"While preparing his film" ""Eles Não Usam Black-Tie" (They Don't Wear Black-Ties) in 1979, Leon Hirszman went to São Paulo to keep up with... the emerging labor movements that were leading to a major strike in the..." "ABC cities (Santo ANDRÉ, São BERNARDO do Campo and São CAETANO do Sul)." "Stimulated by the political events, he decided to make this documentary film, which remained unfinished, however, until his death in 1987." "In order to finish the film, in 1989, it was necessary to restore... some of the images because there were negatives missing." "What is really happening - and I want to make this very clear - what is really happening is that the employers don't want to negotiate with the laborers from the metallurgic industries of São Bernardo," "Santo André and São Caetano because - and this is the true reason - because it is here that the largest Brazilian workers' convulsion is and where the example of the 1978 strike resides." "THE A B C OF STRIKE" "On March 14, 1979, a day before President Figueiredo took office, 150,000 laborers employed in the metallurgic industries in Santo André, São Bernardo and São Caetano went on strike." "The so called ABC, Latin America's largest industrial center, came to a halt." "For the second time in two years, the ABC metallurgic workers had the opportunity to show their discontent." "But now the movement grew to a proportion never seen before and it took place in the industrial heart of the Nation." "Soap..." "Sugar..." "Salt..." "The employers, represented by FIESP (São Paulo State Industries Federation), had offered a raise in the workers' wages which was considerably lower than the real raise in the cost of living." "So the ABC laborers rejected the employers' offering." "They proposed instead a 70% raise and claimed that the union representatives in the firms should be legalized." "You may keep on going on strike but you must leave this place." "Those who want to work may go in." "Those who don't want to work should stay home." "Don't come here to make a row!" "Everybody out!" "Break away, everybody!" "You mustn't stand at the factories' gates." "You should come here to the Union quarters to know what is going on." "It should be quite clear that there will be three blockading points to prevent the strike-breakers." "The first one is near your home, on the streets, talking to the others." "You all have to do that." "Do you want to speak?" "You may speak." "It is just an example, so that you can understand it better." "We've started, since last Friday, at Parque São Rafael, a blockading point." "We started at 4:00 AM." "We stopped all the buses from" "Volkswagen, Mercedes, Ford and Chrysler." "We were only four in the beginning and by 7:00 AM there were more than a thousand people." "That's how we did it." "Get off!" "Get off!" "Get off!" "Get off!" "About half a dozen of us will stay here, okay?" "The rest should go away." "Take it easy." "We'll talk to them." "It shall be okay." "Let's go." "They want out, but they're afraid." " They're afraid to leave." " There's no reason to be afraid." " Let's ask for a warrant." " Commanding officer, we are afraid of retaliation, understand?" "I'm a union director." "So, if the crowd disperses..." "Our fight's right, commanding officer." "You know that." "No mess, no confusion." "But we're afraid of going to jail, we're family men." "We're afraid of going to jail." "We're no crooks." " I don't want to arrest anyone." " We have the colonel's word." " and I think that that's a warrant." " Let's just disperse and that's it." "Just a few will stay to hand over fliers." "Any problem?" " There'll be no messing with the buses." " No messing with the buses." " Is that all right, colonel?" " Yes." "Goodbye." " Goodbye." " Thank you." "There's no problem, there won't be any kind of retaliation, nobody is going to be arrested." "Go home, most of you." "Only six men will stay here to hand out the bulletins." "But you mustn't interfere with the buses." "Let's go, then." "Everybody should leave now." "We must stay firm, friends." "We work inside this filthy plant, suffering heat, eating stale food, while the bosses are having fun, cruising with their yachts at your expense, eating the best food in the world." "And when our children ask for a toy, we don't have the money to buy it." "Because the bosses don't cooperate with us." "The number of workers mobilized by the Unions is so large that the Union headquarters became too small for the meetings held." "The multitude of strikers overflows to the street." "So the meetings are transferred to the Vila Euclides Stadium in São Bernardo do Campo." "Day after day, from 60,000 to 90,000 workers are gathered there to hear their leaders and to make decisions." "Although the government hasn't ordered an intervention in our Labor Unions yet," "I want you to feel sure that it is ready to do so, it seems to me, since the 14th or since the Wednesday we went on strike." "Because some treacherous people have decided that ours is a strike to defy the government." "So if you, fellow workmen, should decide that we are to continue on strike, you must make this decision with a lot of courage." "If you decide so, fellow workers, it will take a lot of nerve and I'm going to explain why." "Because there is no use in our deciding here if on Monday the government puts an end to it." "If