Sent to us by Roger Annis.

July 14, 2008 By postal mail and e-mail Dear reader, The following is the first progress report of the Haiti Union Solidarity Fund. The Fund was launched in February, 2008. You can find the launch statement, along with this present report, at the Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN) website, http://www.canadahaitiaction.ca. We are pleased to report that the cause of Haitian workers and trade unions is gaining a growing hearing and support across Canada. Among the progress that we can report are: * Since its launch in February, 2008, the Haiti Union Solidarity Fund has received more than $10,000 in contributions. You will find a complete list of these in the appendix to this report. We thank all those individuals and organizations who have contributed. You will receive a copy of this report and appendix by post mail. * The Secretary-General of the Confederation of Haitian Workers, Paul Chery, was one of the invited international guests to the May, 2008 convention of the Canadian Labour Congress in Toronto. Interest and awareness of the cause of Haitian workers has taken an important step forward in Canada as a result. * In January, a delegation From the Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ) visited Haiti. The delegation met with a number of Haitian unions and learned first hand of the economic calamity that unions and the entire country are facing. New solidarity projects have begun as a result. Monthly pledge to Confederation of Haitian Workers The first disbursement undertaken by the Fund has been a monthly pledge of $300 to the national office of the Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH). This began in January and has been paid until July, inclusive. This ongoing financial commitment has allowed the union to hire an assistant to the Secretary-General of the union, Paul Chery. He writes, “Our newly-hired administrator allows us to communicate with our affiliates and with our international friends through reports and correspondence. It was difficult for myself to look after all of this because of the amount of travel that I am obliged to do and because the demands on my time and our limited resources. “We thank you for this important gesture of solidarity.” The Fund’s directors have decided to increase this monthly pledge by $100 to $400 per month, starting in August, 2008. We have also undertaken the following two projects. New projects 1. Aiding the establishment of a computer centre at the CTH’s education conference centre, INAFOS, in Port au Prince. This will provide essential education and organizing tools and it will also generate revenue because the CTH is configuring the computer center to serve as an internet café for the surrounding community. The Fund will contribute $3700 for the purchase of solar panels required to power the computers. A pledge of $1000 from the CHAN affiliate in Winnipeg has kick-started this project. We welcome further financial contributions, and we are seeking donations of desktop or laptop computers. The CTH recently received four laptop computers from a delegation of members of the Industrial Workers of the World from Canada and the U.S. that visited Haiti in April. You can read the reports of that visit at www.iwwinhaiti.blogspot.com. 2. Supporting the work of the Association des professionelles de la santé d’Haiti (Association of Health Professionals of Haiti) with a $150 per month pledge. This is an association of Haitian nurses who, in cooperation with Haiti’s largest transportation union, the APCH, delivers vital health care services to the rural population surrounding Haiti’s capital city, Port au Prince. The Association receives some assistance from international health agencies, but needs much more. The Fund is receiving a pledge of $100 per month for this project from a small computer business in Vancouver, Performance by Design. We are adding $50 per month to this amount. Mail list for Haiti union solidarity The Haiti Union Solidarity Fund is establishing a mail list group for interested union activists and contributors. Please e-mail to one of the addresses below if you wish to join this mail list. Volume will be kept low, and only members of the list will be permitted to make postings. Many thanks to all who have contributed to the Fund – your financial support is having a positive impact on the ground in Haiti. For those who have not yet contributed, please consider doing so at whatever level you are able. Please note that the Haiti Union Solidarity Fund pays no administration fees; 100% of the funds it raises go to trade union solidarity projects in Haiti. In solidarity, Roger Annis, Kevin Skerrett Directors of the Haiti Union Solidarity Fund E-mail: rogerannis@hotmail.com, or kskerrett@cupe.ca Phone 778 858 5179 (Vancouver) Mail to: Haiti Union Solidarity Fund 50 Laurel St. Ottawa ON K1Y 3C9