The People Behind Colombian Coal; Mining, Multinationals and Human Rights

Presenters: Union Leaders from Columbia

Estevinson Avila, president of the Sintramienergética union which unites workers from the Drummond-owned and operated mine of La Loma, has been pursued by paramilitaries because of his involvement in the union.

Jesús Brochero is a top leader of Sintracarbón, the National Union of Coal Industry Workers which represents employees of the multinational-owned Cerrejón Mine in Colombia.    

Location: United for a Fair Economy, 29 Winter Street, Boston, MA   02108

Cost/Registration: Free and Open to the Public

Information: Jeannette Huezo, 617-423-2148 ext 132, jhuezo@faireconomy.org

Description: Coal provides almost 50% of the electricity produced in the United States. Much of that coal--including what's burned at the Salem and Brayton Point plants in Massachusetts--comes from two giant, multinational mines in Colombia.

In Colombia, some of the most powerless people--indigenous people with no re-
sources, no electricity, no water--and some of the most vulnerable unions in a country with the highest rates of assassination and repression against union activists in the world-are taking on some of the most powerful multinationals. We have a lot to   learn from their example.