we decide here, we'll have to keep on acting as we did till now," "until either we win or they stop our movement." "I am quite conscious, I am absolutely sure that, if we keep united as we are you will win this struggle with or without Lula, with or without the Union leaders, with or without the executive body." "Please, fellow workers." "I want you to pay attention to this:" "even if provoked, you must not retort." "Don't cause confusion." "Keep the movement orderly as you have done till now." "Workers that stay together will never be defeated." "The Regional Court of Labor adjudges the strike illegal." "SÃO PAULO IS BOILING" "You know that things are bad enough and that those who are wise are aware of it" "I know that it breaks one's heart to speak as I had to do and to say "The worst thing has happened." "You may put the pans away because the money wasn't enough. "" "Whereas it is not possible to allow this extravagant and flagrantly illegal situation to continue, since it conspires against the peace and the Nation's security, I have decided, based on Art. 128 of the CLT (Labor Code):" "a) Intervention in the Union of Metallurgic, Mechanic and" "Electrical Material Workers of Santo André b) Intervention in the Union of Metallurgic, Mechanic and" "Electrical Material Workers of São Caetano do Sul c) Intervention in the Union of Metallurgic, Mechanic and" "Electrical Material Workers of São Bernardo do Campo." "Brasília, March 23, 1979." "Murilo Macedo." "Why are you arresting this man?" "Why are you arresting him?" "And all of a sudden they descend upon one's home, just like that." "There are no criminals here." " Isn't there anyone hiding there?" " There ain't nobody hidden here." "There ain't nobody." "To think that I would hide someone." "I think that this is all wrong." "They shouldn't mix up with this strike problem." "Strike is a problem between employer and employee." "The police should stay out of it." "Major..." "Major, I would like some information." "I am the city Mayor." "During the whole period while I kept the Stadium at the workers' disposal, there was peace." "And now, since they have forbidden the workers admittance to the Stadium with no prior notice to the Mayor," "I am going to talk to the Security Secretary at once, in order to know where this command came from and why is this all happening." "And what about the City Hall invasion by the forces?" "That is what I am going to find out now." "Please be quiet so we can talk." "Let's try not to speak." "Let's try, so everybody can hear and see." "Provided you behave within the law, with due respect, with patriotism for and love of Brazil, the Commander of the Military Police has authorized me to let you stay here on this square and this square shall be your meeting point." "The Union is ours!" "Our strike goes on!" "The police operation which had started at 3:00 AM on that Friday was completed before the day was over." "The police mobilized its whole shock troop, divided into two teams of 1,000 men each." "It used 20 transport trucks, 10 armored cars, as well as cavalry, dogs and sophisticated weapons." "350 workers were arrested and 50 were wounded." "With the Stadium occupied by the police, the laborers gather at the City Hall of São Bernardo do Campo." "Lula is not present." "Workers that stay together will never be defeated!" "Let him speak!" "We'll only go back to work when we get our raise." "Our struggle is not over!" "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us, and lead us not into temptation..." "For all the ABC metallurgic workers" "For their families which are going through hard times and are hungry" "For all those who have been suffering, specially the Union leaders" "So that God might be to them also a strength and a support" "Let's pray to the Lord." "Lord, hear our prayer." "Let's give our hand to our neighbor, to the one who is beside us, let's say to him:" ""Peace be with you"." "We came here to give our support and solidarity in terms of the continuity of our struggle in the ABC, fellow workers." "There is a government intervention in our Union, we are suffering a tremendous pressure, our Union headquarters are besieged by the cavalry, by dogs, by armored cars, the military forces took over our union." "Everyone knows what to do in your own neighborhood, at the bus stop." "We can't go back to work now, because if we do, we will never raise our heads again." "Our strike goes on!" "And there is another thing, fellow workers." "It doesn't matter if the government has officially taken us away from the Union leadership, we'll still command this movement so that we can keep on acting as we did till Thursday." "If there are too many people leading, there will be a confusion in everyone's heads." "So, from now on, the union leaders are in command again." "So that never again may happen the beatings that happened yesterday, when workers and even their wives were beaten by the police." "Married, with three children, Luís Inácio da Silva, called Lula, was born in Garanhuns, State of Pernambuco." "In 1966, he started working at Villares as a lathe worker." "In 1969, he was elected a deputy member of the directing body of the Union of Metallurgic, Mechanic and Electrical Material Workers of São Bernardo do Campo and Diadema." "In 1972, he was First Secretary and in 1975, he was made President." "After