THE TESTIMONY OF JOAQUIN F. OTERO ON BEHALF OF THE RAILWAY LABOR EXECUTIVES' ASSOCIATION BEFORE THE SENATE LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON LABOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP71B00364R000500200024-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2004
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: April 26, 1968
• Content Type: TRANS

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TESTIMONY OF JOAQUIN F. OTERO
ON BEHALF OF
THE RAILWAY LABOR EXECUTIVES' ASSOCIATION
BEFORE THE
SENATE LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON LABOR
April 26, 1968
Mr. Chairman and members'of the committee, my name is Joaquin F. Otero.
I am appearing today on behalf of the Railway Labor Executives' Association, with
headquarters at 400 First Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. This association speaks
for 23 standard railway labor organizations representing nearly all of the Nation's
railroad employes. A list of the RLEA affiliates is attached to the end of my
statement. My testimony is in support of Senate bill S. 1779 pertaining to the
establishment of an independent agency of the U. S. Government to be known as the
International Health, Education and Labor Foundation.
Since July 1966 1 have been employed as Assistant Director, International
Affairs Department of the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks,
Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes, an affiliate of the Railway Labor
Executives' Association. From April 1961 through June 1966 I was employed by the
International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) as Regional Director for Latin
America and the Caribbean. During this period of time I resided in Brazil and Peru
and travelled to almost all countries encompassed by my area of responsibility.
The following testimony is based on my personal experience in the field
of international labor affairs and on the active affiliation of the RLEA to the
International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) since 1946. A list of the U.S.
unions affiliated with the ITF is attached to the end of my statement.
Our support of Senate bill S. 1779 stems from our strong belief that with
proper support the work of organizations like the International Transport Workers'
Federation (ITF) will, indeed, enhance and strengthen the capacity of the other
peoples of the world to develop and maintain free, independent societies in their
own nations.
CRC, 8/5/2003
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THE ITF: ITS HISTORICAL ROLE IN PRESERVING DEMOCRACY
The International Transport workers' Federation (ITF) is an international
trade union organization to which bona fide trade unions which uphold democratic
principles and have members employed in the transport industry can affiliate. The
ITF membership is made up of more than seven million workers, spread throughout 88
countries of the free world, and embraces every type of transport worker without
distinction as to race, color or creed.
Its aims are to provide international assistance to its affiliates;
generally to defend and promote the economic and social standards of the trans-
port worker; to seek universal recognition of his right to the benefits of trade
union membership; to represent the transport worker in international agencies;
and to provide its affiliated unions with information and advice.
Its history, which dates from 1896, is almost the longest in international
trade unionism; that in itself is testimony to its strength and worth. During that
time it has set an unrivalled record as the defender of the transport workers'
interests against exploitation by employers and governments alike.
Nations and governments toppled quickly before~Hitler's blitzkrieq in the
early years of World War II, but more often than not the occupying Nazis soon
found that ther was a painful gap between a surrender and tasting the fruits of
victory. Every dawn uncovered new examples of sabotage.
Members and leaders of European trade unions conceived and executed many
of the schemes that helped to turn "Der Fuehrer's" dream of world domination into
a horrible.nightmare - and no organization was more active in this undertaking
than the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF).
The ITF carried out a program, with considerable success, whereby seafarers
of occupied nations were encouraged to take their vessels to allied ports and turn
them over to the democracies. The organization supplied key workers for the under-
ground. It assisted in the sabotage of Nazi transport. It aided the escape of
German trade unionists who were being hunted by the Gestapo.
In occupied countries of Europe, German officials often awoke in the mornin
to find that a dock area was hopelessly clogged with previously unloaded vehicles
that couldn't be moved. Their rotors had mysteriously disappeared durinq the night
A man who helped with that "project" is now one of Europe's most prominent labor
leaders.
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Comparatively, these and.many other activities by the ITF form only one
chapter in the federation's nearly 70 years of history. But they contributed
greatly to its reputation as a strong, militant force of free transport workers
around the world and as a relentless, effective enemy of all types of oppression.
The reputation is a deserved one.
An organization of less resilience could not have survived two world wars,
world economic depression and the onslaught of a variety of dictatorships.
An organization of less value would not have commended the loyalty which
made survival possible.
AMERICAN RAILWAY LABOR'S INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD AFFAIRS
The Railway Labor Executives' Association became actively involved in
international labor affairs, as an affiliate of the ITF, during the crucial days
following the end of World War II, particularly in connection with the development
and implementation of the Marshall Plan. Thanks to the courageous and invaluable
cooperation of transport unions affiliated to the ITF it was possible to maintain
the flow of goods and materials 'shipped under the Marshall Plan to European countries.
It was the key role played by the ITF, in spite of the threats of communist sabotage,
that assured the success of the Marshall Plan. Since then, American railway labor
and other U.S. transportation unions affiliated to the ITF have made considerable
human and financial contributions to the outstanding trade union work performed by
the ITF in most of the developing nations of the world.
