New Brunswick trade union honoured by Argentina for 1979 Hot Cargo strike

On Friday, March 26, 2010, Patrick Riley, business agent for the International Longshoremans Association, Local 273 of Saint John, New Brunswick, on behalf of his members, will receive in Buenos Aires, Argentina the " Order of May" , the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a non- Argentinean citizen, by the Argentine government. The medal commemorates the action in 1979, by longshoremen and many others, to block the transfer of heavy water to a nuclear reactor being built at the time in Argentina. This action resulted in the release of several trade unionists imprisoned in Argentina, and the ultimate receipt of hundreds of refugees to Canada from Argentina that at the time was suffering under a brutal military dictatorship. This presentation follows a parallel event held in Saint John on March 13 attended by the Argentine ambassador to Canada. Click here to see the note of congratulations that CALL/ACAMS sent to our compadres in Buenos Aires, to be read out at the event. 

For background information, see the UNB labour history page at http://www.lhtnb.ca/TH1/en_cargo.cfm. Click here to see a copy of the CTA (central de trabajadores de la argentina) invitation to their commemorative event.