three years, he ran for President again as sole candidate and was reelected President of the Union with 98% of the voting." "Fellow workers," "after two days absent we are here again." "The Union leaders are back to command the strike we've started on the 13th." "Every one of you knows what to do." "Every one!" "We've done it for 10 days in a row!" "Nobody could possibly have forgotten it." "There's work to be done in the suburbs, there is work to be done at the bus stop." "And, must important of all, don't stand at the factory gates." "There is something I want to ask." "When you leave this place, don't do it as a parade of protest." "Each one should go straight to his house." "Go straight home, okay?" "Speak in turns, will you?" "The Union leaders could meet at the church." "Tomorrow we will keep on doing what Lula has asked us to do." "All of you from Santo André!" "We'll meet at 7:00 PM in the mother church of Santo André." "The strike must go on, okay?" "We were informed that today, approximately 90% of the workers of the metallurgic sector, except for the automobile workers, went back to work, that is, only 10% of the workers were absent." "As for the automobile sector, approximately 30% went back to work today, that is, 70% were absent." "For all I know, the automobile and the automobile parts plants are still paralyzed." "As for the other plants in Santo André and São Caetano, I haven't heard any news." "We are only observing what is happening in the ABC, but the fact is that the labor movement has slowed down a great deal today." "All the plants in Santo André and São Caetano are operating normally and I am sure that tomorrow over 50% of the workers will go back to work, in the automobile industry." "In spite of the opinions issued by the employers' and the government representatives, the truth is that the workers are still on strike." "With the mass of workers refusing to go back to work, there is a stalemate." "The situation grew to a point of such tension that made it impossible to predict its outcome." "That is when the government concedes to give the stadium back to the laborers, so that they can meet and decide on what to do." "Fellow workers," "you know pretty well that the rules have changed from last Thursday on." "The government decided not to play the game." "You know that I've been out of touch for almost two days." "And do you know why?" "Because our unions were object of federal intervention." "And that was a shame!" "You know that the union leaders and the wage committee are with you all the way." "I've said it before and I'm saying it again." "People are saying that we, the workers, are radicals." "That we are insensible and that we don't want to negotiate." "In the first place, we do want to negotiate." "I think that - and this is a vote of confidence that I ask of you, fellow worker - so that they can't call us radicals anymore - we should accept the government offering." "We should go back to work." "And, if our demands aren't met, we'll go on strike again." "I promise you, here and now, that I'll proclaim the strike myself." "And there is one thing that I positively want you to know." "For me, personally, if Lula were to be arrested and tortured, it would be the greatest consecration." "And how about you, laborer?" "No, no." "I ask you then to give me this vote of confidence and I assure you we will have our union back, we'll get the raise we demand." "The ABC metallurgic workers have decided today to put an end to the strike." "The automobile industry starts to compute its losses." "It's difficult to know for sure." "I believe that you can imagine that we could have produced approximately 50,000 vehicles which corresponds to a fairly high amount of resources." "In Brasília, the Ministry of Labor has praised the ABC metallurgic workers' decision." "It's a magnificent show of the return to legality." "This will always have its weight." "The strength of any solution lies on dialogue always." "We didn't have to work ourselves to exhaustion." "There was still a lot of gas to go." "NEEDED" " JOBS OFFERED" "How long have you been in São Bernardo?" "It's been less than 20 days that I'm here." "Where are you from?" " From the North." " Where in the North?" " Piauí." " What did you do there for a living?" " I worked the field." " Was the land yours?" "No, it was government land." "State land." "Didn't you get enough for a living there?" "Not enough to support a family." "There are times when it doesn't rain and nothing grows." "So you have to leave the place and look for a job, some work to do." "And what about here?" "What do you think you can do here?" "When I get hired we'll see what we can do." "Because I am not a professional." "I'll have to learn when I get hired." "Then, if I learn, I'll be able to get something." "For the moment, I have no profession." "It's been 3 months since I lost my last job." "I came here from Guarulhos because I'm unemployed for 3 months now and my family has nothing to eat and nowhere to live, do you understand?" "I'm even annoyed here, because one has to face a queue like this one." "I left home at 3:30 AM to get here at 5:00 AM." "It's a real problem." "The difference between the raise proposed by the Industries Federation and the percentage demanded by the ABC Labor Unions is not enough to explain the strike." "It should