General strike
* Puerto Rico After forty days on strike, several one-day stoppages in various government agencies and a two-day general strike, Puerto Rico's telephone workers have returned to work without attaining their objective: forcing the government to break its agreement to sell the state-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC) to a group of investors led by the US giant GTE. Rafael Bernabe The strike of the two telephone unions began on June 18. From the first moment it was evident that the government was intent on breaking it through a brutal show of force. In the early hours of the strike, workers clashed with riot police in at least three locations, including the main offices of the PRTC. Skirmishes and major confrontations between strikers and their supporters continued daily and climaxed on the morning of June 22, when police and protesters clashed in two separate PRTC installations. The government then obtained an injunction which prohibited picketing within fifty feet (18 metres) of the gates of PRTC buildings. This court order soon became a dead letter, given the size of the pickets mustered as soon as the Police made any attempt to enforce it. The people's strike
The strike enjoyed massive support. The struggle against privatisation had already led to a one-day general strike last October, and to dozens of mobilisations since. The campaign against privatisation has been coordinated by CAOS, a broad coalition of labour, student, environmental, community, cultural, political and religious groups. Annie Cruz, President of one of the telephone trade unions HIETEL, was the coordinator of CAOS as the strike began.
From the very first moment CAOS insisted on calling the strike la Huelga del Pueblo (the Strike of the People), to underline the fact that all working people had a stake and a role to play in it. Indeed, every day and every evening thousands drove past or joined the picket lines, contributed money and food to the strikers, while heeding the call of displaying the Puerto Rican flag in their cars as a sign of support for the strike. By the time the strike entered its second week the slogan Huelga del pueblo had become an accurate description of the feeling on the street. Students were particularly visible 16 International Viewpoint #303 among those supporting the strike. The government soon discovered that it was not faced with a traditional labour dispute, but with a protest which enjoyed wide support far beyond the ranks of organised labour. Governor Rossello's attempts to ignore the situation, minimising the size of the movement, while also justifying the brutal actions of the Police, only added fuel to the fire. All of a sudden, a government that many had considered unassailable, seemed extremely vulnerable. Even well-known supporters of the ruling party began to criticise its handling of the strike.
The ability of the phone workers to generate a struggle with such a wide resonance reflects the fact that the struggle against privatisation in Puerto Rico is impossible to separate from the issue of the control of the island's economy by US multinationals. This goes to the heart of Puerto Rico's colonial relationship with privatisation of the PRTC has thus become a condenser of a much wider movement of national affirTargeting the left
On the third day of the strike, the Police Superintendent began to single out several union leaders and students as "outside agitators". This was the opening shot of an intense campaign, including newspaper and television adverts, accusing subversive "agitators" of provoking violent situations in order to "discredit' the government. Government officials insisted that the strike had been "hijacked" by left-wingers. Those accused included leaders of the radical left regroupment Frente Socialista, including labour lawyer Jorge Farinacci, and the author of this article. The House of Representatives even approved a resolution denouncing the "agitators." Union solidarity
During the second week of the strike several unions carried out actions in solidarity with the phone workers. The electrical workers' union declared a three day strike, while the water resources and the government insurance workers went out for one day. A contingent of workers from several unions (phone, dock workers, water resources, Teamsters) blocked and paralysed the main areas of the port of San
Meanwhile, sabotage activities significantly affected the phone system, above all in the interior of the island. All of this was part of what the Concilio General de
Rupta Rica lephone Comdany Trabajadores (CGT) -one of the three labour federations in Puerto Rico- calls "the state of strike" ("estado huelgario"), which means not a strike, but a situation in which all unions are on alert to take action whenever necessary. Actions may include anything from pickets, marches, caravans, alternating strikes in different sectors with a general strike. The general strike
The first stage of the strike concluded on a high note: an CAOS assembly on the 28th of June attended by 1,200 delegates. The assembly issued a call for two day general strike.
The general strike (on July 7 and 8) was a huge, exhilarating success. The degree of activism, the size of the mobilisations, the palpable fighting spirit of hundreds of demonstrators on the street, the repeated battles with the Police in the period leading to the general strike was such that the Banco Popular and the main shopping malls decided to close during those two days. Hundreds of offices and shops also closed.
Previous general strikes (28 March 1990; 1 October 1997) have been basically limited to the public sector. This time a significant portion of the island's private economy (above all trade) was paralysed. And while previous mobilisations had been concentrated in the capital, San Juan,
this time there were mass activities and concentrations all over the island. It was a truly national movement which left no town unaffected. The general strike included daring and spectacular actions, such as the blockade for several hours of all the roads leading to the San Juan International Airport, and a similar blockade of the Condado tourist area. The morning after
And yet, the morning after the general strike, the leadership of the two telephone workers' unions, UIET and HIETEL, announced their willingness to negotiate a rapid return to work.
All of a sudden the movement seemed to be adrift. The leaders offered no perspectives. Where was the movement going? Had the general strike been a last desperate action? What were the leaders of UIET and HIETEL seeking to negotiate? Nobody knew. Participation in the picket lines dropped visibly. What had happened? Why was a movement, which only a few days before had led a massive general strike, apparently on the verge of surrender?
As the days went by, union leaders spoke exclusively about the conditions of a possible return to work. Was the battle over? As many sectors began to question the path being followed by the leaders of the PRTC unions, Annie Cruz resigned as coordinator of CAOS. All of a sudden the press was feverishly discussing the divisions, not within the government, but within CAOS.
