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CNN Live At Daybreak

European Union Workers Will Go on Strike For Peace

Aired March 14, 2003 - 05:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Topping today's voice of dissent, European union workers will go on strike for peace at the top of the hour.
CNN Madrid bureau chief Al Goodman is covering this story -- good morning, Al.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, as the United States ratchets up the pressure militarily on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and as the diplomatic negotiations at the United Nations reach a frenzied pace, the protesters are also ratcheting up the pressure in this anti-war movement. The unions across Europe are calling a 15 minute work stoppage at noon local time. That'll happen here in Spain, in at least a dozen countries, including France, Italy, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, according to the union leaders in Brussels whom we spoke to earlier this day.

The unions say they want to see Saddam Hussein disarmed. They want to make sure he doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction, but they don't want to see a rush to war, they say. They want to see this done by the U.N. weapons inspectors on the ground there in Iraq.

Now, this protest is causing some concern from employers, who say that the unions are using a labor law to express their opinion on a political issue and it shouldn't be this way. So the pressure is increasing on all fronts and there are major anti-war marches scheduled across Europe on Saturday -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And we'll be following those.

Al Goodman reporting live from Madrid, Spain this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 14, 2003 - 05:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Topping today's voice of dissent, European union workers will go on strike for peace at the top of the hour.
CNN Madrid bureau chief Al Goodman is covering this story -- good morning, Al.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, as the United States ratchets up the pressure militarily on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and as the diplomatic negotiations at the United Nations reach a frenzied pace, the protesters are also ratcheting up the pressure in this anti-war movement. The unions across Europe are calling a 15 minute work stoppage at noon local time. That'll happen here in Spain, in at least a dozen countries, including France, Italy, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, according to the union leaders in Brussels whom we spoke to earlier this day.

The unions say they want to see Saddam Hussein disarmed. They want to make sure he doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction, but they don't want to see a rush to war, they say. They want to see this done by the U.N. weapons inspectors on the ground there in Iraq.

Now, this protest is causing some concern from employers, who say that the unions are using a labor law to express their opinion on a political issue and it shouldn't be this way. So the pressure is increasing on all fronts and there are major anti-war marches scheduled across Europe on Saturday -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And we'll be following those.

Al Goodman reporting live from Madrid, Spain this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com