BY ELENA TATE
BOSTON - Twenty-five people rallied in front of the Government of Puerto Rico office in downtown Boston June 25 to show solidarity with telephone workers who are on strike against the privatization of the national phone company on the island. Some of the most popular chants, in English and Spanish, were "Stop Police Brutality Against Telephone Workers!" and "Puerto Rico No Se Vende [Puerto Rico is not for sale]."

Leaflets were passed out to passersby with information about the July 25 marches, in Washington, D.C., and New York, that will demand self-determination for Puerto Rico and freedom for the Puerto Rican political prisoners. Many had not heard anything about the strike. One college student bought a copy of the Militant newspaper because it contained coverage of the work stoppage.

Actions in solidarity with the Puerto Rican phone workers are taking place in other U.S. cities as well. One hundred people rallied in New York June 24. Other actions are planned.

The Philadelphia chapter of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners along with other activists building the July 25 march on Washington have called a July 7 picket line outside the local offices of the Puerto Rican government to coincide with the general strike set for the island. The picket will begin at 10 a.m. at 2 Penn Center (15th Street and JFK Blvd.). For more information, call 215-427-0592.

Peter Seidman in Philadelphia contributed to this article.  
 
 
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