be taken into account the fact that approximately 20% of the population of São Bernardo do Campo live in slums and that the mass dismissals that periodically hit the laborers submit them to a period of unemployment which lasts from two to three months a year in the average." "The resources they have to feed themselves are scarce, for their energy is spent not only on work, in the factories, but also on attending to such basic needs as making their houses operational with neither running water nor electricity." "Since wages are low, children are forced to look for jobs at an age when they should be only studying." "Children of 13 or 14 are already submitted to an exhaustive day's work in polluted environments, exposing their health to serious risks." "And, however doing the same work as an adult and often under worse circumstances, children and women get lower wages." "It's too much work for too little money." "That's why there are strikes." "You ask for a raise of salary, they give you more work to do." "The problem with most people is that they're afraid." "They're afraid of losing their jobs if they go on strike." "Let's see what happens after those 45 days." "If we decide to stop working, the majority of us will stop." "They want production before they give us our raise." "And we want our raise first, we'll give them production afterwards." "That's all for the moment." "Them people are afraid." "Have you all participated in the strike?" " Oh, yes!" " What did you think of it?" "It was great." "I'm ready to do it again." "God willing." "Why are you here?" "What newspaper are you from?" "We are from Leon Hirszman Film Productions and we're making a documentary film on the whole area and also on the strike." "Would you like to grant us an interview?" "Well, I don't know what you've come here for." "This is a private property." "Usually you should ask for permission before shooting." "We're on a public street." "If you'd authorize, we could film from the inside." "That would be wonderful." " Under no circumstances." " Isn't there a chance we could shoot inside the plant?" "Not really?" "That's a pity." "We could also interview you." "How do you analyze the strike?" "I don't want to comment on the subject." "You should contact the management and talk to them." " What is your position in the firm?" " I work with Industrial Relations." " Are you an Engineer?" " No, I'm not." " That's okay, then." "Thank you." " I still think that you should request permission to film these buildings." "I'm not sure you're allowed..." "There's no problem to shoot from the outside." "We're journalists." "If we were to shoot from inside, we'd have to have permission, that's obvious." "But from the outside..." "This is a public street, I can't understand why you're so worried." "Thank God we are allowed, right?" "Each and every employee in my firm is allowed to come into my room and bring forth his problem." "For if we have a chance to help him, we will do so." "This is democracy." "Because in the communist countries you won't find frank and open dialogue between employer and employee." "They're from different castes there." "There are no restrictions here." "All my employees, from the driver to the lathe worker to the presser, they all have the freedom to dialogue with me." "So I think that this opening granted by the government is partly a good thing." "But we must understand this." "I believe our people are still unprepared for a total opening." "I believe our people must get a little more mature in order to fully understand what democracy really is." "Here we can see that we are within an area called "slum"." "In truth, this is where the low wage workers create their own conditions so as to live near the place they work in." "And so they build their homes as they fancy and as they can, right?" "Very well." "And if you go near the City Hall, you'll see very refined districts." "It's a way of life fairly different from this one." "We're now going into an area of very nice houses, a kind of closed-in village." "You'll find living here a Volkswagen director, high executives from Mercedes, Chrysler and Ford, but they're all living near the plants." "This is where I live." "But I don't own the house." "It is rented, right?" "I'm practically taking care of it." "It belongs to an old Doctor, so I take care of it, I keep it." "The rent I pay is too small if compared to what the house is worth, right?" "Look at this house here." "See the structure they're building?" "This is only the garage of the house." "It looks like a portion of an European country." "If you look at it, if you've ever been to Europe." "Today we were invited to His feast..." "Allow us to be united once more and may there be more justice in a happier world..." "This is the oldest slum in Santo André." "It's 14 years old." "All the others you've seen are more recent." "This is a huge slum." "There's no room to build any more." "All the plots are taken." "Usually there are floods here twice a year." "The river down there overflows and the water comes way up here." "If you ask them, they're workers." "Here is where they have fun, the billiard-house." "Do you see how many children there are?" "With no proper place to play, no nothing." "Everything is so crowded." "When we got here, we suffered a lot." "We're still suffering." "No house to live