UpsideDownWorld.org's Paul Pollack reports from the second national Congress of Venezuela's National Workers Union (UNT), held in Caracas, May 25-27.
Building Labor's Revolutionary Voice in Venezuela: The UNT's second national Congress
By Paul Pollack - UpsideDownWorld.org
June 05, 2006
Rival factions clashed at the second national Congress of Venezuela's National Workers Union (UNT), held in Caracas, May 25-27. Over 2000 voting delegates and 1000 supporting union members attended the Congress, which ended in disarray when a group of dissident delegates split off from the main group and held a smaller, parallel gathering. The two groups failed to agree on a date for Federation-wide elections.
UNT: A New Voice for Labor
The UNT has not held elections since it was founded in August 2003 by workers opposed to the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers’ (CTV) support of the 2002 oil field lockouts. Workers overwhelmingly opposed the lockout and the CTV stance. Prior to this, CTV also opposed the 1989 Caracazo protests and failed to challenge the wave of privatization of public services in the 1990's. CTV affiliated unions typically have unelected leadership who act unchallenged in their authority for years.
In three short years, the UNT Federation has grown exponentially and now represents nearly all public sector workers. In 2004, UNT-affiliated unions won about 50% of private-sector collective contracts, compared to 45% for the CTV. Though the numbers of represented workers are hard to gauge, simply put, the UNT is the best available route to galvanize a powerful, democratic voice for working people in pro-Bolivarian Venezuela. UNT-affiliated unions must elect their leadership and their delegates to the UNT structure.
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