Workers affiliate to Moyano's union
Teamsters gain influence over newspapers' distribution
Workers from four of the six cooperatives that distribute dailies and magazines in different parts of the City of Buenos Aires, have now joined the lines of the Teamsters’ Union after truckers blocked the entrance of their workshops threatened to block all their operations.
The move is increasing the influence of Hugo Moyano, a loyalist of the Kirchners, over the supply of dailies, as his union now controls the supply of paper. Deputy-elect Néstor Kirchner and his wife, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner are at odds with dailies Clarín and La Nación, which they have accused of smearing the image of the government. Last month, pro-government lawmakers passed a bill in Congress that generated concerns over growing press censorship.
Teamsters used a handful of trucks to block the entrance of all the buildings from where paper is distributed to the vendors in the City, to press the cooperatives to write their employees under the powerful teamsters' union. They had carried out a similar protest the previous day, and threatened with further measures. There was no reported presence of the police to clear the doors of those buildings to allow companies to resume distribution.
After three hours, the directors of the four of the total six cooperatives agreed to meet with union leaders today at the Labour Ministry building to enroll their employees under the union led by Moyano. One of the cooperatives last night refused to comply with the truckers' demands, and its entrance remained blocked this morning.
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