Vol. 80/No. 23 June 13, 2016
25, 50, and 75 Years Ago
June 14, 1991
Columns of troops from rebel organizations entered the capital city of Addis Ababa May 28, putting an end to the government that had ruled Ethiopia since the 1974 overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie.Earlier in the week, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front won control of all of Eritrea, the first time since their guerilla struggle for independence began in the 1960s. The Oromo Liberation Front, which is demanding a referendum on independence for the southern part of the country, also participated in the overthrow.
Recognizing that the army had disintegrated under the impact of the insurgents’ advance, Washington shifted its earlier call for a cease-fire and instead tried to maintain some credibility by “inviting” the rebel forces to take control.
June 13, 1966
NEW YORK — Juan Mari Bras, leader of the Movement for Puerto Rican Independence, and a lawyer, was in the city recently to represent a group of Puerto Rican workers. While here, he spoke about the struggle in Puerto Rico against the war in Vietnam.Mari Bras described the growing sentiment against the war among pro-independence youth. Recently, they held a seminar attended by over 100 delegates to learn more about the origins of the war and about Vietnam. The youth intend to use such information in their island-wide campaign to inform the people of Puerto Rico about the true nature of the war.
The seminar also discussed the draft law which obliges Puerto Rican youth to serve in the army of the colonial power which refuses them independence.
June 14, 1941
Local 302, Cafeteria Employees Union of New York, the second largest local of the Hotel, Restaurant and Bartenders International Union, prepared to use its manpower of 10,000 workers this week for a general strike in the industry. Monday night, June 9, at a membership meeting of over 4,000, the workers threw back insultingly meager offers of the employers with a ringing challenge.The reasonable demands of the union had been stalled off by the bosses since the expiration of contracts on April 30, and the membership was determined not to repeat another half year stalling, as happened in 1939. A minimum two dollar general wage increase would still not allow the workers to meet the tremendous rise in rents, food and clothing.