Picketing, leafleting and dancing

Submitted by cathy n on 23 February, 2007 - 10:39

By Heather Shaw

The highlight of No Sweat and Students Against Sweatshop’s Week of Action (18-23 Feburary) was welcoming Andreas Aullet, a lawyer working with political prisoners and their families in Oaxaca, Mexico, and taking him on a tour of the UK.

After a brilliant first meeting in Brighton on Sunday 19th, disaster struck as the car carrying Andreas and his entourage broke down on the way to Norwich, where 60 people were waiting to hear him! After a rather cold and damp evening on a motorway embankment giving impromptu Spanish lessons, Andreas went on to speak at seven other venues: Cambridge, Nottingham, York, Manchester, Sheffield, London and Oxford.

Hundreds of people came along to the meetings where they were shown inspiring film footage from the streets of Oaxaca as well as hearing Andreas’ account of the movement. The tour was really well received and over £400 was raised over the week for the prisoners and their families.

This year’s anti-sweatshop Week of Action saw growing enthusiasm from many campuses, one being Bradford University, where a full schedule of events ranged from film showings and speakers to a mock sweatshop publicity stunt and a clothes swap.

Students a Plymouth University held three days of pickets at Starbucks branches in town and on their campus. Sheffield No Sweat Society were invited to take over the week’s People and Planet meeting and also held benefits and (Wage) Slave Auction which raised £250!

We are also planning a tour with Scottish Socialist Youth at the start of march.

I’d like to say a big thank you to all comrades who contributed helped make the week of action such a great success.

No Sweat and Students Against Sweatshops work throughout the year to put an end to sweatshop labour and make solidarity internationally. The Week of Action is not the end but the beginning. Seeds have been sown for our movement to grow around the UK and there is always lots of work to be done. If you’d like to be involved, please get in touch with us!

* www.nosweat.org.uk

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