Puerto Rico: 'Orange Alert'

PUERTO RICO

Members of Servidores Públicos Unidos (SPU)/ AFSCME Council 95 demonstrated on the steps of the capitol to show their anger over a highhanded move by Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. Faced with a $1.7-billion "structural" deficit, the governor has decided to deal with it at the expense of commonwealth workers — including the 20,000 members of SPU. Without consulting the workers and their unions, Acevedo has advanced various budget-cutting schemes, including one that would simply lop off one workday a week. Contractual raises effective July 1, 2005, were not paid.

Workers have demonstrated against his plans on a number of occasions, most recently last November, when thousands marched to La Fortaleza, the governor's palace in San Juan, under the banner, "Señor Gobernador, póngase en nuestros zapatos" ("put yourself in our shoes"). The orange shirts of SPU proclaimed an "Orange Alert."

Acevedo's methods of deficit reduction"violate the labor laws and collective bargaining agreements," declares Ellie Ortíz, SPU's president, who is also an International vice president. "He is imposing a burden on public employees as if we were responsible for the crisis."