Let's stand up together with the oil workers of Las Heras who were convicted for life for fighting against the tax on wages and outsourced labour!

May Day 2015 - Las Heras Santa Cruz

Internationalist Day
Called by the Commission of Convicted Workers, Relatives and Friends of Las Heras

For an INTERNATIONAL NETWORK to unify all prosecuted, tortured and imprisoned exploited by oppressing governments and Wall Street bankers!

Freedom to the prisoners of Guantanamo!
Freedom to the Greek youth imprisoned by Troika's regime!

Freedom to Sheeren, Samer and Medhat Issawi and the over 7,000 Palestine prisoners in Zionist prisons! Freedom to Mr Mahmoud Khaled al-Shekhi in Libya!

Freedom to George Abdallah and Basque prisoners imprisoned in France!
Freedom to Mumia Abu Jamal!
Freedom to the political prisoners of Chile and the communers of Ayo Ayo in Bolivia!

Acquittal of Las Heras oil workers!
Freedom and drop all charges against the 7000 workers prosecuted for fighting for their rights!
Independent Working Commission, constituted by workers and builders voted in rank and file assemblies, to investigate and judge the killers of Reynaldo Vargas!

A new May Day is coming and in Argentinean Patagonia workers’ blood sheds again. Once again workers have been attacked. This time were not Videlist judges the ones who hit. They had convicted the oil workers of Las Heras, commanded by Kichner and oil companies. This attack came from the oil workers union’s thugs -organized by Cristina Kichner and oil companies- against the UOCRA (builders, NT) workers -who were abandoned by bribe-taker bureaucracy of Salazar- while they were defending their jobs. This is how young worker Reynaldo Vargas was shot.

We cannot accept this a minute longer. Because in order to fight against the tax on wages, decent job, against outsourced jobs and acquittal of convicted workers… workers cannot be divided with blood. Blood must come from bosses and exploiters. Union leaders should defend workers and not be bodyguards who murder the ones who fight for a decent job.

Some oil workers stopped working for a few hours and went on strike demanding Vidal’s freedom and against a so called “intervention” of the union (Vidal is the leader of oil workers’ union blamed for the murdered of comrade Vargas). Videlist justice, with its torturer judges, has no legitimacy to put any union leader in jail since it is the one that orders repression every time we fight, it intervenes our unions to destroy them and convicts and imprisons workers’ fighters. Judges always save workers’ killers! Enough! Independent Working Commission, constituted by workers and builders voted in rank and file assemblies, to investigate and judge the killers of Reynaldo Vargas, headed by Reynaldo’s friends and family! Thus we will get justice!

Judges, oil companies’ CEO and government are the ideological authors of this crime against working class. They sent Vidal and his thugs to kill workers. Once they have used those bureaucrats they get rid of them and they want to intervene the union to carry on a higher attack against oil workers’ conquers. Vidal did not called a strike when justice convicted the oil workers in 2013; he did not called to fight when Armoa, Vibares and Oñate were imprisoned; further he call them “infiltrators” and let them alone for 3 months in jail… and now bosses are coming for everything; once they used them, they are trying to take it all.

We insist. These judges guarantee our nation plunder and the robbery to our natural sources. They have no legitimacy to imprison anyone. Union leaders must be judged, placed and replaced by workers. This is why in order to defend the union from any kind of intervention –from the State, Videlist judges or union bureaucracy thugs- the only solution is first of all fight for trial and punishment against the ideological responsible of this murder, i.e. oil companies’ CEO and the government.

Oil workers union must be defended, but not ignoring the blood of those who fight for their jobs. Because they fight like oil workers do against the tax on wages and as they will have to fight sooner than later against lay-offs that are coming, since oil imperialist companies under the excuse of the fall of oil prices dismissed over 100,000 workers all over the world and they are preparing to deepen this offensive in Argentina.

After Vidal was imprisoned many comrades are afraid that oil workers union of Santa Cruz may be intervened. But the ones who open the road to "intervention" are the bureaucrats who secretly discussed agreements with oil companies' managements and those who kill workers with their thugs. Enough! Neither intervention, nor thugs who kill workers! Corrupted District Attorneys and judges out from workers organizations! They work for the oil companies and the government!

Down with oil workers’ union bureaucracy and their thugs! They sell out our collective agreements and conquers. Down with Salazar and other corrupted bribe-takers bureaucrats of UOCRA, which thugs are shock forces of governor Peralta to attack those who fight for their demands! In order to defend our union: open the road to the ones of bellow! Union leadership must be taken by rotating delegates’ board, chosen by rank and file assemblies from all workplaces and take back the road of 2006! We are all oil workers! Equal job for equal wages!

Oil imperialist companies are preparing higher attacks against workers. First they attacked the oil workers in 2006 when we fought for our demands. Then they attacked the delegates who claimed better job conditions. Now with thugs armed by Kirchner, the oil companies, their judges, public attorneys and police, they want to kill those who fight. In the mean time oil companies militarized Northern Santa Cruz with Gendarmerie… to terrify workers. Enough thugs! Down with militarization, out with Gendarmerie!

We cannot allow it. We must fight like in 2006, when we unified shouting “we are all oil workers” regardless the union. Oil imperialist companies do not want us to go back that road again which put our victory so close… This is why they convicted 10 workers out of the thousands who fought back then!
However the fight headed by the Commission of Convicted Workers, Relatives and Friends of Las Heras to conquer workers ranks’ unity and to set up an International Network for the freedom of world political prisoners from all over the world, so far has prevented that the comrades go to jail.

They fought alone for years. They cannot be forgotten once again. FIT must give them the main positions in the elections to the convicted workers. They live under the constant torture that any day may be their last “free” day.

The comrades of the “Commission…” are an example of internationalism. They unified during the fight with Sheeren, Samer, Tariq and Medhat Issawi who are prisoners of Zionism and with the combat to release the 7000 Palestinians from Zionist prisons; they united with George Abdallah and Basque prisoners in France; with the fight to free Mumia Abu Jamal in USA; with the fight for Mahmoud Khaled al-Shekhi in Libya; the communers of Ayo Ayo in Bolivia; the prisoners of Guantanamo; for the freedom of Nikos Romanos in Greece imprisoned by Syriza and with the families of the 43 disappeared students in Mexico, just to set some examples. They coordinate the fight breaking the borders and penetrating the cells of the prisons fighting on December 12th for the International Day of the Prosecuted Worker!

On May Day the comrades of the “Commission…” are calling to meet in the office of ADOSAC (teachers’ union of Santa Cruz, TN). In their appeal they state: “for this fight to meet on May Day to discuss, share experiences, organize and all together set up our fight. ALONE NEVER AGAIN! THE WORKERS’ UPRISING IS NOT A CRIME, IT IS JUSTICE!”

Let’s all go to Las Heras! There is the fight to unite all together under a single demand. No more shedding workers’ blood! Workers do not kill workers! Acquittal to the oil workers of Las Heras now! Out with murderous state, its oppressing gendarmerie and Videlist judges from workers’ organizations! Decent job for all! No more outsourced jobs! Let’s fight like in 2006, with rank and file assemblies, strikes and pickets!