Volume 8, Number 68
Hola!
F o r A l l Yo u r O n l i n e &
Print Hispanic
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Latino Print Network works with
over 625 Hispanic publications in
180 markets nationwide with a
combined circulation of 19 million.
Click here for the LPN website
You can also phone
760-434-7474 x171 or x177
or email
Abraham@LatinoPrintNetwork.com
with your needs.
Latino Books Into
Movie Awards
August 24, 2010
In this issue
Email Dominates Mobile Web Time
POYNTER TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS FOR NAHJ MEMBERS
Great Opportunity for Mid-Career Journalists; More Skills
Training for All
Immigration Insights: Twice Weekly Insights Into This Important
Issue
Centro Latino for Literacy's Manos Amigas Celebration A Special
Celebration to honor students, visionaries and volunteers
Obama's Hard Stance on Guatemalan Labor: A Monumental
Step for Labor Rights or Mere Political Maneuvering? by COHA
Research Associate Alexander Brockwehl
EL TEATRO CAMPESINO PRESENTS "POPOL VUH" AS A
FREE FAMILY SHOW RUNNING EVERY WEEKEND UNTIL
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More Books for your consideration
Issue quote
"Every day is an opportunity to make a new
happy ending. ~Author Unknown
If you find a quote you like let me know. I will be happy to send to our
8,800 plus Hispanic advertising and media executives & give you a plug for
sending it!
Our Goal
Latino Print Network's goal with each issue is for you to say at
least once "Glad I learned that".
Hispanic Marketing Podcasts
 Click Here for More Info
Dear Readers & Writers,
Many of us would love to see more movies
being produced that star Latinos and
feature Latino themes. Realizing that many
movies start with a great book, Latino
Literacy Now has created a second
competition within the framework of its
International Latino Book Awards: the
Latino Books Into Movies Awards.
While it's too late to enter this year's new
awards competition to be held under the
auspices of the International Latino Book
Awards: The Latino Books into Movies
Awards, you can consider it for next year.
Use and download free HM101 Podcasts. These are good for
sales staff, editorial writers, and fiscal officers. The podcasts
cover short insightful aspects of Hispanic marketing and the
American Hispanic community. Over 50 national media,
marketing and community leaders provide you with their
personal insights. These are good for staff meetings, bringing
new staff up to speed, and to relearn old ideas to better
manage our current businesses.
Abrazos,
Kirk Whisler
Executive Editor
760-434-1223
kirk@whisler.com

The awards will be presented on the

weekend of October 9-10, 2010 during the
Los Angeles Latino Book & Family
Festival (www.LBFF.us), another Latino
Literacy Now program, that takes place
annually at California State University, Los
Angeles.

Judges for these awards will include

screenwriters, producers, and other
entertainment industry professionals.
Winning books will be distributed to
pertinent Motion Picture Studios,
Producers, and Agents, depending on
genre.
 Email Dominates Mobile Web Time

Email, portals stay ahead of social

networking-at least on mobile devices
Hispanic Business
Showcase Social networking has become such a staple of online activity
September 10-11, 2010 in the US that, according to Nielsen, internet users spent
more time on social networking sites and blogs than doing
San Diego Convention any other activity in June 2010. Games, which came in
Center second, took up less than half as much time.
www.HBshowcase.com
On the mobile internet, however, more traditional activities
Produced by the still reign. Email dominated the mobile picture even more
Hispanic Chamber of strongly than social networking did the desktop: If all time
e-Commerce spent on the mobile web was condensed into a single hour, US
internet users would have spent 25 minutes in June checking
email. Portals would have received another 7 minutes, with
Get Your Booth NOW social networks not far behind.

Join Our List

Nielsen reported that social networking has been closing the
gap in time spent on the mobile internet, gaining share since
last year as portals dropped in importance over the same
period.

