wfn.org | Workers Affected By NAFTA

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (363
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Note 362 by UMNS on Oct. 1, 1997 at 15:53 Eastern (2623 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Bloom					550(10-21-71B){362}
         New York (212) 870-3803			Oct. 1, 1997

NAFTA leaves out Spanish-speaking
workers in Texas, briefing told 

	NEW YORK (UMNS) -- As factories move from El Paso, Texas, to Mexico,
Spanish-speaking workers in El Paso have been left with few opportunities for
new employment, according to representatives of La Mujer Obrera.
	Those representatives spoke about the impact of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) during a Sept. 30 briefing here, sponsored by the Women's
Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
	La Mujer Obrera is a membership organization of more than 700
Spanish-speaking workers who live in Texas -- many of them women and single
heads of households -- dedicated to organizing, educating and supporting its
constituency.
	The workers have been marginalized by the "profoundly discriminating"
policies created by NAFTA, according to Maria Antonia Flores, La Mujer
coordinator.
	"We have been eliminated from the economy," she said. "We are beginning to be
eliminated from society as well. Politically, we find ourselves with less and
less voice."
	NAFTA also has taken a psychological toll on the community, leading to a
"growing disintegration" of social and family relations. The unemployment
office has dispatched workers to places as far away as Ohio, Nebraska and
Alaska to find jobs, she reported.
	La Mujer estimates that 10,000 to 12,000 Spanish-speaking workers in El Paso
have lost their jobs due to NAFTA-influenced moves to Mexico, but the
retraining promised under that act has not materialized.
	The workers want to learn English, get their high school equivalency degrees
and be taught the skills needed to acquire new jobs, but no structure is in
place to provide that help, according to Flores.
	By providing a visible presence at each factory closing and helping workers
claim NAFTA-related benefits, La Mujer has pushed to make the government --
local, state and federal -- respond to the reality of NAFTA's impact on the
community, according to Cindy Arnold, the group's development coordinator.
	Last February, La Mujer's peaceful "occupation" of El Paso's unemployment
office led to a meeting with U.S. Department of Labor representatives. Money
was found to create a pilot project, Arnold said, but it was controlled by the
state and did not address the real needs of the workers.
	La Mujer continues to advocate for its own proposal, which includes creation
of an infrastructure for bi-lingual job training, new job identification and
support for small businesses.

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