Three weeks later, the negotiations concluded. The assembly of UIET to ratify the agreement between the government and the unions regarding the return to work ended in a major fist-fight after the leading group, led by union President Jose Juan Hernandez, imposed the accords without even permitting an open debate.
The fact is that none of these problems are of recent origin. The divisions that became visible after the general strike and which have led to the present situation are the product of tensions and differences within the labour movement, which have been part of this process from the very Chaos within CAOS
The CAOS was not born without a struggle. A year ago, after the Governor announced his plans to privatise the PRTC, a sharp debate erupted within the labour movement. A portion of the labour leadership, headed by Federico Torres, President of the Central Puertorriquena de Trabajadores (CPT), argued that the move ment against privatisation should be led by the COS, an umbrella committee of Puerto Rico's three labour federations.
This was opposed by many who in the past had negative experiences regarding the COS's ability to function democratically and to lead sustained mobilisations. Those sectors favoured the creation of a new, broader organism, led by the the phone workers and open to social and political organisations and not only trade unions.
After a fierce debate in a general assembly on August 3, 1997, this second perspective prevailed and the CAOS was born. Its first coordinator was Alfonso Benitez, who was then President of UIET. Those who saw the creation of CAOS as an attack on their leadership role have made a priority of destroying the new movement, and reviving the COS Militants lose union election
Their chance came during UIET's internal elections last spring. The CPT's old guard backed Jose Juan Hernandez against Benitez. The government also had an interest in removing Benitez. The Benitez group underestimated the opposition. As a result only a third (around 2000) of the union members voted. Hernandez won by less than 200 votes. The UIET and CAOS lost their main and most militant leader, while the UIET acquired a president whose commitment to the struggle against privatisation was, at best, uncertain. In particular, Hernandez was close to those who had opposed the creation of
As soon as the preliminary agreement with GTE was made public, a sharp struggle erupted within the UIET and the CAOS, between those who favoured a militant response leading to a possible strike, and those who pushed for a disorienting wait-and-see attitude. Others, such as Jose Rodriguez president of the UNTS (Puerto Rico affiliate of the US trade union SEIU) repeatedly stated that "there were no for a general strike or for major mobilisations. While nobody openly came out against the strike, it was evident that a portion of the labour leadership was doing everything possible to demoralise, disorient and dishearten the rank-file, thus making a successful strike impossible.
It was the pressure of the delegates of the UIET that eventually forced Hernandez to go on strike. But, since June 18, his actions have all been directed at disarming the workers. His team did not even attempt to lead. Certainly, no mobilising directives ever came from him or his lieutenants. On the first day of the strike there was not even a plan to organise the picket lines at the main offices of the PRTC. No strike propaganda or literature was ever prepared. Most of this was provided by other unions.
The Hernandez group (and the government) hoped that without any direction the strike would collapse in a few days. When it did not (due to the presence of militant phone workers, as well as members and leaders of other unions, who took things into their own hands) Hernandez disappeared for several days. Annie Cruz became the only visible leader of the strike. We could compose a long catalogue of the many decisions taken by Hernandez and —as the strike progressed— by Cruz herself, and by other labour leaders close to them, that systematically undermined
This situation came to a head after the two day general strike. As the mobilisations reached their highest point, Cruz and Hernandez insisted that the strikers were willing to return to work if certain conditions were granted. Thus, they succeeded in turning a strike against privatisation into a strike about the conditions of a possible return to work.
At this point, part of the militant wing of both CAOS and the UIET argued that if a return to work was necessary, it was better to go back immediately, without any negotiations and with the militant spirit of the general strike still fresh. If the government declared a lockout it could only increase the already widespread support for the workers. Instead, the leadership of both unions dragged itself into a long negotiation with the government, while the thinning of the picket lines (which they had promoted) left them with little or no bargaining strength. The result was a rotten agreement, which at least officially ties the hands of both unions and their members for at least six months (during which the privatisation of the PRTC may be finalised). The CPT is even threatening to pull out from CAOS
The most remarkable thing about these events is the fact that, in spite of every-
-ranging from police brutality to the obstacles created by union leaders— the struggle against the privatisation of the PRTC managed to last this long, and to generate the widest social mobilisation in Puerto Rico since the 1930's. As a result, the labour movement is almost surely on the verge of a major realignment, which may open opportunities for the more progressive and militant sectors within it.
Moreover, the strike has demonstrated that there is a considerable sector of Puerto Rican society that is willing to join militant struggles, precisely to the extent that they provide a real living alternative to the "politics as usual" of the three traditional electoral parties.
In fact, on the very first day of work after the strike it became evident that the struggle is not over: five minutes after the first shift started hundreds of workers and their supporters were again on the streets, protesting repressive measures taken by management. These protests were immediately opposed by union officials. That, however, did not prevent the workers from insisting on their demands.
The opposition to Hernandez is now out in the open within the UIET. A caucus has been formed to oppose his policies. Will the rank and file be able to free itself of those who so dismally failed and betrayed them? Will the CAOS be able to survive the attempts to undermine it? Will the socialist left be able to consolidate itself on the basis of its growing visibility and prestige among a whole layer of workers and students? These are some of the questions which must now be answered, not through idle speculation but in practice.