At CUT, Glover supports protests against outsourcing.
American actor and activist Danny Glover, participating in the metalworkers' congress, noted that the global crisis is exacerbating precarious work and declared his support for the protests against the outsourcing bill: “Brazilian unions have always been at the forefront of the fight for civil rights. Brazil has not yet realized its potential in the world. We, Americans, see Brazil as a transformative country in labor relations.”
By Editorial Staff Current Brazil Network
São Paulo – American actor Danny Glover, known for his activism for civil rights in his country and around the world – praised yesterday (14) the struggles of Brazilian unions in the process of building Brazilian democracy. “Brazilian unions have always been at the forefront of the fight for civil rights. Brazil has not yet realized its potential in the world. We, Americans, see Brazil as a transformative country in labor relations. With regard to global actions, we need to unite at this time of global financial crisis, which increases the precariousness of work. Therefore, our struggle is permanent,” he said, during an event that is part of the program of the 9th National Congress of Metalworkers of CUT. The congress has its official opening on Tuesday night, with the presence of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and extends until Friday (17), in Guarulhos, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.
Glover was one of the participants in the International Seminar Impacts of Racism in the World of Work. The panel was coordinated by the Secretary of Racial Equality of the National Confederation of Metalworkers (CNM-CUT), Christiane dos Santos, and also included the participation of the Director of Cultural Heritage Policy at the Smithsonian Institute, James Counts Early, the Vice President of the South African Metalworkers Union, Christine Oliver, and the President of CNM-CUT, Paulo Cayres. During his presentation, Danny Glover displayed a poster against the Bill that allows the expansion of the use of labor in all company activities (PL 4.330) – currently being processed in Congress and the target of demonstrations this Wednesday (15).
The actor and activist thanked the organization for its support in the solidarity campaign for workers at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, who are prohibited from unionizing. “CNM-CUT gave us unconditional support in this struggle. And this support went even further, because Mississippi is not a very friendly place for African Americans. We haven't yet achieved unionization, but we are making progress in organizing the workers,” recalled Glover, who also chairs the TransAfrica Forum – the largest and oldest NGO dedicated to the rights of the African American community.
South African trade unionist Christiane Oliver spoke about the democratization process in South Africa and the inequalities that still exist in her country, even after the end of apartheid. “We thought that with the end of apartheid we would have economic freedom. But, unfortunately, capitalism is global, white, and monopolistic. Whites in Africa earn eight times more than blacks. And in the case of women, the inequality is even greater. Black women earn only 70% of the salary of black men.”
James Early spoke about the importance of the Brazilian labor movement in addressing the issue of racial equality in the workplace and in society. “The fight against racism is a fight for the full citizenship of all Americans, and unions are participating in this fight. We will not have a full democracy without the participation of Black people in positions of power in all countries. I am certain that in the next 25 years, Brazil will be the most important country in all of the Americas. Therefore, we need to work together with Brazilian unions from now on to make this issue the main banner of struggle,” he said.