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> Fri., Sept. 17, 2004
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
US Motives on Sudan Under Scrutiny at the UN
Farm Labor Agreement Reached
Fasting for the right to stay and study. Students speak out!
Hotel Workers Prepare to Strike
More Environmental Concerns at World Trade Center Site
Nigeria to Raise Domestic Fuel Prices Under IMF Pressure
FSRN Headlines
US Motives on Sudan Under Scrutiny at the UN
The United States has scheduled an unusual weekend meeting
of the United Nations Security Council to vote on a draft
resolution that puts further pressure on the government of
Sudan to end attacks on civilians in its war torn Darfur region.
The resolution calls for beefed up monitoring by the African
Union but stops short of calling for economic sanctions. The
US decided to push ahead with the vote despite opposition
from several council nations, including China, which can veto
any decision. While some critics say the US watered down the
resolution to win broader support, others say it’s essentially
a feel-good measure designed to boost US standings ahead of
President Bush’s UN appearance next week. Susan Wood
reports from the United Nations.
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Farm Labor Agreement Reached
In what is being hailed as a major victory, today the Toledo-based
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) signed a three-way
labor agreement in North Carolina with Mt. Olive Pickle Co.
Inc., which has been the subject of a FLOC boycott since 1999.
The three-year labor pact with the North Carolina Growers
Association, represents about 1,050 farms that raise 27 different
crops ranging from cucumbers to tobacco, as well as a related
agreement with Mt. Olive. To tell us more about this historic
agreement, FSRN Host Deepa Fernandes speaks with the President
of FLOC, Baldemar Velasquez.
[top]
Fasting for the right to stay and study. Students
speak out!
Meanwhile in other news affect immigrants, today is the
third day of a five day nation-wide hunger strike to draw
attention to immigration issues which many say have been all
but ignored in the lead up to the presidential elections.
As a part of national Immigrant week, the hunger strike is
to highlight the need for Congress to pass the DREAM act,
a proposal that would allow undocumented young people to become
legal U.S. residents and go to college. Radio Rootz &
SAYA high school reporter Navi Sandhu brings us this report
[top]
Hotel Workers Prepare to Strike
Unionized employees at major hotels in Washington DC, San
Francisco and Los Angeles are finishing final preparations
to go on strike in the coming days. The impact comes at a
time when the hospitality industry has largely rebounded after
the downturn following September 11. Darby Hickey of WPFW
brings us this report from DC.
[top]
More Environmental Concerns at World Trade Center
Site
FSRN has been looking closely at the health impacts of the
destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001,
and studies released this week say that a building that is
still in ruins and is set to be demolished is highly contaminated
with toxins. This has residents and workers worried about
the health affects. They want the federal government to oversee
the demolition, but have received no commitment. FSRN's Leigh
Ann Caldwell has more from New York City.
[top]
Nigeria to Raise Domestic Fuel Prices Under IMF Pressure
Nigeria, the world’s sixth largest oil producer has
announced plans to increase the domestic prices of petroleum
products. This comes only a few days after the country’s
senate passed a bill aimed at stopping workers unions from
protesting against government policies. Workers are the strongest
opponents of the Nigerian government. They are at the forefront
of a campaign aimed at stopping the government from increasing
fuel prices in line with the demands of international financial
institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund. Both institutions want the government to remove local
fuel subsidies so that Nigeria will have more money to pay
back huge debts owed to western countries. Sam Olukoya reports
from Lagos.
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