BY MARK FRIEDMAN AND GUY BLUE

HAVANA, Cuba - The Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC) hosted a meeting at the Jose Martí International Airport here May 2 for airline workers attending the federation's 17th congress. Workers from Argentina, Colombia, the United States, and Cuba participated, including ramp workers, mechanics, flight attendants, air traffic controllers and those in airport operations.

Union leader Emilio Vásquez Pe'rez welcomed the delegation to this 100 percent unionized airport of 5,000 workers. He said that leading up to the CTC congress, airport workers discussed efforts to modernize and improve productivity, efficiency, and service without layoffs.

Vásquez explained that airport workers have been part of many of the important tasks of the revolution, including volunteer labor to help in the sugar harvest and airport construction. Many have participated in Cuba's internationalist solidarity efforts in countries like Angola.

Fabio Mármol, a worker at Colombia's state-owned Avianca airline, discussed government efforts there to reduce the number of full-time union workers and replace them with contract employees who receive significantly less pay and benefits. This has been combined with the privatization of major state enterprises resulting in massive job losses. In response to workers fighting back, more than 1,000 unionists have been assassinated by right- wing government-linked terror squads during the past several years. Many workers are in jail.

Argentine unionists at the meeting pointed to similar assaults taking place in their country. These are linked to demands by the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank for cutbacks in social services, and austerity measures against the workers and farmers to pay the foreign debt.

Sally Goodman, a United Airlines aircraft mechanic from Chicago and a member of the International Association of Machinists, described attacks workers in the United States have faced over the last two decades, and resistance such as recent demonstrations in defense of immigrant rights and the strike by newspaper workers in Detroit.

"Cuba is an inspiration, an example," she stated, "Observing the CTC congress showed us what real workers and union democracy is in practice when workers have political power and run the country."

"We have a lot of work to do when we get back to increase support for Cuba among our co-workers and to bring a larger delegation to your next meeting," Goodman said.

The U.S. unionists presented their Cuban brothers and sisters with a donation of work gloves, ear plugs, and safety glasses they had collected from co-workers on the job in the United States.

Acela Claro Sánchez, leader of the Cuban Transport Workers Union, which includes airline, marine, rail, taxi, truck, and dock workers, also spoke. She is in charge of women's work for the union at the airport. The first and only female air traffic controller, Sánchez described the "double burden" of women, especially during the special period of the early 1990s when there were widespread food shortages and electrical outages. Her job is to help get women into nontraditional jobs and to educate the women and the men about the importance of women having access to all jobs.

Guy Blue and Mark Friedman are members of the International Association of Machinists. BY OMARI MUSA

HAVANA-Two of the five members of the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) from the United States attending the 17th Congress of the CTC toured the Ñico López refinery in Havana, at the invitation of Irán Exposito Rassi, general secretary of the Chemical, Mining, and Energy Workers union.

Before the collapse of trade with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the refinery had a workforce of 2,300. The Soviet Union was the major source of crude oil to Cuba. Since then the workforce has been reduced to 1,500. The 800 others are working on minibrigades in the construction industry, or are receiving 60 percent or more of their pay until new jobs can be found for them.

"Where does Cuba get the crude oil?" Mary Pritchard, a member of OCAW Local 4-367 in Houston, asked.

"We buy oil on the open market," Exposito said. "Because of the U.S. embargo, no one is prepared to sell us oil up front. Not only do we have to pay the highest price on the market, we also have to pay what we call a `political tax.' This is to cover the chances sellers take making the oil available to us."

Several workers noted that while they didn't make their production goals last year, this year is better. One of the workers made reference to the theses for the CTC congress. "We discussed the thesis thoroughly and sought to apply it to our work here at Ñico Lopez," he said. "We have to normalize production and increase it. We also have to increase our efficiency and continue to be mobilized to meet the challenges of the `special period'." He then took us to Plant No. 1. The plant was on shutdown for maintenance. Workers were laying a new floor, walls, and panels in the control room. Others were painting and cleaning up. The unit was spotless. "This is part of our mobilization to be more efficient," he said.

At the conclusion of our visit, Pritchard told our Cuban counterparts that she and several others in Houston refineries had discussed this trip with as many co-workers as possible. "We decided to collect money to buy safety equipment to contribute to you," she said. "The response was very good. Everyone didn't want to contribute, but some who weren't supporters of the revolution did. Our contribution includes overalls, safety glasses, face masks and filters, and some boots." Exposito accepted on behalf of the union and gave the delegation a plaque in solidarity.

Omari Musa is a member of the OCAW in the San Fancisco Bay Area. BY JOE SWANSON

HAVANA - "It's a lot different working on the railroad now," railroad engineer Juan Presencia said. "When Batista was in power you couldn't even approach the bosses to raise a problem. If they ever did call you into the office, it was to fire you. And the union then was in cahoots with the company. They were cutting their own deals."

Presencia was speaking to five U.S. rail workers, members of the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who were in Cuba attending CTC congress. They visited the main Havana passenger rail station late one evening. Railroads, like all industry in Cuba, are state-owned. The 58-year-old engineer has worked on the railroad for 42 years, both under the Batista dictatorship and under the revolutionary government that came to power in 1959.

"What about safety?", one U.S. rail worker asked, noting that in the United States accidents are frequent. Scores die every year in train wrecks and crossing accidents. The equipment is old -

some of the locomotives go back to the 1950s - and much of the track is in bad shape, Sánchez said. "And our trains leave the station late about 30 percent of the time. But we have few accidents." Road crossings are protected and prominent signs placed when there are crews working on the tracks.

Safety is also helped by crew size. Passenger and freight trains have a minimum five-person crew: an engineer, fireman, conductor, and two brakemen. Another brakeman is added for every additional 10 cars.

Joe Swanson, a conductor at Amtrak in San Francisco, was impressed. "In the United States," he told Sánchez, "in the drive to increase company profits, many crews have been reduced to engineer and conductor only, greatly increasing the safety risk."

Sánchez introduced the U.S. workers to brakemen, yardmasters and, dispatchers.

Naida Infante Verdecia is one of a handful of women who work as train dispatchers, but there are no women who are engineers or brakemen. "I think the first woman was hired about 10 years ago," Infante says. "The revolution eliminated discrimination against women, but some changes still come little by little."

When Infante learned that Glova Scott from Philadelphia was one of a few women at the Conrail freight line who are conductors, she said, "I really like that. Congratulations. That's really a tough job."

Infante then joined the delegation for the rest of their visit. When the group entered one office, Infante pointed Scott out to dispatcher Ziomara Moracén. "Look Ziomara, she's a conductor." Moracén smiled.

James Thornton, a conductor at Conrail in Philadelphia and editor of a local newsletter for the UTU there, said he enjoyed the visit. This was Thornton's first trip to Cuba.

"It looks to me like Cuban workers really do run their country," Thornton said. "I'm not sure this would work in the United States, but it seems to be working here."  
 
 
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