Left to right, Hank Blandford and Jeff Ortega from Local 17, Jeff Carter, Local 17 President, Lt.Governor Garamendi, and Local 17 Dispatcher/BA Everett Burdan.
Northern California longshore Locals 17 and 10 are joining with other unions and community groups to help impoverished workers and their families in a village called Batalla, located in the Central American country of Honduras. The families have been hit hard by recent heavy rains and flooding that destroyed many homes, roads, and farms.
Local 17 members who work at the Farmer’s Rice Cooperative in West Sacramento made arrangements with their employer to donate an entire container load of rice that will help feed many hungry families. Nearly 70% of Hondurans live on $3 a day or less.
“The donation from Farmer’s Rice was fantastic, but we didn’t have a container, so Local 10 stepped-up and located one we could use to ship the rice,” said Everett Burdan, Dispatcher/Business Agent at Local 17.Northern California longshore Locals 17 and 10 are joining with other unions and community groups to help impoverished workers and their families in a village called Batalla, located in the Central American country of Honduras. The families have been hit hard by recent heavy rains and flooding that destroyed many homes, roads, and farms.
Local 17 members who work at the Farmer’s Rice Cooperative in West Sacramento made arrangements with their employer to donate an entire container load of rice that will help feed many hungry families. Nearly 70% of Hondurans live on $3 a day or less.
“The donation from Farmer’s Rice was fantastic, but we didn’t have a container, so Local 10 stepped-up and located one we could use to ship the rice,” said Everett Burdan, Dispatcher/Business Agent at Local 17.
“None of the companies would donate a container, but our local was able to buy one from M.O.L. for $1000, which is what we did to get the job done,” said Farless Dailey, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 10.
A member of the Teamsters Union hauled the empty container from Oakland to the Farmer’s Rice Cooperative in West Sacramento where it was filled by ILWU members. The Farmer’s Rice team received a special hand from California’s Lieutenant Governor, John Garamendi, who came to the warehouse to help load the container. A large group of TV and radio reporters were on hand to cover the story and publicize the union-led effort.
“I’m proud to be helping this project with longshore union members and the Farmer’s Rice Co-op,” said the Lt. Governor. “Reaching out to help other workers is what solidarity is all about, and I want to support your project,” he said.
The next day, Garamendi flew to Honduras with Bill Camp, head of the Sacramento Labor Council, to visit the area where the rice shipment will arrive, and to see where previous donations from U.S. unions and community groups have helped villagers build a new medical clinic that will serve thousands of workers, farmers, and their families. The new clinic was dedicated in early December at a ceremony attended by Bill Camp, John Garamendi and his wife Patti, and a host of villagers - many of whom walked miles to attend the event.
Honduras was once covered in tropical rain forests and rich stands of mahogany, but the valuable timber was cut down and carried off to Britain and the U.S. during the last two centuries. Honduran workers received little for their hard and dangerous logging work. Banana plantations were established in the early 1900’s by the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) and Standard Fruit Company (now Dole). The companies backed brutal regimes throughout Central America that killed trade unionists and kept most of the population living in deep poverty.
Today, some banana workers are having more success organizing unions, but labor and peasant leaders continue to face threats and sometimes murder.
“It’s great to help folks down in Honduras who really need a hand —and it’s a good foundation for us to build connections that help immigrant workers feel more comfortable joining unions up here,” says Bill Camp, who developed the Honduran support project while running Sacramento’s Labor Council. “A lot of folks in Honduras have family members working up here in the states, and those connections can make a big difference in union organizing campaigns,” he added.
Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductable donation to the help the workers and their families in Honduras can send checks to: CHIMES, P.O. Box 162126, Sacramento, CA 95816. You can also visit their website at www.projectchimes.org.
“None of the companies would donate a container, but our local was able to buy one from M.O.L. for $1000, which is what we did to get the job done,” said Farless Dailey, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 10.
A member of the Teamsters Union hauled the empty container from Oakland to the Farmer’s Rice Cooperative in West Sacramento where it was filled by ILWU members. The Farmer’s Rice team received a special hand from California’s Lieutenant Governor, John Garamendi, who came to the warehouse to help load the container. A large group of TV and radio reporters were on hand to cover the story and publicize the union-led effort.
“I’m proud to be helping this project with longshore union members and the Farmer’s Rice Co-op,” said the Lt. Governor. “Reaching out to help other workers is what solidarity is all about, and I want to support your project,” he said.
The next day, Garamendi flew to Honduras with Bill Camp, head of the Sacramento Labor Council, to visit the area where the rice shipment will arrive, and to see where previous donations from U.S. unions and community groups have helped villagers build a new medical clinic that will serve thousands of workers, farmers, and their families. The new clinic was dedicated in early December at a ceremony attended by Bill Camp, John Garamendi and his wife Patti, and a host of villagers - many of whom walked miles to attend the event.
Honduras was once covered in tropical rain forests and rich stands of mahogany, but the valuable timber was cut down and carried off to Britain and the U.S. during the last two centuries. Honduran workers received little for their hard and dangerous logging work. Banana plantations were established in the early 1900’s by the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) and Standard Fruit Company (now Dole). The companies backed brutal regimes throughout Central America that killed trade unionists and kept most of the population living in deep poverty. Today, some banana workers are having more success organizing unions, but labor and peasant leaders continue to face threats and sometimes murder.
“It’s great to help folks down in Honduras who really need a hand —and it’s a good foundation for us to build connections that help immigrant workers feel more comfortable joining unions up here,” says Bill Camp, who developed the Honduran support project while running Sacramento’s Labor Council. “A lot of folks in Honduras have family members working up here in the states, and those connections can make a big difference in union organizing campaigns,” he added.
Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductable donation to the help the workers and their families in Honduras can send checks to: CHIMES, P.O. Box 162126, Sacramento, CA 95816. You can also visit their website at www.projectchimes.org.
