Contents: Labor conference to be held June 11 • June 16 demonstration • Charges against 7 labor leaders dropped • Shareholders move on Shell •Day of solidarity with S.A. unionists • Comprehensive sanctions gain support in Illinois • Africans visit Chicago • Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid • The newsletter reports ILNAA will hold a conference for local unions, "From Soweto, South Africa to Chicago: A fight for Union Rights and Human Rights," on June 11 at the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. It is cosponsored by the Roosevelt University Labor Education Division and University of Illinois Chicago Labor Education Program. Union members are urged to participate...
Contents: Labor conference to be held June 11 • June 16 demonstration • Charges against 7 labor leaders dropped • Shareholders move on Shell •Day of solidarity with S.A. unionists • Comprehensive sanctions gain support in Illinois • Africans visit Chicago • Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid • The newsletter reports ILNAA will hold a conference for local unions, "From Soweto, South Africa to Chicago: A fight for Union Rights and Human Rights," on June 11 at the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. It is cosponsored by the Roosevelt University Labor Education Division and University of Illinois Chicago Labor Education Program. Union members are urged to participate in a demonstration at the South African Consulate on June 16 (Soweto Day) and to demand release of jailed S.A. trade unionists. Trespassing charges against seven Illinois labor leaders and a priest were dropped when defendants appeared in court on April 13; they were arrested on March 18 for refusing to leave the Borg-Warner building in Chicago after meeting with the South African Consulate General. Jack Parton, District 31 Director of the Steelworkers, and Bill Stewart, Region 4 Director of the Auto Workers, led the delegation; they delivered thousands of petitions from local unions demanding the release of jailed S.A. unionists and all political prisoners. Arrested along with Parton and Stewart were: Elcosie Gresham, President of Transit Union Local 241; Rosetta Daylie, Associate Director of AFSCME Council 31; Rev. Michael Pfleger, Pastor, St. Sabina Catholic Church; Richard Ziebell, President, UAW Local 477; Johnnie Jackson, Chicago President, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW); and Carole Travis, President, UAW Local 719. American National Bank has called for an extraordinary shareholders meeting to vote on ending Shell's South Africa operations; with nearly one million shares, it is the largest Illinois holder of Royal Dutch/Shell stock. The bank joined union pension funds, American Baptist Churches USA, Mellon Bank, and other major shareholders in calling for the meeting. On March 18, hundreds of union members rallied at the Federal Plaza and then marched to the S.A. Consulate; they demanded the release of jailed unionists and carried signs to Free Moses Mayekiso, General Secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, who is on trial charged with "high treason." Participating in the action were Chicago Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Michael Bruton, UFCW Region 11 Director Phillip lmmesote, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy, and Congressman Charles Hayes. A labor delegation presented demands for comprehensive sanctions to the U.S. State Department, Senator Alan Dixon, Senator Paul Simon, and Representative Sidney Yates. Leaders of UFCW Local 500P, USWA District 31, UFCW Local 1550, AFGE, UFCE Local 881, UAW Local 719, AFT Local 4100, SEIU Local 46, UAW Local 477 and CCISSA presented the demands during the rally. Chicago's City Council declared March 18 A Day of Solidarity with South African Trade Unionists and also supported comprehensive sanctions against the apartheid government. In April, Sen. Simon and Rep. Yates became cosponsors of the Comprehensive Sanctions bills, S.556/H.R.1580, sponsored by Sen. Alan Cranston and Rep. Ronald Dellums. Five Illinois Representatives previously joined the 114 cosponsors of H.R.1580: Charles Hayes, Gus Savage, Cardiss Collins, Lane Evans, and Kenneth Gray. The push for stronger sanctions has escalated since the apartheid regime began a new crackdown in late February on major opposition groups, including the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), effectively banning the groups. Nangolo lilonga, General Secretary of the public employees union in Namibia, visited Chicago in April and met with many groups including representatives of AFSCME locals and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. Chicago was also visited by Sam Njoma, head of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), who met with CBT (Coalition of Black Trade Unionists), and others. In June 1986, the South African government began a state of emergency and banned foreign reporters from covering unrest. The newsletter also mentions CCISSA (Chicago Committee in Solidarity with Southern Africa), the Shell boycott, United Mine Workers President Richard Trumka, State Representative Woods Bowman, Alderman Allan Streeter, United Methodist Bishop Jesse deWitt, the United Mine Workers (Washington office), Jesus Garcia, Danny K. Davis, Roman Pucinsk, Democrats, Martin Russo, William Lipinski, Dan Rostenkowski, Frank Annunzio, Terry Bruce, Richard Durbin, the AFL-CIO, "Free Moses Mayekiso" and "Stop Apartheid/Boycott Shell" buttons, Kathy Devine, Harold Rogers, South African security forces and police, the U.S. media, films, and speakers.