SCOPE OF ITF WORK: RESOURCES AVAILABLE
In spite of the generous contribution of its affiliates in the United States
and other parts of the world, the ITF has always found itself groping with the
problem of financing its activities. Though the Federation is representative of
seven million workers, its own financial resources are insufficient to adequately
undertake the tremendous task it faces. In terms of income arising out of affiliation
fees, the ITF earns barely enough to maintain a world-wide structure aimed at
servicing affiliates in every corner of the globe. A large part of its income qoes
to the program of regional activities - an effective but.modest program designed to
lend technical and financial assistance to needy democratic transport unions in
developing nations.
Particular emphasis is placed in the areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America,
where the ITF maintains reg$~/103111-0~3~~e0rObe5~~2~00r1d unionists.
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The ITF representatives travel regularly throughout their respective regions lending
assistance to affiliated unions and seeking to enroll new affiliates.
In carrying out their tasks, ITF representatives are often outnumbered
and outfinanced. Well-staffed, rich international organizations, sponsored by
church groups and by the International Communist Party, compete openly with the
ITF in lurinq unions and labor leaders to their respective camps. To compound
the problem, in some instances church groups are working hand-in-hand with
communist-dominated internationals. Yet, the ITF has prevailed.
The sad part of this worthy endeavor is that only a meager $170,000 is
available to cover all of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean! In spite
of a rather stringent budget, the ITF has made remarkable progress. Many an
emerging nation (Guatemala, the most recent example) struggling to consolidate
democratically-elected governments have found the ITF to be of vital assistance in
preserving the stability of such governments. In the case of Guatemala, the ITF
responsibly cooperated with the authorities in seeking a prompt and fair solution
to a serious labor problem which, if left indefinitely unresolved, might have caused
the collapse of the very government. I am referring here to the recent 73-day strike
involving the U.S.-owned International Railways of Central America (IRCA) and the
Guatemalan Railwaymen's Union (SAMF), an ITF affiliate. The strike was settled on
March 16 with the ITF playing a key role in the final settlement of the dispute.
In the area of development of strong, democratic labor leadership, as opposed to
communist-dominated cliques, the ITF has been responsible for the mature leadership
heading local and national transport unions today in countries such as Mexico,
Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Indonesia, Senegal,
Malaysia, Philippines, Nigeria - among others. The modest input of ITF human and
material resources in countries like Mexico, has multiplied itself several fold.
In fact, Mexican affiliates of the ITF, especially the Railwaymen's Union, are now
lending their valuable technical and financial assistance to other ITF affiliates
in Latin America.
This degree of achievement notwithstanding, the work yet to be done staggers
the imagination. The problems confronting this type of activity also defy descrip-
tion. And so, with such tremendous tasks at hand, with overwhelming odds against
and with very limited financial resources, the work of the ITF must go on.
To illustrate some of the problems facing this bold undertaking, I have
selected the area of Latin America where I have personal experience. The ITF spends
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THE CHALLENGE FACING THE ITF
In Latin America, as presumably elsewhere in the developing areas of the
world, the problem that an international labor organization should ultimately
address itself to is the awakening of the workers from their age-long apathy,
which was born of servitude, to the advantages of uniting actively for the pro-
motion of their economic welfare. This general goal encompasses, for the inter-
national organization, guidance of local unions and national bodies in the essen-
tials of union management and growth, the propagation of union values among the
rank-and-file as well as among the unorganized, the development of local and national
leaders, and the equipping of these leaders and their organizations with the
minimum educational and financial tools for ensurinq that they can do an effective
job of developing unionism in their own interest and those of communities in which
they live. It is, however, the unfortunate fact that four major politico-economic
phenomena affecting the societies of the Latin countries of the Western Hemisphere
have retarded the progress of democratic unionism. These circumstances, which usurp
the attention and energies of international labor organizations, will undoubtedly
overshadow the events and activities of Latin American trade unionism over the next
few years. These phenomena. are:
a. The military or quasi-military domination of society with
attendant repression of such basic freedoms as the right
of workers to organize, to bargain collectively, to deny their
labor by means of strike to achieve a decent living standard,
and the right to educate the workers in the processes of demo-
cratic procedures.
b. The attack by the international communist movement upon new
and unsteady union organizations and upon the masses of the
unorganized workers to attain the political ends of that
disreputable movement.
c. The deeply-entrenched oligarchy, both of national and foreign
origin, which stubbornly refuses to modify its near-feudalist
practices, thus enhancing unrest, hatred and subversion.
d. The ineptness and corruption plaguing several Latin American
governments.
The general response by free labor to the military threat through its inter-
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national affiliations, has been, is now, and will be several years from now,
to bring to bear the moral weight of international democratic unionism and the.
reprobation of free societies upon the restrictive military juntas. In some
instances, this moral pressure has been and will be effective; in other instances
such measures are less than effective. In the face of such an obstacle the
future of democratic unionism, together with the hopes for improvement in other
spheres of society, must await the slow process through which the restlessness
of the human spirit will force, pace by pace, one measure of liberalization after
another upon oppressors. In some happy instances, this process has been accelerated
by universal popular revolution against the military, as in Venezuela, and in these
instances, to its everlasting credit, democratic unionism was in the vanguard of the
movement toward liberalization. Cuba, on the other hand, is a typical example of
the existing danger of violent shifts from extreme right to extreme left. In other
well-known instances, Paraguay, Haiti -- and more lately Brazil and Argentina, the
working man must suffer for the time in patience. The second problem, that relating
to the attempt by the international communist movement to conquer the working man
and the trade union organizations for political ends, must be met on a different
plane. The communist ideology is now discredited among the societies of develop-
ing nations--indications are that several years hence its image will be yet dimmer.
