International
Why the U.S. is experiencing the largest strike and unionization boom in 50 years and its economic consequences
August 17|
The Hollywood strike is the most obvious (and glamorous) face of a union movement that has been gaining strength in the U.S., and which this summer has produced the largest number of workers willing to fold their arms in the country in the last 50 years.
Between screenwriters, actors and unionized Hollywood workers, some 175,000 people have joined the strike since mid-July, even refraining from promoting the two biggest films of the moment, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
On the other hand, the 340,000 employees of the U.S. postal company UPS came close to declaring a total strike on August 1, which was averted thanks to a preliminary labor agreement.
Pre-settlement estimates had established that just ten days of service disruption would have cost UPS close to US$7 billion.
In July, the United Auto Workers announced that its 150,000 members are preparing to go on strike if the so-called Detroit Big Three (Ford, Stellantis and General Motors) do not comply with agreed terms for contract renewals in September. Negotiations are still ongoing.
According to an analysis by Cornell University’s school of labor relations, as of early August, 900 strikes were ongoing in the U.S.-more than 300 of them in the United States. -more than 300 of them in California, the state responsible for 15% of the nation’s GDP.
According to U.S. labor market specialists who spoke to the BBC, 2023 represents a recent historic milestone for the revival of unionism in the country.
The trend had already been recorded as far back as 2022. A February study by the Economic Policy Institute think tank reported a nearly 50% increase in the number of workers involved in major strikes between 2021 and last year.
In 2023, a similar jump should be recorded. While the country reported 23 large mobilizations in 2021 (involving at least a few thousand employees), 2023 has so far reported 44 strikes with that same profile.
The vigor of the workers’ movements – and the fear produced by their effects – led U.S. President Joe Biden, who calls himself “proudly pro-worker,” to appeal to Congress to disarm a movement that threatened to paralyze 115,000 railroad workers in December.
In the U.S., Congress has the power to impose labor agreements and prevent strikes in some essential services. Biden argued that a rail strike could be catastrophic for the country’s economy.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
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