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I'm glad to report some initial progress at the Alcoa wire harness plants in Honduras, but we and the workers still have a long way to go. The union leaders who were summarily fired in June for daring to exercise their legal right to organize a union at Alcoa have been offered reinstatement.  This first step forward took place last week at a hastily arranged meeting called by two Alcoa executives from the U.S. and Latin America.  Local Honduran Alcoa management were kept out of the meeting.

Like real union leaders, the fired workers, despite their desperate situation, said they certainly would accept reinstatement, but they want all the fired union members and supporters--about 150 people in total--to return to work with them.  The union leaders are now awaiting Alcoa's response, which should come in a week or two. 

At one point, the Alcoa executives questioned the union leaders why they wanted to return to the plant.  Without hesitation, they responded:  to clean up the factory, end the violations and abuses and win respect for our people.

That is the good news.  But for now, the Alcoa plants are still operating as sweatshops, with gross human and worker rights violations. We are in total agreement with our union sisters and brothers in

Honduras that the struggle must continue until all the fired union leaders, members and supporters are reinstated, their union recognized, the plants cleaned up, and the workers have a collective contract. 

The workers tell us that they feel optimistic, which is all the more reason to keep the pressure up.  This could be a rare victory in the wasteland of U.S.-CAFTA, which continues to fail miserably in protecting even the most minimal legal rights of the workers.

In a related piece of good news:  The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S 367 / HR 1992), which will finally hold corporations legally accountable to respect internationally recognized worker rights, may be the fastest moving bill in the House, with 125 co-sponsors to date and many more in the wings.  Every day, we are getting closer to cutting the legs out from under the corporate greed driving the race to the bottom in the global sweatshop economy.  There will come a day when if it is made in a sweatshop, it is not coming into the U.S.

Congratulations to all of the Rapid Response Teams and activists across our Union that have driven this bill forward and are continuing to pressure those who have not committed their support.

Please keep the pressure up, both on Alcoa and in support of the anti-sweatshop legislation.  The USW, thanks to your hard work and Vision, is really making a real difference here and across the globe!

We'll keep you posted, and let you know the minute we hear from the Alcoa workers in Honduras.  To learn more about the Alcoa sweatshops and how desperate the situation is there, please visit:http://www.usw.org/usw/program/content/4182.php