In May of this year, four KFTC members visited the coalfields of Colombia with a Witness for Peace delegation to the area. During this trip, these Kentuckians spoke with both the communities affected by these enormous open-pit coal mines as well as labor unionists who work in the mines. Tomorrow, Jesús Brochero and Estevinson Avila, two trade unionists from the two different mines the KFTC members visited will arrive in Lexington to begin a week long tour of Kentucky.

Come out to the following public events to listen to Jesús and Estevinson speak about the labor and environmental issues in Colombia. During these events, KFTC members Sara Pennington and/or Rully Urias will also speak, drawing connections and distinctions among the coalfields of Kentucky and those in Colombia.

Here's the list of events, with further information below:

Thursday, November 13

5:00 PM
Oswald Auditorium
Cooper Campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, Kentucky

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Saturday, November 15

3:00 PM
Grapevine Community Center
Phyllis, Kentucky, in Pike County

Call the Whitesburg KFTC office for further directions: 606.632.0051

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Monday, November 17

7:00 PM
Hindman Settlement School
Hindman, Kentucky, in Knott County

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KFTC will have a potluck dinner for our guests starting at 6:00. Call the Whitesburg KFTC office if you'd like to join the potluck or need directions to the Settlement School: 606.632.0051

All presentations will begin with a slideshow by KFTC members illustrating their trip to the Colombian coalfields before Jesús and Estevinson speak. In addition to the lax environmental regulations that affect both the workers in the mines and the communities near the mines, trade union leaders are also at risk daily as Colombia is the country with the most assassinations of unionists in the world. This year alone, more than 41 unionists have been murdered, and the company that owns the mine where Estevinson works has been accused in United Stated courts of hiring paramilitaries to kill three of its unionized workers. With the Bush administration pushing for passage of the Colombia free trade agreement--which is held up in Congress due to Colombia's poor human's rights record, including the assassinations of labor leaders--these presentations are timely, and ones you won't want to miss.

Estivenson Avila is President of the Sintramienergetica Coal Miners’ Union, which unites workers from the Drummond-owned and operated mine of La Loma, Colombia. Jesús Brochero is a top leader of Sintracarbón, the National Union of Coal Industry Workers, which represents employees of the multinational-owned Cerrejón Mine, Colombia.