hundred employees who were unfairly dismissed at the GM Colomotores assembly plant — and then denied financial help in recovering from injuries sustained on the job.
Among the protest tactics are erection of a tent encampment in front of the embassy in Bogota, a corporate pressure campaign aimed at top executives of GM, persistent complaints to U.S. and Colombian government officials and international appeals for grassroots support. This month, the Portland Solidarity Committee continued its long-running support campaign with a trip to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, assisted in part by a local unit of the Industrial Workers of the World.
More:
http://www.salon.com/2017/07/07/gm-to-colombian-workers-injured-on-the-job-you-are-on-your-own/