BY MARK FRIEDMAN
LOS ANGELES - At an informal meeting near Los Angeles
International Airport, nine airline workers, members of the
International Association of Machinists (IAM) and the
Teamsters unions, met and talked with Cuban youth leaders
Itamys García and Luis Morejón currently on a U.S. tour.
United Airlines mechanic Jorge Suárez and Cesar Guerrero, an IAM member at Hudson General, said a few words welcoming the Cubans. Guerrero also explained the current fight for a contract at Hudson General, an airport ground services company.
Also attending the event was Maureen Vieck, a Teamsters member and flight attendant at Northwest Airlines. She is active in the union's Contract Action Team, which has organized regular demonstrations at the terminal for a decent contract. "Our struggle with Northwest as flight attendants is an ongoing one and a culmination of the struggles by pilots, machinists, and others," she said.
A lively discussion followed with questions and exchanges on the nature of the U.S. embargo against Cuba and what could be done to fight it, the role of women before and after the revolution, Cuba's relations with other Caribbean and Latin American nations, and the character of Cuban democracy.
Morejón and García expressed their gratitude to the workers present, saying, "We can fight better and resist, knowing that there are people like you."