BY CINDY JAQUITH
DETROIT - The Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC) has issued an invitation to workers around the world to attend the 17th congress of the CTC, to be held in Havana April 25-30, 1996.
The U.S. delegation to the congress is being sponsored by the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange, based here in Detroit. The trip offers trade unionists from the United States the opportunity to exchange experiences with Cuban unionists, learn about their revolution, and gain a better understanding of the effects of the U.S. government's policies designed to strangle that revolution.
In addition to attending the CTC congress, workers on the U.S. delegation will attend a seminar sponsored by the CTC that includes visits to schools, farms, factories and hospitals, and meetings with Cuban workers and union officials. A highlight of the trip will be attending Cuba's annual May Day march along with thousands of Cuban trade unionists.
Ignacio Meneses, coordinator of the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange, reports that a 500-piece mailing on the delegation has gone out to unionists across the United States. "We are inviting trade union leaders, rank-and-file workers, and unorganized workers, too, to be part of this delegation," he said.
"U.S. workers will see how workers in Cuba are confronting new challenges to their revolution, particularly the economic problems after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the tightening of the U.S. blockade through the Helms-Burton bill," Meneses said.
"Workers from the United States will also learn firsthand how Cuba terminated racism, uniting Black, brown, and white workers to carry out a revolution and accomplish gains, some of which we in the United States are still fighting for, such as health care and education."
Amber Marie Arellano, a member of the Newspaper Guild on strike against the Detroit Free Press and News, visited Cuba in the fall of 1995 on a U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange delegation. "For me, going to Cuba opened up new ideas and perspectives," she said. "I went with skepticism, but I was impressed with how sincere the people were and how interested they were in the strike."
Participants in the U.S. delegation to the CTC congress may choose between a one- or two-week trip. The one-week trip (April 24-May 2) costs $650, flying from Cancún, Mexico. The two-week trip (April 20-May 4) costs $950, also flying from Cancún.
To receive an application for the trip, write to: U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange, P.O. Box 39188, Redford, MI 48239. Telephone or fax: (313) 836-3752.