Echan los patrones group discusses workers’ rights

Lauren Sutherland Assistant News Editor

On Friday, Nov. 4, the Student Activist Union (SAU) will be hosting a presentation entitled “Echan Los Patrones,” or “Fire the Boss,” during which members of Argentina’s Recuperated Factories and Unemployed Workers’ Movements will discuss their efforts to assume personal control of Argentina’s factories and modes of production in the aftermath of economic collapse.

Vassar’s campus will be one of the first stops of the tour, which will visit local unions and independent worker, community and students organizations in North America from Nov. 2 to Nov. 18.
The title is meant to show the initiative and determination of the Argentinean workers, who hope to inspire struggling laborers throughout the continent to explore the alternatives to suffering poor working conditions imposed by huge corporations.

“The Argentinean labor movements began to develop throughout the 1990s, but their emergence was catalyzed by the major economic collapse of December 2001,” said Jonathan Everhart, a member of the United States constituent of the labor movement who is largely responsible for organizing the tour.

Following the end of the Argentinean dictatorship in the latter part of the twentieth century, the economy has had mass privatization of factories and companies, creating hyper-inflation, consequent unemployment,and the eventual withdrawal of foreign enterprise.

However, refusing to resign themselves to economic stagnation, Argentinean laborers were “able to reopen factories on their own terms, revitalize production, and cooperate in order to provide for their communities,” according to Everhart.

In addition to other funding sources, the Vassar Students Association (VSA) allocated $1,500 to the SAU for the event from the Social Programming Fund at the Oct. 30 VSA Council meeting.
SAU member Nicole Nemergut ’06 worked with Everhart and the two Argentinean organizations to bring the tour to Vassar’s campus.

“It is important to expose the Vassar students to the experiences of the Argentinian workers, because their cause is only just beginning to be discussed in academic circles,” said Nemergut.
Everhart spoke of the potential for such presentation to breath life into a fairly feeble United States labor movement.

“We hope to create relationships between workers in both Argentina and America and to reach a mutual awareness of the parallel struggles of laborers in both countries,” said Everhart. “We also hope to plant a seed of self-empowerment in the United States workers. Argentina serves as an example of how labor conditions can be different, how lives can be different without big bosses.”

The presentation will encompass much broader issues that concern all students and citizens not directly involved in the labor movement.

“Anyone interested in international politics, social movements, political economy and gender roles in employment will have something to gain from the presentation,” said Nemergut.
The discussion, which will feature a clip of the film “The Take” by Abbie Lewis and Naomi Klein, will consist of discussion between workers and the audience, and will be conducted first in Spanish then translated into English. It will be held in Rockefeller 300 at 6 p.m.

“College students, although they come from a very different environment, will soon face the reality of entering the workforce,” said Everhart. “To an extent, we all are denied certain opportunities and must deal with the issues that the Argentinean workers have confronted. Argentina is an example of how the world can be different and of the alternative ways of living and working that exist.”