This article examines the ongoing U.S. solidarity campaign with the Association of Injured Workers and Ex‐Workers of General Motors Colmotores (ASOTRECOL), workers fired from the GM plant in Bogotá, Colombia, after suffering injuries on the assembly line. After reviewing some of the factors that facilitated the mobilization of community and rank‐and‐file activists, we discuss the refusal of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union leadership to support the campaign. While the UAW has sometimes engaged in solidarity campaigns with foreign workers, it has not supported ASOTRECOL. We argue that the primary reason is that doing so might jeopardize what UAW leaders consider to be their positive relationship with General Motors. U.S. activists' expectation that the UAW would support the cause strongly influenced their strategic orientation early on, further hindering the chances of success. We suggest that solidarity activists should take unions' bargaining relationships into account when devising strategy.

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The civil war in El Salvador (1980–1992) resulted in the death of approximately 75,000 people, the vast majority killed by state and paramilitary forces. In the postwar era, the Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen in San Salvador promotes historical memory in order to denounce state violence and advance social justice. It departs from the historic role of museums in upholding ruling-class hegemony and offers a progressive model for disseminating and critically engaging with historical memory. This museum makes history relevant to younger generations through the use of oral history, popular pedagogy, and innovative engagement strategies. However, its impact is limited by neoliberal atomization and relatively low levels of grassroots mobilization—common obstacles faced by popular education initiatives around the world. La guerra civil en el El Salvador (1980–1992) causó la muerte de aproximadamente 75,000 personas, la mayoría asesinadas por el Estado y las fuerzas paramilitares. En la posguerra, el Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen en San Salvador promueve la memoria histórica para denunciar la violencia del Estado e impulsar la justicia social. Se aparta, entonces, del papel histórico de los museos como defensores de la hegemonía de la clase dominante al usar un modelo progresista para diseminar y examinar de forma crítica la memoria histórica. Por medio del uso de la historia oral, la pedagogía popular y varias estrategias de participación innovadoras, el museo trata de que la historia sea algo relevante para las generaciones más jóvenes. Sin embargo, su impacto es limitado debido a la atomización neoliberal y a los niveles relativamente bajos de movilización popular –obstáculos que comparte con otras iniciativas de educación popular alrededor del mundo.

This 2018 report reviews the organizing model of the Pioneer Valley Workers Center (PVWC), an organization based in Western Massachusetts that builds the collective power of immigrants and workers. It illustrates how the PVWC practices participatory democracy and solidarity. The report also discusses the challenges facing its organizational structures and campaigns, including its Worker Committees, a decision-making body composed mainly of immigrant workers; Sanctuary in the Streets, a rapid response network against workplace abuse, the deportation apparatus, and hate crimes; and an ongoing campaign in solidarity with Lucio Peréz, an undocumented Guatemalan man who defied deportation and took sanctuary at a local congregation.