Another Trade Unionist Murdered in Guatemala

Another Trade Unionist Murdered in Guatemala

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Violence against trade unionists in Guatemala continues. Victor Galvez was reportedly shot 18 times leaving his workplace on October 25, 2009. Galvez is one of more than forty labor and campesino activists murdered since the passing of CAFTA.<br /><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1618/t/2586/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=28039"><br />Join the international trade union movement in condemning the assassination of union leaders like V&iacute;ctor G&aacute;lvez and urge the Guatemalan Embassy to take appropriate steps in stopping violence against those who speak out against injustice!</a><br /><br />G&aacute;lvez was beaten and threatened in June 2009 for demonstrating outside the national electricity institute, INDE, while he was promoting a proposal for reform in the state's electricity laws accommodating the communities' struggles during the economic crisis.<br /><br />His murder adds to the list of worker rights violations cited in the first and only CAFTA labor complaint filed by the AFL-CIO and five Guatemalan trade unions. Violence against trade unionists and worker rights violations in Guatemala have surged since CAFTA came into effect.<br /><br /><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1618/t/2586/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=28039">Take Action! Call/Write the Guatemalan Embassy in the U.S. condemning the assassination of trade unionist Victor Galvez and ask the Guatemalan government to meaningfully address the ongoing labor rights violations and impunity surrounding these cases.</a><br /><br />G&aacute;lvez was a community leader and a member of the natural resources protection and resistance front, FRENA, affiliated to the national front for the defense of public services and natural resources, FNL, which is part of the Guatemalan labor, indigenous and campesino movement, Movimiento Sindical Ind&iacute;gena y Campesino Guatemalteco (MSICG).<br />

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