in." "It's too crowded." "There's only one bed for 8 people." "I work at night, so does my husband and all the kids sleep on one bed." "It's only a little wagon." "It's too small for 8 people." "It's me, my husband and 6 children." "When we got here, they all got sick." "These two here had to stay 2 months at the hospital, down with pneumonia." "I wanted to go back, but I didn't have the money for the bus tickets." "And now we can't go back either, the tickets got too expensive." "There is no way to go back." "We'll have to stay here till things get a little better." "It's 6 children to feed and to dress, buy medicine..." "I've never lived like this before." "Everybody said:" "São Paulo is a good place to live in, it is rich, let's go there so we can have a better life." "But where did the better life go?" "We arrived and it got worse." "Even to wash one's clothes it is difficult, people yelling at you, everyone trying to wash the clothes with the same water." "There are pipes going through here, but you can't use them because they belong to the city." "There ain't electricity either." "São Bernardo was once held as the wealthiest city in the Country." "It is, however, the city with the largest number of slums in the Country, given the proportions." "Santo André, with all its might, couldn't cope with the development of its slums." "Willingly or not, this must be credited to what has happened in the Country from '64 till now." "In 1964, there was only one slum area in Santo André, 4 in São Bernardo." "The total number of slums in the ABC was 6." "Now there are 155, and maybe more." "Specially from 1968 on, when things got even worse, the great majority of slums, the largest slums, are located near the big metallurgic plants." "Christ, the ABC workers were forced to go on strike for a small raise of salaries, while the large international firms are having huge profits." "Christ, help us mend inequities." "Jesus Christ has freed all men with the work of his sacrifice." "In the same manner, the working class can only be free if it offers God the sacrifice of its struggle for a better living." "So that workers, instead of hoping for liberation to drop from heaven, may stay together to fight for this blessing, let's pray to the Lord." "Lord, hear our prayer." "Lord, we beg you above all that you may give these people the chance to organize themselves in order to protect their rights." "And specially the three ABC Labor Unions, so that they may work again under the guidance of their legitimate leaders." "This we ask of You, through Jesus Christ your only Son, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit." "I would like to salute a great Brazilian who is also here with us, the poet Vinicius de Moraes." "And I want to salute Lula in a very special manner." ""Laborer News", fellow worker, it's five cruzeiros..." "May 1st." "Labor Day in Brazil." "Major political parties and professional... entities from all over the State of São Paulo take part in the manifestation." "While sustaining a fight against increasingly lower wages, a fight for union autonomy and freedom, for the right of striking, for employment stability, the labor movement has placed itself at the forefront of the fight for democracy in Brazil." "The MDB, which represents the large democratic front opposing the political system in force, is more than ever identified with the workers in their craving for a democratic State where all sectors of society can freely organize and express themselves." "Best wishes from the mayor to the Brazilian workers gathered here in São Bernardo do Campo, the social Capital of Brazil." "Thank you." "On celebrating the 1st of May, the fight for amnesty has reached this football stadium." "We will surely free all the political prisoners, we'll bring back to their homes those who are exiled, we'll hold responsible those who have murdered this Country's patriots." "And we'll put your union leaders back in the place they belong." "This is a conquest - there is no such a thing as a final defeat for the working class." "We will never accept our union structure to be patronized by the government." "When the Ministry of Labor stands for the greatest union leader, when it interferes in the union affairs, when it nullifies union charters, when it removes union leaders, serving itself with what rightfully belongs to the working class." "What shall we do, fellow workers?" "We must stick together, in the factories, in our communities and in the unions." "They thought that they could end the ABC movement by interfering in the unions." "But they have forgotten that a Labor Union is not the building, but the workers in the factories." "The ABC metallurgic workers know that we've offered a truce till the 13th." "On Sunday, the 13th, we'll hold a meeting and we want to see there and then as many people as there here today." "Because if we don't get the raise we demand, on the 14th at 0:00 AM, the ABC will go on strike again." "They're talking about a confrontation." "They're saying that, if we go on strike again, they will send armored cars and heavy guns against us." "To face the armored cars they're going to send to São Bernardo, each worker shall arm himself with his wife and kids..." "Workers," "I know that you've been made promises untold." "And that many of them have not come true." "As for me, I'll only say