But email remains one of the most popular mobile internet

activities not just by time spent but also by penetration.
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 34% of
all US mobile subscribers used email on their phone in May
2010, compared with 23% who used a social networking site.
comScore also reported mobile email usage via a browser
ahead of social networking. That research found search had
the highest penetration of any mobile browsing activity, but
search is less time-intensive than email or social sites.

Balloons in Motion Social should continue to make gains in the mobile realm,
however. comScore reported it was the fastest-growing
The most success Hispanic owned balloon
mobile internet activity between 2009 and 2010, rising 80%
events company in the United States can in usage, while email grew more slowly. Bridge Ratings
make your EVENT or MARKETING predicted in June that mobile social networking would grow
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1984 Olympics in Los Angeles
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1986 Lady Luck Casino, Las Vegas owners.
1987 Papal motorcade with 100,000
balloons
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1994 World Cup Soccer
and numerous more events
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POYNTER TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS
FOR NAHJ MEMBERS
Great Opportunity for Mid-Career
Journalists; More Skills Training for
All
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is offering
four fellowships for mid-career professionals to attend
intensive management and leaderships seminars at The
Poynter Institute this fall. In addition, NAHJ members may
also take webinars and online group seminars on everything
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These fellowships are made available thanks to a grant from
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Poynter Leadership Academy
http://www.poynter.org/seminar/seminar.asp?id=5389&
catid=107
To be held 10/10/2010 - 10/15/2010
Participation in Poynter's Leadership Academy could very well
mark a turning point in your career. This is Poynter's
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faculty and top newsroom leaders as visiting faculty. Learn
what's working in print, broadcast and online newsrooms
across the country as they reach out to evolving audiences.
Receive personalized, expert coaching and identify the
strengths you can leverage and challenges you must
overcome in order to develop both newsroom staff and the
audiences for the news and information you produce.
Editing 2010: How to Wear 5 Hats & Succeed
http://www.poynter.org/seminar/seminar.asp?id=5396&
catid=107
To be held 11/14/2010 - 11/19/2010
Editors, learn how to effectively manage your ever-growing
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Coach reporters to ask better questions. Distinguish between
good video opportunities and bad ones. Write shorter - or
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works - even in these challenging times.
The fellowship covers full tuition, which includes materials and
some meals, and NAHJ will provide round-trip airfare on
Continental Airlines to the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg.
For the Poynter Leadership Academy, applications and
required materials must be emailed to:
membership@nahj.org with the subject heading "NAHJ
Poynter Leadership Academy Fellowship" no later than
Monday, August 30, 2010.
For the Editing 2010 seminar, applications and required
 materials must be emailed to: membership@nahj.org with the
subject heading "NAHJ Poynter Editing 2010 Fellowship" no
later than Monday, September 6, 2010.

To apply for this fellowship, you must be a member in good

standing, and now is the time to join or renew. In NAHJ's
mid-year campaign, membership is just $35 for professionals
and it's valid until December 31. To join/renew click here
http://www.nahj.org/2009/06/membership/. To verify your
membership, please contact Paulo Luizaga at
pluizaga@nahj.org or 202-662-7460.

To apply for the seminars, click on the specific links below.

For you to learn more about Disregard the address and deadline dates that appear on the
the values of Hispanic printed application and follow the instructions stated above.

Publications Latino Print

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Poynter Leadership Academy application form
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Editing 2010: How to Wear 5 Hats & Succeed application form
http://www.poynter.org/seminar/2009_application.pdf
Immigration Update: Twice Weekly
Insights Into This Important Issue
Arizona gets its doze of "Death by Media"
By Patrick Osio
On March 28, 2008, my "Death by Media" article was
published which dealt with how the US press had literally
scared the pants out of people visiting Baja California with
emphasis on Tijuana. The reports that visitors to Baja were in
danger were tremendously exaggerated and overly
dramatized and how it killed tourism to that region was the
basis of the Death by Media.

