Labor's Love Lost
Quico says: My trip here’s been extremely hectic, so I apologize for the sparse posting. Every day, I seem to add one or two topics to my list of issues-the-media-really-isn’t-covering-nearly-as-well-as-it-should. And I notice that a lot of those have to do with labor issues.
More and more, labor activists find themselves facing criminal charges over work disputes with state owned firms. The charge is typically some variation on the theme of “boycott” and “sabotage”; words whose meanings have been extended to delirious new extremes. The problem is compounded by the fact that the state refuses to conduct further collective bargaining talks with its own unions, and refuses to implement the few it does complete (e.g., the Caracas Metro.)
The real irony here is that, from an organized labor point of view, dealing with the bloodsucking fascist private sector is now immeasurably preferable to dealing with the revolutionary workers’ state. Private companies can’t get away with a tenth of the shit state firms pull without some Inspectoría del Trabajo flunkie getting up their nose. But work for an SOE and you get no collective bargaining rights and, como si fuera poco, threats of jail time if you do something about it.
Go figure.
Caracas Chronicles is 100% reader-supported.
We’ve been able to hang on for 22 years in one of the craziest media landscapes in the world. We’ve seen different media outlets in Venezuela (and abroad) closing shop, something we’re looking to avoid at all costs. Your collaboration goes a long way in helping us weather the storm.
Donate
