Palestinian Trade Union Tour makes fourth of five bay area stops

Only one Tour stop left in the Bay area before the delegation moves on:

Santa Cruz
Saturday, Nov. 30 // 7pm
SEIU 415
517 Mission St., Santa Cruz

Delegation Members Include:

Mohammed Mahmoud Ahmed Saleh: (Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine)
PGFTU Exec. Committee and National Secretary-Legal Affairs; member, Palestine National Council; part of delegation negotiating with Israel at the Madrid Conference. Mr. Saleh develops and implements training programs concerning labor law (Israeli and Palestinian), union organizing, elections, safety and health issues and technology.

Hekmat Kamal Rateb Elsarraj: (Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine)
PGFTU Women's Affairs Dept. in the Occupied Gaza Strip. The department works to eliminate all forms of discrimination in the workplace, within the unions and society at large and promotes equal opportunities for women. She develops and implements training programs concerning workers rights, safety conditions, union organizing and leadership.

See the report and pictures from the first bay area stop:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/11/1545288.php

See the report and pictures from the second bay area stop:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/11/1545339.php

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Fourth Stop: OAKLAND Report back
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A full house of organized labor and others greeted the delegation from Palestine at the climactic third stop of five in the bay area. The delegates from the PGFTU (Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions) were inducted as Honorary members of the Service Employees International Union Local 250 and presented with union tee shirts. As well they were presented with tee shirts from Local 2850 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE), including a tee shirt for the hotel and service workers representative from Jerusalem (Abdel Khateeb) that was unable to make it out of the Occupied Territories to join the delegation. So with the new shirts in hand, Hekmat Elsarraj joked that she may not need to buy new clothes for Ramadan, a Tradition.

There was a definite union presence, but along with that were many folks that had probably heard about it through the grapevine. The house was packed by the end of the presentation and the delegation was swarmed with folks eager for the critical eyewitness information they were providing. Many thanks were also given to the delegation for having come halfway around the world to share with us and the Solidarity Banner, reflecting this was full of messages of support.

Mohammed spoke about the daily toils of working in Palestine, while Hekmat highlighted the humanitarian dangers of living under the Occupation.
All in all, the north bay part of the tour was a rousing success.

A Labor delegation is being prepared from this country as well; to go to Palestine and witness the conditions under which the workers are trying to live and work in the Occupied Territories, as well as inside Israel.