Contributions to the Books for Cuba Fund can be made payable to the Militant, earmarked Books for Cuba Fund, and sent to the Militant at 410 West St., New York, NY 10014.

Mary-Alice Waters

Pathfinder Press

New York

Dear Ms. Waters,

There are seven co-workers at Wilen Manufacturing, a mop factory and warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, who are donating $25.00 to the Books for Cuba Fund. We have selected Habla Malcolm X [Malcolm X speaks] and La segunda declaración de La Habana [The second declaration of Havana] as the two books we would like to contribute to the Fund.

We would enjoy learning who you gave these books to and as much about them as you can tell us.

A little bit about us. Our names are Peggy Molden, Brenda McMillan, Corey Allen, David Wareham, Rickey Johnson, Paul Cornish, and Arlene Rubinstein. The plant is organized by the United Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) Local 2625. By the time you receive this note our contract will have expired. We are currently in negotiations, and will have to fight for everything that we get.

All seven of us have purchased Pathfinder books and have been discussing them on the job. Looking forward to any information that you may bring back so we can share the ideas with each other.

Sincerely,

Paul Cornish

January 30, 1998
Paul Cornish

College Park, Georgia

Dear Paul,

Thank you for the note about the books that you and your co-workers at Wilen are donating to the Books for Cuba Fund. I know we will be able to make a special gift of them to one of the factories we visit, and that they will be much appreciated. The fact that they come from fellow workers in the United States, and that we can tell them a little about the struggles you are in the midst of, is the most important thing.

When we return, we will let you know how they were used.

Once again, many thanks and we hope you are strong and united and fight well in your contract negotiations.

Best regards,

Mary-Alice Waters

Pathfinder

Paul Cornish

College Park, Georgia

Dear Paul,

I'm a meatpacker in Detroit and a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Together with two other workers, I had the pleasure of delivering the donation of Pathfinder books that you and your co-workers sent to fellow workers in Cuba. Our delegation also included Maria Isabel Le Blanc, a Quebecois worker in Montreal, Canada, who is currently recovering from injuries suffered on a previous industrial job and plans to get a job in garment when she's able to do so. Maria Isabel was one of the volunteers who staffed the Pathfinder stand at the Havana International Book Fair. In addition, Francisco Picado, a former garment worker in Miami and New York (among other cities), who was in Havana preparing a number of news articles for the Militant and the Spanish-language magazine Perspectiva Mundial, was part of our group.

At the invitation of SNTIL, the union of the light industry workers, we were able to visit El Quitrín, a clothing factory in Habana Vieja (Old Havana). It is a small shop with 81 workers - 70 women and 11 men. This is a special garment shop, one that makes traditional Cuban dresses. Each worker sews the whole garment as opposed to an assembly line, which is the norm in Cuba as elsewhere. There is a store next to the factory where they sell what they produce. Most are sold to tourists, which brings in hard currency to buy raw materials and keep production going.

We were received by Faustina Pedro, the Havana province secretary of the Light Industry Union; Lidia Betancourt, the plant administrator; and Fernando Huesa, general secretary of the union local and a cutter in the plant. We got a royal tour and were able to talk to all the workers about the books you donated and who you were. We took advantage of the opportunity to speak about some of the attacks unionists and working people in general face in the United States. Fernando spoke for the workers at the plant expressing their pleasure at receiving the books from fellow workers in the United States. He told Francisco he was sure he would not be the only person who wanted to get on the list to read them.

Workers in this plant have been selected as "National Vanguard" for six consecutive years because of their success in meeting the plant's productivity goals and their ability to meet other targets they set for themselves through their union. These include financing union activities and the voluntary donation of a day's wages during the year to help arm the union-supported Territorial Troop Militia, which defends the revolution. As you probably know, 40 years ago this year workers and peasants overthrew a bloody dictatorship that was backed by the United States and began the fight to build socialism under the constant attacks of the U.S. government.

Their efforts over the last several years are noteworthy because of the difficulties and shortages Cubans have faced, especially since the early 1990s, when they lost their long- standing source of raw materials and trade agreements with the Soviet Union. The U.S. government economic embargo has cruelly exacerbated this by preventing them from negotiating new trade pacts. For example, having to deal with daily blackouts in past years because of oil shortages, workers at El Quitrín and other garment factories adapted their sewing machines with pedals so they could continue to work. These blackouts do not happen anywhere near as often now, so they have changed half of their machines back to normal and project fixing the rest as they continue to restore previous productivity levels. The plant administration has not been able to replace a number of incandescent light bulbs, we noticed, because they do not have any. They have to be bought with hard currency.

During the "Special Period," as Cubans called this crisis they have been fighting to put behind them, production in the plant dropped by 40 percent because of shortages of materials and other problems. They have been making progress in the past couple of years especially; production has increased by 7 percent and 6 percent respectively. The plant was the cleanest garment factory any of us had been in - from bathrooms to their outdoor lunch room (where the plant provides lunch for the workers) to the neatly stacked materials on the production floor.

To get access to badly needed convertible currency in order to buy the raw materials, spare parts, and other items they need to keep production going, the plant sells 60 percent of its production in the dollar market and 40 percent in the national market. (Most Cubans do not have access to dollars, although the number who do is growing.) The union leadership said that a special effort is made to use every piece of material available to produce garments that are affordable for workers in the national market. In the Special Period, workers have decided to take many steps with the aim of increasing production. Management has adopted a schedule proposed by the workers that enables them to meet the production goals and at the same time gives workers all Saturdays and Sundays off. As in the United States though, garment workers are among the lowest paid workers in the country.

Conditions remain difficult in Cuba. Because of the U.S. embargo, it is hard for people to get many medicines, and meat is not a regular part of everyone's diet. This is especially true for those who have no access to dollars. On the other hand, there is a tremendous spirit of solidarity among workers, and through their collective effort production has begun to recover in many areas, transportation is better than in years past, and the overall food situation has greatly improved compared to a few years ago. People fight hard not to lose what the revolution has made it possible to achieve in the past and to improve on it where possible. Like all workers in Cuba, the workers at El Quitrín can retire at 55 if they are women and 60 if they are men. There is no limit on sick days, and medical care is free. Workers who are forced to miss work because of a child's illness do not face reprimands. This is a far cry from our experience in the United States.

I hope this little report is useful. For us it was a privilege to be able to deliver the books you donated and share the appreciation expressed to us. If you and your co- workers would like to do so, you can write to the union at this plant care of Fernando Huesa, Secretario SNTIL, El Quitrín, e/ San Ignacio y Obispo, La Habana, Cuba.

In solidarity,

Rosa Greenwood  
 
 
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