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:: Sunday, November 14, 2004 ::

Union demands answers in leader's shooting death By SCOTT FALLON, The Record, NJ
Teamsters are pressuring the El Salvadoran government to thoroughly investigate the shooting death of a labor leader from Cliffside Park who was organizing truckers in the Central American country.

Jose Gilberto Soto, 49, was shot in the back on Nov. 5 by three men who waited in front of his mother's house in Usulutan, El Salvador. Soto died immediately and the trio fled in a car. Authorities said robbery did not appear to be the motive, as no money was taken. No one has been charged.

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa sent a letter this week to Secretary of State Colin Powell asking him to urge El Salvadoran officials to capture the killers.

'To date, the police have done little to apprehend what appears to be a death squad that killed our representative,' Hoffa said in a statement.

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National Labor Committee Calls for Action on Soto Murder International Brotherhood of Teamsters
If they can assassinate a U.S. citizen and trade union leader in El Salvador, we can only imagine the repression the Salvadoran workers are facing on a daily basis. This is another tragic example of how CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) will continue to fail the workers in Central America and the U.S. While CAFTA goes out of its way to provide all sorts legal protection to the product, there are no similar enforceable laws backed up by sanctions to defend the rights of the human being and workers who made the product.

We need to continue the struggle for worker rights protections in Central America and in the U.S. But first we need an immediate and thorough investigation to get to the truth of why and who killed Mr. Soto. As a first step, please write to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell demanding a full investigation.

posted 1:38 PM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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