People-to-People Solidarity with Trade Unions and Popular Organizations

Public Forum: Haiti after the Earthquake

People-to-People Solidarity with Trade Unions and Popular Organizations

Three months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, hundreds of thousands of people remain without adequate shelter, access to health care, clean water and food. While the world discusses “reconstruction” in Haiti, Haitians are asking, “Will there be any, and whose interests will it serve?” Our solidarity with and material support to Haitian working-class, community and peasant organizations are critical to their ability to struggle for a just society and resist neo-liberalism.

“We must rebuild Haiti. But it must be done in a way that meets the needs of workers and the common people. Strong and effective public services are vital for Haiti’s future. Our unions have been fighting for this for years and resisting the privatization of our national assets.”—Dukens Raphael

Hear: Brother Dukens Raphael - Haitian Trade Unionist
Secretary General of the Confederation of Workers of Public and Private Sectors (CTSP); spokesperson for the Union of Electrical Workers of Haiti

Organized by: Pan-African Solidarity Network (U of T), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE Ontario), Toronto Haiti Action Committee (THAC)
Co-sponsors: Ontario Federation of Labour, Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Latin American Trade Unionists Coalition (LATUC), CUPE Local 3907, CUPE Local One, CUPE Local 3902, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (Ontario), Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union (OPSEU)

Mwen rankontre ayisyen saa lan Vankouvè yè apremidi.

Mesye, gen nèg an Ayiti ki konnen pwoblèm yo toutbon.
Yo genyen solisyon ak vizyon pou vre peyi Dayiti devlope.

Mwen mande l ki relasyon sendika jody a genyen avèk patrona a, li di se menm movèz fwa a, men mesye yo komanse rekonèt vale sendika e yo oblije fè konsesyon lan anpil bagay.
Se yon nouvèl jenerasyion sendikalis ki edike, kalifye e ki soti pou yo soutni klas travayè ak klas peyzanne.

Lè nou chita lan dyaspora ap pale anpil, gen nèg kapab ki rete an Ayiti ki ap viv ak pwoblem yo. Alo, pito nou konsilte yo anvan nou vini avèk solisyon ke nou panse ki bon pou Ayiti.

Haitian activist to bring thanks to CUPE BC convention

BURNABY— The leader of Haiti’s largest union will bring greetings from his earthquake-ravaged country, and a message of gratitude for international support in the relief effort, at the 47th annual convention of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, B.C. division (April 21-24).

Dukens Raphael, secretary-general of Haiti’s Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers, is the featured international guest speaker at this year’s CUPE BC convention, which is being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. Mr. Raphael, also Haiti’s representative with Public Services International (PSI), will address delegates on Saturday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m.

Mr. Raphael is expected to provide an update on humanitarian relief efforts since the January 12th quake, which killed up to 230,000 people and left more than a million homeless.

In particular, he will discuss the public sector’s role in relief efforts, the non-militarization of relief, and the importance of the Haitian people in directing the relief and reconstruction.

Later on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Raphael will take part in a public forum in the Grouse Room on the 34th floor at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver.

At the 4 p.m. event, organized by CUPE BC, CUPE Local 391, Haiti Solidarity BC, and Help Hear Haiti (UBC coalition), the Haitian union leader will discuss the urgency of current reconstruction efforts, as hundreds of thousands of victims still remain without shelter three months after the earthquake.

This year’s CUPE BC convention, themed “Our Members – Our Strength”, kicks off with opening ceremonies at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, followed by the president’s reception.