Now Arizona is getting a dose of the same medicine, but in

The Results of the 2010
International Latino Book
Awards - the 12th such
their case it's self promoted. Possibly not realizing that, as
Professor of Communications at Arizona State University
commented, "There is an attraction with conflict, and this is
an issue that has captured the national attention." And wow
how it has.
The Arizona state government passed and the Governor
awards, held May 25, 2010
at the Jacob Javits
Convention Center in New
York.
Click Here For The Results
If you are interested in the
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memberships are as low as $50 and
student memberships only $20.
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newspaper and government
signed SB-1070 arguing that crime was rampant. In May,
Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain wrote a widely published
open letter to President Obama in part saying, "Many
Arizonans do not feel safe within their own homes or on their
own property. They feel that they live in a lawless area of the
country and have been abandoned by the federal
government."
That wasn't enough, Arizona Congress members Gabrielle
Giffords and John Shadegg also sent Obama a letter asking
for National Guard soldiers be deployed to the border because
"violence in the vicinity of the U.S. Mexico border continues to
increase at an alarming rate."
Arizona Governor Brewer got into the act on Fox News saying
to a national audience, "Arizona cannot afford all this illegal
immigration and everything that comes with it, everything
from the crime and to the drugs and the kidnappings and the
extortion and the beheadings." And for greater emphasis she
added that illegal immigrants were drug smugglers not job
seekers and responsible for much mayhem.
The state's leadership gave the impression that Arizona is
caught up in rampant, non stop crime. Just like in Baja
California, tourism to Arizona has taken a huge hit, and just
like Tijuana, Phoenix is suffering the most from the lack of
tourism.
The self created perception of high crime, like in Baja
California, looms out of proportion to the actual reality of the
situation. But once the worst is imbedded in the minds of
people, removing the negative perception can become a
gargantuan task. Potential visitors to the state and its many
cities don't want to get caught in the cross fire of real or
perceived violence.
And just like it's been done to Mexico and Baja, comedians
are having a field day - Stephen Colbert: "Arizona police
officers will taser anyone using the word 'chipotle." Jay Leno:
"Rich Arizonians will now have to start raising their own
children." Latino comedian: "Arizona is the new boogie man,
Mexican-American moms are telling their kids that if they
don't behave she will send them to Arizona." And so it goes.
And worse for Arizona, they continue to dig themselves
deeper into the hole of arousing fear and anger. Now their
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Convention:
Orlando, Florida
elected officials have decided to go after the children of
undocumented - deny any child born of an illegal immigrant
mother birthright citizenship.
The sponsors have yet to explain how this new attack on
children will cure their self promoted "Arizona is being over
run by crime." Are babies still in the wound already
criminals? Do they at birth begin their criminal careers?
Standing on the way of being able to carry out this new rather
silly endeavor is of course nothing other than the U.S.
Constitution's 14th Amendment providing citizenship to
anyone born in U.S. jurisdictional land (foreign embassy
compounds are not within US jurisdictional land).
This new ill conceived anti-babies rhetoric coupled with
SB-1070 is causing quite a stir, leading to visitors' boycott of
Arizona, international negative press, conventions and events
cancellations and threats of economic reprisals many already
in effect. So Arizonians will now live the same Death by Media
that Baja and Mexico have. And they will find it takes a long
time to right the ship and once labeled "racist" it sticks for a
long, long time.
Whatever the problems Baja California may be experiencing,
the one thing that is not present is local attacks on babies
born to American women while in Mexico. The baby will be a
Mexican citizen and when registered with a U.S. consulate in
Mexico, the child will be a US citizen enjoying dual citizenship.
Maybe in time those dual citizens will manage to bring peace
and understanding to both sides of the border, maybe even in
Arizona.
HACU's Annual Conference provides a unique forum for
the sharing of information and ideas for the best and
most promising practices in the education of Hispanics.
 October 12-15, 2011
The National Association of
Hispanic Publication's José
Martí Awards are the largest
Latino Media Awards
Click here for the 2010
Award Winners
The State of Hispanic
Print 2010
Click here for The State
of Hispanic Print power
point presentation that
Kirk Whisler gave at the
2010 NAHP Convention in
Albuquerque
For more indepth research please
call Kirk Whisler, Latino Print
Network, 760-434-1223,
kirk@whisler.com
NEED PRINTING?
Visit www.hacu.net for more information and to register.
Centro Latino for Literacy's Manos Amigas
Celebration: A Special Celebration to honor
students, visionaries and volunteers.
When: Friday, September 10th - 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Where: Crescent Arms Hall at 1709 8th Street, Los
Angeles, CA 90017
Ticket Price: $125
Our 4th ManosAmigas/Helping Hands Celebration honors our
newly literate graduates for completing Leamos™ our
web-based Spanish literacy program and Funcional (Financial
Literacy and Vocational Skills). This will be the first time the
students receive a diploma and it is a proud moment for the
entire family.
We will honor those who support our mission including:
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, 34th
Congressional District - Community Leadership Honoree
Melanie Stephens and Marcos Cajina - Visionary
Founders
Dr. Concepción Valadez UCLA Graduate School of
Education Professor - Volunteer Honoree and Keynote
Highlights
Master of Ceremonies, Salvador Durán, KMEX TV Channel 34
(Univision).
Centro Latino for Literacy, located in the Pico Union
neighborhood and serving Los Angeles County since 1991,
has taught literacy skills to 3550 non-literate Latinos from
teens to grandparents. Centro Latino also provides access to
financial literacy, basic computer skills, and ESL classes. For
more information please contact
carlos@centrolatinoliteracy.org or call 213.235.9995.
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August 19-25, 2010

