On the seventh day of the French transport workers strike, truckers in Denmark embarked on a strike leading to the blockade of ports by drivers with their trucks at ports in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Norway. The workers demand was compensation or allowance of work done outside of Denmark in line with other workers, e.g. handicraft and sales people. That is an increase from 150 D.Kronor to 500 D.Kronor.

On November 25 the workers met at a mass meeting to decide to continue the strike, if an agreement of their demand was not met. They voted overwhelmingly for the continuation of the strike.

The effect of the strike, however, were many in Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. In Sweden because of both the strike in Denmark and in France, and also because the just-in-time system of industrial production. Industries and businesses are vulnerable to any major industrial action by workers. The strike in Denmark involved about 600 trucks around the northern coast of Denmark bordering Sweden and Norway. On top of that Swedish truck owners had some 70 trucks stranded in southern Europe.

The strikes did cause great concern to the owners of the two main auto manufacturers Volvo and Saab Scandia. They felt the heat. Scandia was forced to shut down one of its plants in France. And both Saab and Volvo plants in Sweden were beginning to have shortages in parts and material supplies from the European continent. The bosses started discussing the plans to send workers home if need be. In Norway, the fish industry was affected the hardest. Abba Seafood experienced rotten salmon.

Truck drivers to and fro in Denmark re-routed to avoid the blockade, but this became a new problem because it made the routes and working hours longer for the drivers involved.

Finish truck drivers, unhappy with their new situation, protested against bureaucratic authorities imposing new regulations and higher duties on trucks from Finland. The protest was a blockade against loading and unloading trucks from Russia. The strike was termed by the Danish bourgeois politicians as high treason, according to the conservative Svenska Dagbladed daily paper on November 27. The union officialdom gave in for a 250 D.Kronor increase.

Dechor Hien

Stockholm, Sweden

`Economic development'
The Presidential candidates this year talked a lot about the 21st century, but here in New York State, our government has failed to provide leadership in creating the kind of regional economic development strategy we need to make us competitive in this new era. Instead, we have cities competing against suburbs heeding outmoded boundaries and creating obstacles that impede our growth.

This approach creates a downward spiral for affluent areas and inner cities alike. We must recognize that we are all inextricable linked together, and act in ways that benefit the entire region.

Companies leave New York -and countless others decide not to locate here - for many reason including lack of affordable housing, a failing educational system and inadequate transportation and infrastructure. That loss of jobs doesn't merely effect the city. A large percentage of those jobs would be filled by people who live in suburbs. On the other hand, working together we can become a potent economic force that will attract new industry and create jobs.

In the future, businesses will look for "metropolitan regions" that make economic sense, without regard to lines on maps. Our leaders in Albany must develop a comprehensive regional strategy that recognizes that reality and improves our infrastructure, our educational system and our economic position on a regional basis.

Working at odds with each other results in gridlock, inefficient government, higher taxes and lost jobs. Ultimately, it will cost the entire region dearly as we compete with other countries that better understand the demands of global economies.

Richard Kahan

New York, New York

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