User:Holaearth/Chile Protests 2011: Revolutionary Labor Union Protests Lead to a Better Chile

The Chilean Protests are an on going series of protests led by teachers, professors and large labor unions'''. The labor unions in Chile have fought for constitutional, educational, and labor reform for many years.''' According to CUT, at least 600,000 people participated in the two-day labor strike that took place in Chile on August 24 and 25. The 2 day strike led by Chile’s most powerful unions launched the nationwide strike on August 24th. Chile’s largest labor confederation, the Central Workers Union (CUT), organized and planned for demonstrations, marches and protests with the support of politicians, citizens and more than 80 of Chile’s most important social organizations and unions. With powerful unions like the National Association of Public Employees (ANEF) and unionized miners at the state-owned Codelco copper company vowing to participate, Finance Minister Felipe Larraín predicted Tuesday that the strikes cost the nation upwards of US$200 million. While previous governments have faced one-day national strikes, it was the first 48-hour national strike since the 1973-1990 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.