Chinese 6 Mann Cinemas, Hollywood, CA
The Big Winner
at the 2008 Tony's is now
slated to be a movie
Obama's Hard Stance on Guatemalan
Labor: A Monumental Step for Labor Rights
or Mere Political Maneuvering?

by COHA Research Associate

Alexander Brockwehl
The 2009 Hispanic Print
 Trends & Analysis
Click here for the most
comprehensive annual
analysis of Hispanic Print
anywhere.
For more indepth research please
call Kirk Whisler, Latino Print
Network, 760-434-1223,
kirk@whisler.com
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detailed LPN Spanish Index. Call
Kirk at 760-434-1223 for more
information.
Join Our List
On July 30th, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk
announced that the U.S. would file a formal complaint against
the Guatemalan government for violating labor standards
under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA-DR). According to the Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative, the announcement marks "the first
labor case the United States has ever brought against a trade
agreement partner." In Kirk's speech the same day to
Allegheny Technologies Inc., a metal manufacturing company
in Washington, Pennsylvania, he declared that the Obama
administration intended to "[send] a strong message that our
trading partners must protect their own workers...and that we
are prepared to enforce the full spectrum of American trade
rights from labor to the environment."
Though this development deserves recognition for improving
the protection of labor rights under free trade agreements
(FTAs), there is reason to be skeptical of the administration's
intentions. Since Barack Obama's January State of the Union
Address, in which he promised to double exports over the
next five years, the President has adopted a decidedly
pro-trade approach, voicing support in recent weeks for FTAs
with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. The case against
Guatemala, brought when Congress is becoming increasingly
polarized over ratifying further free trade measures, may be
an attempt by the Obama administration to quell democratic
labor-related concerns by demonstrating that the labor
provisions included in FTAs can and will be enforced.
Regardless of its political motivations, the complaint is
unlikely to have a significant impact. Since taking effect in
Guatemala on July 1st, 2006, CAFTA-DR has spawned
systemic labor abuses, anti-unionist violence, and human
rights violations. The agreement is intentionally devoid of
rigid labor law enforcement mechanisms and lacks sufficiently
formidable penalties for noncompliance with labor provisions,
making it unfit to induce lasting reform. In this sense, though
a positive step, the case against Guatemala should not be
seen as a comprehensive solution. The Obama administration
would be wise to take this as an opportunity to help the
Guatemalan government combat the exploitation of labor by
civic authorities acting on behalf of big business and
agricultural interests. For the time being, Washington should
use the case of Guatemala to recognize the flaws in the U.S.'
current FTA model and begin improving upon them for future
agreements.
A Long-Awaited Response to Endemic Labor Abuses in
Guatemala
On April 23rd, 2008 the American Federation of Labor and
Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), along with six
Guatemalan labor unions, filed a public submission to the U.S.
Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Trade and Labor Affairs
(OTLA) claiming that the Guatemalan government had not
been fulfilling its labor-related obligations under CAFTA-DR. In
the complaint, Thea M. Lee, the AFL-CIO Policy Director,
offered five different case studies in which labor laws had
been violated repeatedly between CAFTA-DR's ratification in
July 2006 and April 2008. In all of these cases, the
Guatemalan government's inaction, failing to sufficiently
respond despite repeated notification, constituted a breach of
articles 16.1, 16.2, and 16.3 of the agreement. The
comprehensive report also addressed issues that are not dealt
with in CAFTA-DR's labor provisions, such as violence against
unionists, unjust dismissal, and the failure of employers to
pay into the Social Security System. The submission urged
the OTLA to immediately invoke Article 16.6.1 of the
agreement to request consultation with the Guatemalan
government and pressure its Labor Ministry to rectify the
situation.

