Author:
Date: Feb 29, 2008 13:34
In what some call a shameful betrayal of solidarity, powerhouse New York
labor leader Dennis Rivera has joined Puerto Rico's governor in a stunning
attempt to break the island's largest union.
Eight days ago, the Puerto Rico Federation of Teachers, which represents
40,000 teachers, paralyzed island public schools with a strike.
The teachers, who earn top wages of $26,000 a year, had worked for 30 months
without a contract. Union leaders were furious that Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila
imposed new working conditions last year, decertified the union in January
and suspended its dues checkoff.
The governor's draconian actions came after the union's membership voted in
November to authorize a strike. Since 1998, Puerto Rico's government workers
have not been allowed to strike.
While the clash between the teachers' militant leaders and the government
was grabbing the headlines, Rivera was maneuvering to snatch control of the
teachers for his Service Employees International Union.
Top labor leaders here and in Puerto Rico say Acevedo Vila gave Rivera, a
close friend and a vice president of the 1.6-million member SEIU, a green
light last year to oust the teachers federation and replace it with a newly
formed labor group, the Union of Puerto Rican Teachers.
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