Thousands of workers demonstrated outside the capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 29 to protest the threatened layoff of 30,000 government workers by Gov. Luis Fortuño and the tearing up of union contracts under a measure known as Law 7. They also opposed proposed legislation that would privatize many government services in Puerto Rico, a U.S. colony.

The demonstration was backed by the main union federations on the island. “We haven’t seen a united action like this of all the unions since at least 2000,” Luis Pedraza, a spokesperson for the Coordinadora Sindical, a federation of more than a dozen independent unions, told the Militant.

The independent unions have called for a one-day strike on May Day and a march. Change to Win and the AFL-CIO will demonstrate later that day and are organizing a May 2 march.

—SETH GALINSKY

 
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home