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Why Retirees |
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Police Accused of Abusing Demonstrators
Published Wednesday, November 26, 2003 MIAMI -- Civil rights groups complained Tuesday that police abused demonstrators during last week's trade talks, arrested them without cause and denied them restrooms, water and phones. Meanwhile, the national steelworkers union called for a congressional investigation and the removal of Miami police chief John Timoney over the treatment of its members during the protests, and several groups said they will sue the city. "The city of Miami Police failed. The City of Miami failed," said Deborah Dion, campaign coordinator with AFL-CIO. The protests turned sporadically violent Thursday, the final day of the talks. Some of the approximately 8,000 demonstrators threw objects and fired slingshots at officers outside the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting, and officers hit protesters with batons, zapped them with stun guns and dispersed them with gas and sprays. Miami's political leaders and law enforcement officials have praised the actions of police and have denied any abuse by officers. But many protesters said they were peaceful and complied with officers' demands, only to be arrested anyway. Bentley Killmon, 71, said he was trying to get back to the buses provided by the Alliance for Retired Americans when police pushed him to the ground, arrested him and handcuffed him for 12 hours. Killmon said he was just following one set of officers' instructions to go down a street when he and an alliance organizer, Larry Winawer, encountered more riot police who screamed at them and told them to get on the ground. "We were trying to locate where the buses were so I could get on the bus and get the heck out of there," he said. "The way I was treated, you would expect it in a Third World country, not in this country." Killmon, who said he was denied a phone call or water, plans to sue. Miami police spokesman Lt. Bill Schwartz said he had no direct knowledge of any arrests of senior citizens or any abusive action. "We in law enforcement have no interest in injuring anyone, especially a senior citizen," he said. Of the more than 200 people arrested, only two remained jailed in Miami-Dade County Tuesday, said jail spokeswoman Janelle Hall. The American Civil Liberties Union says it is preparing to take legal action in the near future, as is the AFL-CIO and other organizations. The United Steelworkers of America sent a letter to congressional leaders late Monday, criticizing the use of approximately 2,500 officers from more than 40 law enforcement agencies as a "massive police state" and accusing them of intimidation. The union called for all charges against peaceful protesters to be dropped. The letter also criticized the use of federal money -- $8.5 million was alloted -- for Miami's security costs, calling it money for "homeland repression." Monday's letter was sent to several members of Congress, including Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist, with copies to Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas and Gov. Jeb Bush, among others. Diaz and Penelas did not immediately return phone messages Tuesday. Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj said the governor had not yet reviewed the letter but said the governor thinks law enforcement agencies did a "phenomenal job.". "Sincere protesters who marched to express concerns about FTAA were afforded respect and protection, but those who broke the law and were engaged in criminal activity were arrested accordingly," she said. Schwartz said that by the officers' actions, Miami averted the five days of rioting and millions of dollars in property damage that occurred outside the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle in 1999. "The object of the show of force was twofold: one to let the peaceful demonstrators know they could protest safely and two, to let the troublemakers know that we would not tolerate anarchy," Schwartz said. "It was successful." One protester remained in the hospital Tuesday with head injuries he says he suffered when police pinned him to the ground last week. Edward Owaki, 19, was being treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Hospital officials Tuesday would not release any information about Owaki, and the line to his room was busy. An arrest report says Owaki, a freshman at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, refused repeated police orders to disperse from a protest Thursday morning and then became "very violent." The violent behavior was not detailed.
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Retirees in the United States are facing many challenges in their communities: increased health care costs, expensive prescription drug coverage and lack of retirement security.
Now there's
another threat to retirees: What is the FTAA? It's been 10 years since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began eroding workers' rights, jobs and the environment. FTAA is NAFTA all over again-but 10 times bigger. The FTAA would include almost every country in the Americas. Most people think free trade is just about trade in goods orange juice, tennis shoes and steel, for example but the FTAA would cover much more and affect the lives of every worker in the hemisphere, including retired workers.
How will the FTAA affect retirees? U.S. companies may have to cut retiree benefits. Under NAFTA, our trade deficit with Canada and Mexico exploded from $9 billion to more than $87 billion, hurting the bottom line of many American manufacturing companies. As U.S. manufacturers cut production, slash jobs and shut down altogether because of NAFTA trade, they no longer can afford to provide their retired workers with the pensions and health care coverage. The FTAA will lead to more lost jobs and closed companies, threatening the lifelines of even more retirees.
Loss of manufacturing jobs would drain away state and local tax revenues. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost because of NAFTAand many more could be lost under the FTAA. When employers move away and jobs disappear, state and local governments lose tax revenues and face big budget shortfalls. As a result, pressure increases to cut public programs that benefit many retirees. Funding for senior centers, adult education, home-delivered meals and other programs could be put in jeopardy. Government support for public services, including health care, could be challenged. The FTAA would greatly limit the control of local and national governments over public services such as health care. Domestic laws that protect public services, health and safety and the rights of retirees and their families could be challenged under the FTAA. For example, when Enron took over the public water system in Buenos Aires, Argentina, rates skyrocketed, dirty water came from the taps and the water was shut off. The government took the water system back into public hands, and Enron turned to international investment rules to sue for compensation. Under the FTAA, these rules could be expanded to cover health care programs in the United States, allowing private companies to challenge any expansion of public health care programs such as Medicare.
Even Social Security protections could be challenged. Of particular concern to retirees, the FTAA could give companies the power not only to undermine public services such as health care and education, but also Social Security. A recent free trade agreement with Chile locked in the partial privatization of Chile's pension system and required changes in how the system is regulated. The FTAA could further restrict government control of services such as Social Security. What can we do to stop the FTAA? Join your brother and sister trade unionists and allies from throughout the Americas as they say NO to the FTAA and YES to good jobs, workers' rights and immigrant rights. Be sure to sign a Vote No "ballot," which local unions and labor councils will present to the trade ministers who are considering the FTAA. You also may take online action, get more information and join the Stop FTAA campaign at www.aflcio.org/stopftaa. |
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