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ALERT: Take Action to Defend Union Organizers with SITRABI
STITCH
10/3/2007
In the early morning hours of Sunday September 23, Marco
Tulio Portela
Ramirez prepared to go to work at a banana plantation in
Izabal, Guatemala.
He never made it to work. He was gunned down in front of
his house by armed
masked men. Marco was the secretary of culture and sport
at SITRABI, the
union for banana workers in Izabal. His brother Noe Ramirez
is the general
secretary. He leaves behind a wife and young
children.
The union firmly believes this killing is directly related to
the work they
have been doing to end the intimidation and harassment of
their union. Most
recently the union intervened with the Public Ministry and
the Ministry of
Defense in Guatemala in response to military personnel who
forcibly visited
their office.
SITRABI is the oldest union in
Guatemala and arguably one of the strongest
and the largest private sector
union in Guatemala. This is not the first
attempt to intimidate
workers.
* In 1999, in a
case that brought international attention to
violence against unionists in
Guatemala, seven members of SITRABI were
violently attacked and forced to
flee to the United States. Their case
became the key test on impunity
for workers rights advocates and the U.S.
government who put Guatemala's
trade benefits on probation until Guatemalan
courts convicted the
criminals.
* In November
of 2006, Union officer Cesar Guerra was shot at while
driving in a union
vehicle and others were threatened to cease and desist
their activities or
pay the price.
* And
directly related to the murder of Mr. Ramirez, in July
2007, military forces
forcibly entered a union meeting and demanded to know
the identity of the
leaders.
Violence against trade unionists in Guatemala has increased
significantly
since the passage of CAFTA. Four trade unionists have been
murdered so far
this year (none in the year before CAFTA passed) including
the January
murder of Pedro Zamora, head of an important port worker's
union. The
government has yet to charge anyone in the murder of Mr.
Zamora.
SITRABI has been working with local and international forces to
pressure the
Public Ministry and Ministry of Defense in Guatemala to
investigate these
crimes. Now they need our help and international
solidarity to let the
government know that this type of harassment and
murder of unionists will
not stand!
Stand with SITRABI to stop the
violence and intimidation of UNIONISTS!
Contact the Guatemalan Ambassador
in the United States and urge the
Guatemalan Government to act
now!
SAMPLE LETTER
Ambassador Jose Guillermo Castillo,
2220
R Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel:(202) 745 4952
Fax:(202) 745
1908
<mailto:estadosunidos@minex.gob.gt>
estadosunidos@minex.gob.gt
Dear
Ambassador Guillermo Castillo,
I am writing to ask your government to
take strong and decisive action to
stop the violence against unionists in
Guatemala. The recent assassination
of SITRABI Executive Committee Member,
Marco Tulio Portela Ramirez on
Sunday, September 23 is a stark reminder of
the incredible danger workers
face when trying to exercise their right to
organize for better wages and
more humane conditions in their work
places. I urge your government to
thoroughly investigate and prosecute
the murderers of Mr. Ramirez and other
trade unionist in Guatemala,
including Mr. Pedro Zamora of the port workers
union.
As you may
recall, the SITRABI union leadership was violently intimidated in
1999 and
forced to leave their country. Their case became an important test
case on
impunity for the U.S. government.
The government of Guatemala must also
publicly condemn the violence against
Guatemalan trade unions.
In
addition, it is vital that the Guatemalan government take responsibility
for
the safety of the remaining leaders of SITRABI and ensure that they are
protected from all violence and intimidation. The Guatemalan government must
protect those that organize for basic their human rights. I will be
monitoring the news as well as following updates from labor rights
organizations to ensure that this case is taken seriously and that labor
unions are protected throughout
Guatemala.
Sincerely,
___________________
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