EL SALVADOR — I am a single mother, I have been working in a maquila for many years. From the day of my interview I noticed a great deal of friendliness from my boss. Over the years he invited me out, took me by the hands, and many other sexist attitudes. This happened for some three years. I felt sexually harassed. In the end, seeing that I did not give in, he decided to fire me. One morning he did not let me into my work area. We had a verbal confrontation. I was afraid, but I took courage.
“I need to talk to you. You’re fired. We don’t need your services anymore,” he said.
“I don’t accept being fired, I consider myself a good worker,” I said.
“I’m paying you 100% of what I owe you,” he said.
“This check will not last me to meet the needs of my children. I need my job and I know that the firing is because I do not want to have sex with you,” I answered very angrily.
“You didn’t give in and this is what happens to stubborn people, like you,” he said. I got so angry that I tore up the check, left the office and ran into the plant to get help from a union, in which I have several friends. At the same time they called a member of the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP), which helped me to keep my job.
This boss followed me through the plant with the security guards to take me out. They told me, “Get out, you don’t work here anymore.”
“She’s not leaving. She hasn’t signed anything and if you take her out we will stop the plant,” said my co-workers. He got scared and called the main boss of the plant, who did not know about my firing. He was also scared when he saw the ICWP member go into his office along with other union members who are also part of the Party,
I explained to the main boss the reasons why he wanted to fire me, and exposed his lies. Seeing the strength and determination of the workers, the main boss accepted that I returned to work.
Before this incident, I had heard ICWP mentioned. I imagined it was one more union. But someone told me no, that it is a communist party that fights for the workers. It caught my attention and I kept asking about the party. I asked my best friend who is a member of the party and he explained to me about the party. This made me even more curious to know more.
Recently they invited me to a meeting in the mountains. (I heard that they started with few people, and some said they would never grow.) . But those seeds that they sowed with faith grew and flourished, and continued to give more seeds, and now there are the children of the children, friends, family and acquaintances. That from childhood it is important to cultivate communism so that when they grow up they give great leadership and know how to get to the new seeds that will make up the party and know how to fight for communism.
In this conference in the mountains I took up the challenge of being part of the Party and in this way to be able to help more women inside and outside the factory to fight against bosses who exploit us everyday and want to abuse their current power. When the communist revolution takes place through the ICWP these capitalist behaviors will not occur.
—-New Comrade
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