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| Angel Gonzalez (left - no kidding), Lisa North, FMPR Pres. Rafael Feliciano at forum c. 2011 |
ICE, GEM and now MORE have been supporting the FMPR for over a decade, since they bolted from the AFT - they sued but lost and the FMPR won and withdrew 40,000 AFT members.We established contact with the FMPR through NYC teacher Angel Gonzalez who worked with ICE and then helped found GEM. His good friend, FMPR President Rafael Feliciano, made a number of visits to speak at meetings and events. (We had some quotes from him in our movie.) It's been a long story, too complicated to tell now. I'm proud that MORE is contributing $200 to the support of the FMPR.
There are few unions in North America which has as proud a tradition of struggle as the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico. The FMPR, after battling for autonomy from the AFT, lead a 2008 strike that, among other things, kept the island free of charter schools.
This week, the FMPR (along with other teacher organizations) helped lead a massive one day strike, protesting austerity and privatization and the territory’s education “reform” plan in the context of its debt crisis. They are in the course of rebuilding their organization after a series of attacks, including government decertification, raids by SEIU, and firing of its executive committee from their jobs as teachers. MORE is proud to announce that we are supporting the FMPR in its fundraising drive with a $200 contribution, even though we are in the midst of our own fundraising campaign for the UFT elections.
Please consider making your own contribution and circulating this fundraising letter to your coworkers and fellow unionists. This is an important effort to build concrete solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are examples of the kind of struggles that we need to wage in order to win.
Check can be sent to:
Federación de Maestros de PR
Urb. El Caribe
1572 Ave. Ponce de León
San Juan, P.R. 00926-2710
¡La Lucha Sigue!
(FMPR) and the AFT - Ed Notes Online
ednotesonline.blogspot.com/.../puerto-rican-teachers-union-fmpr-and.ht...
Defend FMPR Teachers Union!
www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/910/fmpr.html
Mar 14, 2008 - Defend FMPR Teachers Union! Pro-Imperialist SEIU, AFT Tops Knife Puerto Rico Strikers. MARCH 11—The Federación de Maestros de Puerto ...
AFT maneuver defeated - SocialistWorker.org
socialistworker.org/2005.../557_15_PuertoRico.shtm...
SocialistWorker.org
LaborNet: Online Communications for a Democratic Labor ...
www.labornet.org/news/0605/puerico.htm
Puerto Rican teachers protest AFT hearings in San Juan. Special To Labornet ... The AFT is seeking to put the FMPR in trusteeship. "Chupa cuotas" on one of ...Puerto Rico's teachers battling takeover by U.S. union
www.workers.org/2005/world/puerto-rico-0721/
Workers World Party
Puerto Rican teachers' union fights takeover - Liberation News
https://www.liberationnews.org/05-09-01-puerto-rican-teachers-union-fi...
Sep 1, 2005 - The FMPR is the largest labor union in Puerto Rico, representing 43,000 ... Shortly after its foundation, the FMPR joined the AFT based on ...
SEIU to Raid Union Representing 40000 Teachers in Puerto ...
labornotes.org/.../seiu-raid-union-representing-40000-teache...
Labor Notes
Puerto Rican Teachers Fight for Union Democracy | Labor ...
www.labornotes.org/.../puerto-rican-teachers-fight-union-de...
Labor Notes
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