The Labor Forum encourages all supporters of independent, progressive to donate much needed funds to WRFG 89.3FM during our Spring Pledge Drive which begins March 27 and goes until April 16. Our goal is $60,000 and we hope the listeners of The Labor Forum will pitch in with as large a donation as you can.

Today, March 20 is the 14 anniversary of the US “shock and awe” criminal attack on Iraq, an invasion of hundreds of thousands US, British and other troops, accompanied by massive air strikes. By May 1, 2003, the end of major combat operations was declared by the Bush administration and the military occupation began.

The US had openly declared its policy of “regime change” in Oct 1998 with the passage of the “Iraq Liberation Act.”

With George W. Bush’s election in Nov. 2000, the plan to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein picked up steam, particularly following 9/11 in 2001.

The drumbeat of war focused on charges that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction,” which the US media promulgated relentlessly at the behest of the administration and the Pentagon despite evidence to the contrary.

14 years of massive destruction, untold millions of civilian deaths, injuries and displacement, ongoing political chaos that has spread throughout the region, and the ongoing military engagement of thousands of US troops. Not to mention billions and billions of dollars spent to pursue policies of aggression and domination.

Not to be forgotten, yesterday, March 19 marked the 6th anniversary of the US/NATO war on Libya, an exercise of political and military intervention that has similarly left that northern African country in unending spiral of death and misery for its people.

Literally, not a word is spoken in the news media about these two continuing horror stories, the result of imperialist ambitions to control oil resources and markets.

<On Monday, March 20, The Labor Forum will hear about a bill being discussed by the Georgia General Assembly described as "OSD" for public transportation." As you remember, the "Opportunity School District" amendment was soundly defeated at the ballot box last fall when voters rejected the idea of a state takeover of public schools under the direction of the Governor. It was widely seen as a way to further the privatization of public education.
Nikita Howard of ATU #732, the union representing MARTA workers, will describe the impact of HB 160 which intends to set up the Georgia Commission on Transit Governance and Funding. This interview will be broadcast from 4:15-4:30pm.

At 4:30, Saladin Muhammad, a leader of Black Workers for Justice will call in from N. Carolina to talk about the upcoming Southern Workers School to be held in Atlanta, Ap.22-23.This is a project of the Southern Workers Assembly, a solidarity network of rank and file workers across the South building worker power. This is the second convening of the school which includes two in person meetings and eight online sessions over the summer designed to ground worker leaders in labor history, organizing skills and movement building.Details about the Southern Workers Assembly can be found at http://www.southernworker.org

The Labor Forum airs every Monday from 4-5pm on WRFG 89.3FM.

For additional information, the website is http://www.wrfglaborforum.org

Join Freedom University students and Atlanta’s diverse social justice community in welcoming the farmworker leaders of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers! We will march to demand that Wendy’s return to the fields of Florida and make a real, verifiable commitment through the Campaign for Fair Food to guarantee respect, dignity, and justice for farmworkers.

Please bring your voices, your friends, and musical instruments in an exciting picket at Wendy’s!

*Please note that the new meeting place is Wendy’s at 660 Boulevard. Please park on nearby Charles Allen Drive, other street parking, or arrange other transportation. Parking is not available at Wendy’s.*

CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND:
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a farmworker-led human rights organization based in Immokalee, Florida. The CIW has transformed human rights standards in the agricultural industry and led the fight to end modern day slavery and human trafficking in the U.S. through its internationally-recognized Campaign for Fair Food. The “Return to Human Rights Tour,” a 2-week, 12-city tour, is the longest protest action in the last ten years of the Campaign for Fair Food. The tour will mobilize thousands of consumers in the national boycott of Wendy’s fast food restaurants. The boycott, launched by the CIW last March, has garnered tremendous support from tens of thousands of students, faith leaders, human rights activists, and consumers of conscience across the country. In spite of the growing pressure, Wendy’s has dug in its heels and defended its decision to shift purchases away from Florida’s tomato industry — hailed in the New York Times as the “best working environment in American agriculture” — and towards a Mexican industry, riddled with inhumane working conditions.

This March, the Fair Food Nation will call on Wendy’s to return to the fields of Florida and join the Fair Food Program, where “quality” is defined not simply by the guarantee of tasty produce, but also by the guarantee of respect and dignity for the human beings who harvest our nation’s fruits and vegetables.

Among the many groups of low-wage workers who are organizing to gain living wages and respect for their labor are farm workers.