that I speak frankly and act determinately." "I am a man of prudence and judiciousness." "But I won't hesitate and I'll have the law enforced whenever it comes to a situation which might either threaten the peace of our families or lead to social disorder." "The ABC workers are not only the motor producing the wealth of our Nation." "They are also the spring that casts forward our work as artists." "So that our friends in the ABC can go on with their just and legitimate struggle, so that they will have their demands met, you, with your presence here tonight, are helping them to achieve their goals." "Thank you very much." "Before the 45 day truce is over, Ford do Brasil starts to deduct the days on strike from its employees' wages." "This stands against the agreement made, which stated that no deductions were to be made during the period." " Nobody's working here." " What's happened?" "They're going to deduct 20%." "What are we going to do?" "We'll stop working till Monday or Tuesday." "Now the government should interfere against the employers;" "when we went on strike, the government sided with the employers." "There was an agreement." "Negotiations aren't over yet." "It should only be deducted next month, right?" "Now they come and make deductions as they will." "Where is the government to interfere and make them do their part as agreed?" "There is no one on our side." "In order to punish those involved in illegal or forbidden strikes, the following legal instruments are at the Nation's disposal." "Law 4330 establishes that class entities may have their leaders removed from their posts and may be put under intervention." "It does also establish that the unions may be dissolved and lose their charters." "We have been trying to compromise to the maximum extent within the law and we shall... meet the workers' demands whenever possible, without hindering our war against inflation and, above all, without breaking the social order and the peace of the Brazilian family." "After 40 hours of negotiation, yesterday we've finally reached an agreement." "At present, only in ANFAVEA's name, but we're discussing it with the other members of Group 14, so that each one can decide on what he thinks is best." "We're trying very hard to put an end to this process which is lasting too long a period of time and is impairing both our manufacturing activities and the effort we all should be making to help in the construction" "and in the improvement of the Country." "The employer scratches out the machine gun he had drawn." "The results of the meeting made the use of weapons unnecessary." "On the day before, the ABC metallurgic workers' representatives had reached an agreement with ANFAVEA, the National Association of Manufacturers of Automotive Vehicles." "And now this agreement was accepted also by Group 14 of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo, which represents the ABC metallurgic, mechanic and electrical material industries." "Everybody at the meeting at 10 o'clock on Sunday." "Don't forget the meeting at 10 o'clock!" "We are to decide on the strike." "Everyone must go." "Cheer up, man!" "Volkswagen is trying to deduct 20% from the monthly salary - a 15 day month." "We're not going to cope with it." "Ford's workers have stopped working at 9 o'clock this morning." "They've stopped." "Refused to sign." "Same thing with you." "If they try to deduct anything, we'll stop." "Tell everyone that they're handing out the pay envelope with the money in it." "Listen - we've heard just now that they'll put the money in the envelope." "So you must be careful." "The envelope will be given with the money in it." "Pay attention." "And should any of you notice that there is less money than it should, tell it to the others in your sector at once, so it isn't an individual thing." "Volkswagen has always paid on the 7th, 8th or 9th." "Why are they paying on the 10th?" "It's a day we're losing..." "... any deduction." "You know what to do." "If they call one by one, don't go." "Only with everybody present." "The stalemate between ABC metallurgic workers and employers was created on March 13, when the three ABC unions decided not to adhere to the agreement reached by the manufacturers associations and the other 30 metallurgic workers unions in the State of São Paulo." "The ABC claimed a 68% raise." "The raise wasn't granted, the workers went on strike for 15 days." "Then the union leaders were destituted and a truce was declared." "This truce ends today." "At this meeting here in the Merak Hotel, both sides are trying to find a final solution for the problem, so that on Monday the workers won't start another strike, since the truce period will be over." "Given the statements of both employers and employees before the meeting started, it seems that we are heading to a happy end." "If you could send them a message..." "In the first place, I'm not a message sender," "I only speak face to face, but employees which are paid less than 10 minimum wages what the workers wanted." "But we believe that what was gained here..." "And may our divergences be understood... and we'll keep on our eternal fight between capital and labor..." "It's not a fight." "It's an association of interests neither always diverging nor always converging..." "Let's not speak of convergence here." "Congratulations to all." "It was worth