Injured GM Colombia worker brings hunger strike to GM headquarters in Detroit.

Jorge Parra, former GM worker from Colombia now on hunger strike, along with members of Witness For Peace, student unions and worker’s groups, met members of the press in Hart Plaza near General Motor’s World Headquarters Wednesday, Sept. 5th, 2012.

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  • Jorge Parra, former GM worker from Colombia now on hunger strike stands with members of Witness For Peace, student unions and worker's groups, and address members of the press in Hart Plaza near General Motor's World Headquarters Wednesday, Sept. 5th, 2012.
  • Jorge Parra, former GM worker on hunger strike and President of ASOTRECOL, the association of injured Colombian GM workers wants to meet with GM executives to work out a settlement as soon as possible.
  • Jess Hunter-Bowman, Associate Director of Witness for Peace interprets for Parra as he speaks with journalists near GM's World Headquarters in downtown Detroit.
  • Diana Sierra, University of Michigan student, herself a Colombian immigrant, lends her voice to Parra's call for a meeting with General Motors to work out a settlement for the injured workers back in Bogota.
  • Parra told reporters near GM's World Headquarters on Wednesday, “We want to return to the workforce and be retrained and have our own union in the plant. If GM insists that going back into the plant is not an option, we want enough of a financial settlement that would allow us to start new lives."
  • "My hope is to quickly sit down and meet with GM executives. I hope for a quick resolution to this so that we can end the hunger strike in Bogota," says Parra.
  • Parra leans on a sign with a photo of himself showing his mouth sewn shut.
  • Jorge Parra stands with a protest sign showing a photo of himself with his lips sewn shut, near the GM World Headquarters in Detroit.
  • Journalists speak with Parra and other supporters after the press conference in Hart Plaza near GM's World Headquarters.

Parra, who arrived in Detroit on Sept. 5th, is here in an attempt to restart negotiations with GM about compensation for injuries he and 200 other GM assembly plant workers in Bogotá, Colombia sustained while working in the automaker’s Chevrolet car and truck plant there. The workers are requesting that they be rehired and retrained by GM for jobs they can perform with their medical conditions and that GM provide pensions for those too disabled to return to work, in addition to paying back wages for the time they have been without work.

The group of GM workers formed ASOTRECOL and went on strike after being fired from GM. Their disabling injuries left them unemployable and unable to support their families. GM has refused to compensate them for these disabilities or provide them with access to medical care. Since the US government still owns a large stake in General Motors, the workers camped outside the United States embassy in Bogota for one year. With no movement toward mediation, the group outside the embassy went on hunger strike with four of the ex-workers sewing their mouths shut on August 1, followed by another three men a week later. The strike was later suspended when an agreement was reached to begin mediation.

The mediation between the workers and GM Colmotores, brokered by the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia and mediated by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, ended without a settlement late last week. On Monday, the workers returned to their hunger strike, with seven of them sewing their mouths shut. Jorge Parra will continue his hunger strike, along with the other workers in Colombia and supporters from the U.S., until a settlement is reached with GM.

For more in-depth news about the Colombian workers:

Toronto Star: GM Workers Sew Mouths Shut in Protest
International Business Times: Former General Motors Colombia Employee Brings Hunger Strike to CEO Akerson’s Detroit Doorstep
Truthout: US Protests Tell GM to Resolve Colombian Hunger Strike
Labor Notes: Colombian Hunger Strikers Sew Lips Back Shut

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 5:06 pm. It is filed under Detroit Stories, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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