Although the AFL-CIO submission stressed the urgency of

issuing a request for consultation, Washington was slow to
respond. It would take over two years before Ms. Lee's advice
would be followed. In January 2009, after investigating the
incidents described in the AFL-CIO submission, the OTLA
released a report in which it found that many of the cases in
the AFL-CIO report did constitute labor rights violations. It
emphasized that the Guatemalan government assume a more
active role in investigating cases of violence against unionists;
however, it did not recommend invoking Article 16.6.1. The
OTLA concluded that it would consider the option when it
reassessed the situation in Guatemala six months later.

Over the next year and a half, talks continued intermittently

between the OTLA and the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, but subsequent DOL reports and briefings indicated
that not much progress had been made. On July 30th, 2010
Ron Kirk and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis finally announced
the consultation request in a letter to the Ministers of
Economy and Labor, officially beginning a process that could
result in trade sanctions. In the request, they stated that over
the last eleven months the U.S. had been conducting an
"extensive examination of Guatemala's compliance with its
obligations under Chapter Sixteen" and had found that "the
Government of Guatemala appears to be failing to meet its
obligations under Article 16.2.1 (a)." According to the letter,
the many labor abuses discovered in this investigation
combined with the government's failure to enforce its
domestic labor laws constituted a "sustained or recurring
course of action or inaction" that was adversely affecting
trade between the two parties.

In Ron Kirk's speech the same day, he further contended that

Guatemala's lack of labor protections was disadvantaging the
American workforce by creating an unfair international labor
market. Striking a political tone, he reassured Pennsylvania
workers, exclaiming, "the Obama administration will not
tolerate labor violations that place U.S. workers at a
disadvantage." According to Article 16.6.1, the two countries
will now have sixty days to conduct talks in an attempt to
remedy the situation. If the talks are deemed unsuccessful,
Guatemala may be subjected to fines and trade sanctions.

Obama's Not So Ulterior Motives

Since July 30th, various domestic and international bodies
have praised the OTLA's decision. For the most part,
organizations promoting labor rights seem encouraged by the
decision, viewing it as a demonstration that labor stipulations
in FTAs actually can carry weight and be operational. Richard
Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, used the occasion to draw
a sharp contrast between the administrations of Bush and
Obama. He applauded the decision for demonstrating "the
strong commitment of the Obama administration to enforcing
our trade laws, including the obligation to respect workers'
rights." The Chairman of the House Committee on Education
and Labor, George Miller, lauded the decision as a "positive
step forward"; however, he lamented that the current
predicament was entirely avoidable. "It is unfortunate that we
have to go back and correct fundamental problems that were
supposed to have been resolved when this treaty was signed,"
he explained. "That's why future agreements must ensure
that commitments on labor rights are visible, verifiable and
enforceable."