the effort." "See you next time." "AIN'T GOOD TODAY." "JOHNNY, THE BLACKSMITH" "As an employee of Ford do Brasil" "I feel the pressure from them." "Because 63%, as it was signed on the proposal divulged at the meeting on Sunday, they think it is not good for them." "Unfortunately once again the employers showed their unwillingness to negotiate." "But the employees will know how answer them tomorrow at the Vila Euclides stadium." "Once again I'm disappointed." "This proposal doesn't meet our demands." "I think that some facts must be taken into account." "Suppose we don't accept the terms of the agreement and go on strike again." "We'll face a very difficult situation." "We'll face it at another level." "The laborers can't stand any more beatings." "They won't take a licking from the police and turn away and go home anymore." "I've seen many fellow workers arming themselves to face the police." "They're really getting prepared." "It's going to be a confrontation located in a city, located in São Bernardo, and it won't lead to anything, just another bunch of victims for the history of the labor movements, a lot of deaths and things like that." "...we're not accepting 63% 20% and no more deductions a man's signature should stand..." "Opening our meeting, who is going to speak to you right now is a fellow worker who has broken the record of being arrested." "It's Simão de Moura, known to all as "The German"." "Fellow workers!" "A moment before this meeting started," "I was walking this whole stadium and what I've seen?" "I've seen in every face and mind a feeling of repulse against the poverty imposed on us through all these years." "Let's make this very clear to all of us!" "After being silenced for 15 years, suffering the most cruel exploitation and the worst injustice, this is the first time we raised our voices against so much exploitation and so much injustice." "And how many among us were beaten by the police and how many among us were arrested for raising our voices against exploitation and against injustice?" "But we must understand that 15 days on strike aren't enough to defeat 15 years of exploitation." "I think that a headless action now would only lead to disaster." "Both the reactionary people in the government and the employers who have no desire to understand our will - or to understand that our will should be sovereign - will forever ban Lula from the union leadership and from the labor movement in Brazil." "We can't let it happen!" "We must choose our tactics." "We must get organized and we must have a place to meet if we are to do something." "We are going a little forward." "The working class struggle must be led step by step." "Nowhere in the world things are solved at once." "We ask of you a vote of confidence for the ABC labor unions unity." "For the ABC workers unity, let's give this vote of confidence to the destitute union leadership." "A strike tomorrow, it represents and I'm going to explain why - a defeat for the working class." "I'm going to explain why." "Because we won't have the stadium to meet anymore, we won't have a union anymore and we won't have the church anymore." "We may go on strike for two days and after two days we'll go back to work with our heads down." "I'd like to hold you responsible for this." "And I'd like you to think about tomorrow, to think about your children, your wives and yourselves, when you vote." "In the first place, our raise - we'll get it tomorrow at the factories." "The return of the union leaders - we'll have to get it by acting politically." "So, my proposition - even if it is the most obnoxious and I know that many of you will hiss at it - my proposition is the following:" "you should accept one thing." ""The German" stated it clearly" " we are going to get our raise from the struggle inside the factories." "I'm absolutely sure we'll get it." "Ford Co. gave an example of this last week - this week." "So we mustn't throw the laborer in a lost war." "And I - who have summoned you to go on strike, who have fought here for 15 days in a row, who have fought here for 45 days " "I want to tell you that going on strike on Monday is not important." "It's not important politically." "It will be important any other day - and on any other day we'll be ready to go on strike." "So I want to ask those who are willing to give this vote of confidence to my leadership in the union to approve this agreement whose terms are terrible but which will allow us to fight for the return of the union leaders." "Those in favor and willing to give this vote of confidence, raise your hands." "The laborers gave their leaders the vote of confidence they had asked for." "60 days after its beginning, the largest labor movement since 1964 finally meets its end." "The demand for a 70% raise that led to the strike was not granted." "The maximum conceded by employers was 63%." "But, at that point, to recover the labor unions and to save their leaders was more important." "And this was accomplished." "And it meant a retreat from the government side where the anti-strike law was concerned." "For the first time, destitute union leaders were back to their posts." "As for the employers, their losses were covered by the Federal Government." "Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz alone received 6,700,000,000 cruzeiros paid by the National Treasury."