![]() In Winnipeg, the building industry was booming, which almost guaranteed skilled building trades workers were in high demand. The Building Trades Council (BTC) was formed in 1903 as a way for various building trades unions to collaborate and support one another. Traditionalists advocated for a labour party and craft unionism (the division of unions by job and skill-set) while those of a more socialist persuasion advocated for direct action and industrial unionism (a single union representing an entire industry, regardless of job or skill-set). How this was to be accomplished was the source of some division within the WTLC. Its function was to advocate on behalf of its member unions, either individually or as a whole, and to coordinate the efforts of these unions to increase the effectiveness of collective bargaining. The WTLC was an organization comprised of 95 unions across Winnipeg, representing about 12,000 individual men and women. Rather, it was the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council (WTLC) that called and organized the strike. However, the official Strike Committee was not established until May 21, seven days into the strike, and was therefore not itself responsible for organizing the strike in the first place. Long the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, the recent chaos has been extraordinary even by the standards of life in a difficult country like Haiti.The Strike Committee was the primary governing body of the General Strike. Joseph uses the nickname "Lanmo Sanjou," which means "death doesn't know which day it's coming."Īccording to the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, there have been over 600 kidnappings in the first nine months of this year compared to 231 for the same period last year. Almost a year ago, a wanted poster was issued for Wilson Joseph, the alleged gang leader who is wanted on charges that include murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, auto theft and carjacking trucks carrying goods. Haitian police have blamed Saturday's abductions on the 400 Mawozo gang with its history of killings, kidnappings and extortion. ![]() ![]() Sometimes they have murdered those they abducted if ransom efforts are unsuccessful. Kidnapping gangs in Haiti have been known to demand ransoms that can range from hundreds of dollars to more than one million. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video US steps up security at Texas border crossing Gangs in Haiti have grown more brazen amid political instability, a severe and growing economic crisis and a crime wave forcing many to leave the country by any means necessary and try their luck abroad. The abduction of the missionaries is the largest mass kidnapping of its kind in recent years in Haiti. Their mass abduction, which includes five children, highlights the peril confronting Haitians in their own country.Ĭhangeux Mehu, president of Haiti's Association of Owners and Drivers who supported the general strike told AFP, "The kidnapping of the Americans shows that no one is safe in the country." US officials, including the FBI, are working with the Haitian government to free the 17 missionaries from the US and Canada kidnapped over the weekend. Missionaries abduction highlights precarious security situation Some streets saw tire pyres alight in Port-au-Prince and in southern Haiti, the AP news agency reported some threw rocks at the few cars there were on the street. Drivers of private moto taxis and public buses stayed home while businesses, schools and government offices were shuttered. Thousands of workers took part in the strike led by local unions and other civil society groups. The strike came just days after 17 US and Canadian missionaries were abducted after visiting an orphanage. Port-au-Prince ground to a halt Monday as a general strike called over the deteriorating security situation in the country left usually chaotic streets empty.
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