CONCLUSION
The last part of the conference was a combination of the Organizing Workshop and the Conference Closure allowing an opportunity for conferees and facilitators to combine acquired information with ideas for organizing.
Some of the participants' recommendations for improvement in future conferences included more structure, more time, cultural preamble, sessions in community involvement and privatization. In general, people were very enthusiastic about the program and materials presented. Following is a list of resolutions sorted out as longterm, shortterm projects based on feasibility or imminent need.
Conference Resolutions
Shortterm:
1) Prepare for 1997 Labor Notes conference
2) Support Mexican worker struggles; write letter in support of maquiladora workers at Mattel (MABAMEX)
3) Hook up traveling workers with unions in Mexico
4) Redesign reengineering course and go on the road
5) Establish international committee to work out agenda at next meeting
6) Support ASTTEL in El Salvador and the ASTTEL tour being organized in the United States
7) Develop greater coordination through a committee of interested participants
8) Hermosillo, STRM to hold one such regional event focused on the concerns of rankandfile workers
9) International conference calls every 3 months
10) Germán Sánchez to do research
11) Dave Newman to set up email service
Longterm:
1) Develop strategies for international organizing
2) Foster workerunion officer relationships
3) Develop reengineering document: need to advertise the bad effects of reengineering
4) Educate consumers
5) Community outreach: develop labor/community coalitions on universal service, quality of service, stopping the worst effects of deregulation and privatization
6) Develop positive agenda for universal affordable service
7) Hold regular regional meetings (e.g., Mexico/southern, US
northern US and Canada)
8) Bring rankandfile people to bargaining; engage in small acts of solidarity (i.e., make it clear to management that unions are working together)
9) New Mexico to do translation
10) Organize cable
TIE RECOMMENDATIONS
PROGRAM FOLLOW UP:
The list of conference resolutions reflects organizing projects that in one way or another address the expectations of the majority of the conference participants and their organizations' interests.
A quick glance through the list depicts international solidarity work, internal/externalhome base organizing and networking.
This list of proposed activities will not go far however, unless there is a follow up program to facilitate its implementation. TIE/NA offers in this case, the organizational framework to assist the community of activists to turn this list into working projects.
There should be an effective follow up program to this set of resolutions incorporating the following actions from the TIE/NA office:
-to facilitate Workshop proposal development from the committee for Labor Notes Conference.
-to participate in Email conversation group
-to reach out for people who do not have access to electronic mail by using regular mail or fax.
-to structure the coalition by encouraging participants of both conferences in current information exchanges.
-to sort out resolutions by order of need or feasibility.
-to develop a research/action plan based on the contacts in the union and research communities.
-to coordinate an international conference call
-to pick volunteers to prepare for the next conference
Previous Section - General Discussions
Return to TecsChange home page