Though labor organizations have generally reacted positively

to the OTLA decision, many believe that it has political
motivations behind it. In an interview with The New York
Times, I.M. Destler, a public policy professor and trade expert
at the University of Maryland, offered insight regarding the
possible rationale behind the Obama administration's push for
sanctions against Guatemala: "By emphasizing enforcement
of existing agreements, they increase their credibility as a
defender of U.S. trade and economic interests, and perhaps
also strengthen their future political capacity to negotiate new
agreements," he reasoned. As Professor Destler asserts, the
timing of the announcement was no accident: labor abuses
have long been endemic in Guatemala, yet the Obama
administration waited to select this opportune moment to
finally threaten the country with tangible sanctions.

The notion that President Obama is censuring Guatemala in

order to promote pending agreements has not been lost on
the Guatemalans. In response to the announcement from Kirk
and Solis, the Guatemalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a
statement in which it indirectly accused the OTLA of issuing
the complaint in such a public manner for political reasons.
The statement requested that such motivations be put aside
so that talks could be held in "an environment of seriousness
and mutual respect." An opinion piece in the Guatemalan
daily El Periódico, entitled "Bad Employers: Washington
Threatens with the Whip" reflected a similarly skeptical
sentiment, asserting unequivocally that the complaint "is not
a legal issue: it's political."

Reasons for Skepticism

Though the Obama administration's motivations in rebuking
Guatemala have raised eyebrows, of far greater importance is
whether the measure will actually be effective. Kirk and Solis'
letter describes the reasons for filing the suit, citing failures
by the Ministry of Labor to "investigate alleged labor law
violations...and take enforcement action once the Ministry has
identified a labor law violation." Most of these violations, the
letter stated, defied those laws that reflected the International
Labor Organization's (ILO) principles of the right of
association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and
the right to acceptable working conditions. The letter also
emphasized the OTLA's concern regarding violence affecting
unionists, a problem it describes as "serious and apparently
deteriorating." The important question, therefore, is whether
or not this complaint will help to alleviate these problems.

Unfortunately, with regard to the breech of ILO standards,

there is little reason to believe that this measure will have a
substantive impact. CAFTA-DR lacks sufficient enforcement
mechanisms to ensure that countries meet these basic levels
of compliance. The agreement's non-derogation principle,
which states that a country should not lower its domestic
labor standards with the goal of inducing further trade and
investment opportunities, is a criterion that countries should
merely "strive to [meet]." The only enforceable aspect of the
agreement, which has been invoked by the OTLA, is the
obligation to enforce one's own laws, but even this relatively
bland provision leads to mild repercussions if disobeyed. If no
agreement can be reached between the two countries and if
the U.S. pursues further sanctions, CAFTA-DR stipulates that
$15 million USD is the maximum fine that could be imposed
upon Guatemala. Moreover, all fines would be redirected into
Guatemalan governmental funds with the stipulation that the
money be used in a direct effort to improve the enforcement
of the country's labor laws.

The complaint is even less likely to decrease violence against

unionists, a problem that has been ongoing for decades. The
various parties were undoubtedly aware of this longstanding
issue in Guatemala and elsewhere when they drafted and
signed CAFTA-DR; however, the agreement makes no mention
of earnestly combating labor-related violence. A 2008 report
issued by The Solidarity Center, an international labor
organization developed by the AFL-CIO, shows that such
violence has been common in the country since at least the
1980s and has only been exacerbated by the advent of the
free trade agreement. Beginning in the late 1980s, the report
states, worker rights advocates repeatedly contacted the U.S.
DOL and Office of the Trade Representative in hopes of
strengthening labor rights provisions in the Generalized
System of Preferences, a U.S. trade program with Guatemala
and other Latin American nations that has since been
superseded by CAFTA-DR. According to the report, however,
these attempts had minimal effect and CAFTA-DR seems to
have only made matters worse. "With the enactment of
CAFTA," the report asserts, "worker rights advocates lost a
significant tool for pressuring Guatemala and other U.S. trade
partners to improve respect for core worker rights." The U.S.
must make efforts to decrease violence against unionists in
Guatemala, but the labor complaint is unlikely to achieve such
a goal.