Nevertheless, the communists, though stripped of their ideological pretentions, are
still bent upon achieving their political ends through subversion, bribery and.
deception. They still pursue their nefarious designs with ominous success among
the corruptible and ingenuous people whom they seek out among the working classes
and their leaders in Latin America. The obvious response to this threat is not to
rely on international appeals, as in the case of isolated military regimes, but
rather to reach to the very roots of the labor movement with the values and demon-
strable results of democratic unionism to discredit the communist impostors where
they make their appeal--that is, among the illiteratee and semi-literate workers
and to give these workers the hope of gaining dignity in their labor, economic
security for their families and mutual solidarity through their freely elected
union representatives.
There is no doubt that the business community in Latin America -
including many U.S. firms- will continue its practices to ignore existing labor
laws, to apply coercion and economic pressure to discourage trade unions from
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governments or, as in many so-called democratic countries, by their friends and
counterparts whom they have helped to reach government power. Clearly, this
combination of recalcitrant employers and corrupt, ineffectual government admini-
strators is as detrimental to the development of free trade unions as military
juntas and communist subversion.
It is, therefore, imperative that unions become stronger, well-organized,
self-financed, as in the case of Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela, if both reactionary
management and governments are to depart from their present policies of deterring the
workers from their goal of attaining social justice.
This process is painstaking and slow; the guiding hands of representatives
of democratic international organizations such as the ITF are excruciatingly few.
We can. hardly hope to completely eliminate this threat within the next few years, but
we can and should increase our efforts. The ITF, in particular, should be in the
forefront of increasing activity to turn back this threat.
HELP US TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO HELP THEMSELVES
Though the ITF today is the recipient of significant assistance for its
educational programs from institutions such as the ILO (International Labor
Organization); OAS (Organization of American States); AALC (Afro-American Labor
Center) and the AIFLD (American Institute for Free Labor Development), additional
funds are urgently needed to carry out basic trade union functions to supplement
educational activities. I am referring to programs to organize the unorganized
workers; to promote amalgamation of weak unions into single, stronger unions or
Federations; to assist unions in the development of community-action projects.
While AIFLD assistance for educational programs - for example - is an
important step in the development of free and democratic unions, the inability on
the part of the ITF - in many instances - to follow up such educational activities
with meaningful organizing work reduces the effectiveness of trade union education.
The combination of trade union education and organizing work is the most
effective approach in building and strengthening free trade union institutions in
developing countries, led by free individuals who, in turn, can actively participate
in concert with other segments of their society in the painstaking process of
nation building. Where a union is capable of applying hard self-help measures, the
ITF can give the added push toward success. In all ITF programs the quality of self-
help is a key factor in helping a union with its own development efforts.
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It is in this context where the greatest emphasis for urgent help can
be made. The ITF program in the developing areas of the world seeks to build
nothing but constructive forces in the transport labor movement which can and
do help in developing durable political and economic structures. It is a well known
fact that responsible and dynamic ITF affiliates throughout the world have played
major roles in helping to preserve the political and economic stability of their
governments, recognizing that if they want help they have to start by helping
themselves.
Obviously, then, if these efforts are to produce lasting results, the
activities of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) in Latin
America, as well as in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, must be stepped up to the
highest degree possible. In this task, the ITF could use all support and assistance
available. Therefore, Federal grants, as contemplated under Senate bill S. 1779
would be of great supplemental assistance in these endeavors.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, and on behalf of the Railway Labor Executives'
Association, I strongly urge your committee to report favorably on this bill to
establish the International Health, Education and Labor Foundation, which would
make Federal grants available to the ITF, and to other international labor
organizations, through American unions.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee.
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RAILWAY LABOR EXECUTIVES' ASSOCIATION AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
American Railway Supervisors' Association
American Train Dispatchers' Association
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
Brotherhood of Railroad. Signalmen
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America
Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers,
Express and Station Employes
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders,
Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Brotherhood of Firemen & Oilers
International Organization Masters, Mates & Pilots of America
National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association
Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen
Railroad Yardmasters of America
Railway Employes Department, AFL-CIO
Seafarers' International Union of North America
Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
Switchmen's Union of North America
Transportation-Communication Employees Union
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT WORKERS' FEDERATION AFFILIATES IN THE UNITED STATES
Railway Labor Executives' Association
Seafarers' International Union of North America
The Radio Officers' Union
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Transport Workers' Union of America
National Maritime Union of America
International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots
Amalgamated Transit Union
Flight Engineers' International Association
American Radio Association
National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association
Airline Dispatchers' Association
International Longshoremen's Association
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