WBAI Radio’s Building Bridges:

Your Community & Labor Report – National Edition

Produced & Hosted by Mimi Rosenberg & Ken Nash



CAFTA (U.S. –Central American Free Trade Agreement)

And Why We Should Oppose It!

with LaDawn Haglund,




While the FTAA has received a lot of publicity, CAFTA is less well known. The U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)

is a free trade agreement between the U.S. & the five Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, & Costa Rica. The U.S. & Central American governments hope to have the treaty

finished & ready for approval by the national legislatures of the 6 countries by the end of 2003.


Throughout Central America labor unions, peasant organizations, indigenous and women’s groups, & other social organizations are actively

resisting CAFTA. A Central American wide coalition has joined together to fight CAFTA. They are struggling for their self-determination and to

defend alternative models of social and economic development benefiting the majority of people in their countries and not multinational corporations.

LaDawn Haglund is a member of New York CISPES & the NYC People’s Referendum on the FTAA and CAFTA. She has been researching privatization issues in Central America, actively interviewing labor, environmental, & human rights activists for her

dissertation.

N.Y.C. Cab Drivers Need a Raise

With Javiad Tariq – Co-Founder Taxi Workers Alliance



It’s been over 7 years since the last taxi fare hike in N.Y.C.. At that time cab drivers only received a very small part of the increased revenue from the fare increase – the owners got the lion’s share. Years ago cab drivers were employees who got half of the fare on the meter, health insurance and other benefits.

Then the law was changed so the driver became an independent contractor who paid a flat free to the owner and responsible for gas and other expenses. On a bad day (s)he could loose money.

So now N.Y.C. Government is considering another fare increase. The question is who will get the money.But now the workers have a union, the Taxi Workers Alliance who are insisting that the workers

get their fair share and threatening a strike to make their point.

Building Bridges is regularly broadcast over WBAI, 99.5 FM in the NYC AREA on Mondays from

7-8 pm EST. It is streamed live over http://www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.ram

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