The 2007 Bipartisan Trade Agreement: A Partial Solution

Although the complaint by itself can have only a limited
impact on improving labor rights in Guatemala, it could serve
as an opportunity for President Obama to consider what
further action needs to be taken, as well as to revisit the
structure of the labor provisions in CAFTA-DR and other FTAs.
A 2007 Bipartisan Agreement on Trade Policy took significant
strides toward making labor provisions in future trade
agreements more rigid and enforceable. Under this
agreement, which is meant to apply to the pending FTA with
Panama, the involved parties are required to adopt, maintain,
and enforce the five core ILO standards (freedom of
association; the right to collective bargaining; elimination of
all forms of forced labor; abolition of child labor; and
elimination of discrimination in employment). Derogating from
one's applicable domestic laws may also be a punishable
offense. That said, only federal governments, not NGOs, can
invoke CAFTA-DR's penalty phase in bringing a complaint
against another. Also, as with past agreements, a government
must show that the violation constitutes a "sustained course
of action or inaction" that occurred "in a manner affecting
trade or investment between the parties" in order to pursue
sanctions. Like with prior FTAs, the Agreement fails to treat
the issue of violence against the offending country's trade
unionists.

The 2007 trade deal also allows the U.S. to act as a

paternalistic and exploitative trade partner if it so desires. It
commendably improves upon CAFTA-DR by forcing involved
parties to adhere to ILO standards; however, its language
selectively ignores the fact that the U.S. has only agreed to
the ILO's "Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work," and has not ratified all of the five core ILO
standards. Were another country to file a complaint against
the U.S., and a panel found the U.S. guilty of labor violations,
Washington officials could use this fact as well as the
ambiguous language in the agreement to justify
noncompliance with proposed sanctions. Panel decisions in
response to labor-related suits are not self-executing and
cannot alter U.S. law, meaning that U.S. compliance
mandates would be impossible to enforce. Considering that
many current trade partners, including Guatemala, have
attempted to excuse flawed labor policy by citing U.S.
hypocrisy, it is essential that the U.S. practice what it
preaches with regard to the enforcement of labor laws.

Obama's Opportunity
The labor complaint against Guatemala represents a positive
step but it is limited in scope. Guatemala deserves reprimand
for its deplorable record on labor rights, but the U.S. must
demonstrate its commitment to the country by moving
beyond punitive measures and actively assisting the
Guatemalan government in seeking improvements to its own
labor laws. President Obama should take this opportunity to
reassess the labor chapter of CAFTA-DR and to recognize that
the 2007 Agreement does not remedy many of its problems.

In the coming months, President Obama will attempt to push

through pending FTAs with Panama and Colombia. Of utmost
importance is that he not follow the path of his predecessor,
George W. Bush, who used the euphemistically renamed
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to force CAFTA-DR through
Congress on a fast-track basis. By allowing only yes-no votes,
Bush made certain that the proposed reforms of labor
advocates and trade policy experts would be excluded from
FTA discussions. If Obama similarly attempts to expedite the
passage of these agreements, he will confirm that his
motivation behind the complaint against Guatemala was
purely political and the flaws of past agreements will likely be
reproduced.

The respective labor situations in Colombia and Panama pose

significant challenges to effective exercise of free trade. Both
countries suffer from a deteriorating rule of law, an important
prerequisite for economic growth. Conditions have rapidly
worsened in Panama where, during the last two months, the
Martinelli government has demonstrated its wanton disregard
for labor rights, violently suppressing Panamanian trade
unionists in the hopes of opening the country up to
unrestricted trade and investment. As for Colombia, according
to the World Trade Organization, it remains the only country
where violence against unionists is worse than in Guatemala.
President Obama must sit down with labor and trade policy
experts as well as members of Congress to make certain that
these agreements are sufficiently protective of labor rights.
More accountability on the part of the U.S. in enforcing and
improving its own labor laws, stricter regulations regarding
domestic labor laws for trade partners, and harsher
repercussions for countries that assure impunity for those
who commit acts of violence against trade unionists would go
a long way toward improving worker rights throughout the
U.S.' free trade network.
 EL TEATRO CAMPESINO PRESENTS
"POPOL VUH" AS A FREE FAMILY SHOW
RUNNING EVERY WEEKEND UNTIL LABOR
DAY, 5 SHOWS ONLY!-AUGUST 28, 29 &
SEPTEMBER 4, 5, 6

During the final days of summer, El Teatro Campesino will

present seven free performances of a workshop production of
"Popol Vuh: The Story of Seven Macaw" in the parks of the
historic Mission town of San Juan Bautista. This all-new
original musical adaptation is based on the sacred creation
book of the Quiche Maya - a book that translates the famous
myths and recorded history of the Mayan people. Directed by
Lakin Valdez, "Popol Vuh" is staged in the popular theater
style made famous by El Teatro Campesino, with live music
and larger than life characters.

In "The Story of Seven Macaw"-this year's outdoor matinee

offering-the magical Mayan Hero Twins are summoned by the
Creators of the world to deal with the false and corrupt Seven
Macaw, who holds dominion over the Earth. Arrogant and
materialistic, Seven Macaw forgets the love of his own mother
- the Sacred Tree -in his quest for more possessions, until the
twins force him to see what's truly in his heart.

Funded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, "The

Popol Vuh" will be developed and staged over the next two
years, with additional support for this year's production
coming from the California Arts Council. This ongoing project
aims to take the ancient stories of the Popol Vuh and fashion
an environmental fable for our times - to be staged on an
epic canvas for generations to come.

"We're aiming to develop an outdoor summer production, told

in a sweeping story as a pageant," said Artistic Director Kinan
Valdez. "Our workshop productions are fully-staged
productions even though they are works in progress. We
recognize that these are still tough times so we'll have seven
free outdoor performances this year - having audience
participation is crucial to the development process."
Presented outdoors in San Juan Bautista in three different
locations, "Popol Vuh: The Story of Seven Macaw" promises
to be a family-friendly spectacle full of passion, pageantry and
puppets. Audiences are encouraged to bring lunch, lawn
chairs and picnic blankets for a fun-filled afternoon of free
popular theater. The production will end with a special Labor
Day performance on September 6 at the San Juan Bautista
Mission Plaza.

Performances start Aug. 21 and will run until Sept. 6., always
at 2 p.m. Locations and dates are as follows:

Saturday, August 28-2:00 pm, San Juan Bautista

Mission Plaza
Sunday, August 29-2:00 pm, San Juan School Soccer
Field
Saturday, September 4-2:00 pm, San Juan Bautista
Public Library
Sunday, September 5-2:00 pm, San Juan School Soccer
Field
Monday, September 6-2:00 pm, San Juan Bautista
Mission Plaza

San Juan Bautista Public Library is located at 801 Second

Street, San Juan Bautista Mission Plaza is located at 408
Second Street, and San Juan School Soccer Field is located at
100 Nyland & Third Street. For more information call
831.623.2444 or visit www.elteatrocampesino.com.
More Books For Your Consideration
 Important Events
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e-mail info about your Media, Marketing or Latino event to
kirk@whisler.com
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Sinceramente,

Kirk Whisler
Hispanic Marketing 101

email: kirk@whisler.com
voice: (760) 434-1223
Latino Print Network overall: 760-434-7474
web: www.hm101.com
Podcast: www.mylatinonetwork.com

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