FRANCE. Hundreds of trade unionists occupied and disrupted the Paris stock exchange on Oct. 6, in response to plans of privatizing the French automaker Renault. The government plans to sell 30% of Renault's shares in the stock market by year's end. (People's Weekly World)

CHIHUAHUA. Small and midsize factories and agricultural producers in Mexico, unable to compete with certain imports from the US since the passage of NAFTA, are closing, boosting the unemployment rate in the state of Chihuahua by 5.7%. (Washington Post)

TIJUANA. After workers at a sewing plant received no pay for five weeks, they walked off the job. The plant produces sporting goods for the US market under the brands Lowe Alpine, Kanga, Jason, and IMCOR. Under Mexican Labor law, the workers should have the right to seize the plant and sell the equipment, but the law is unenforced. (Labor Notes)

ILLINOIS. Toys R Us has been using convict labor at near-minimum-wage to stock shelves and clean in its store in Aurora. The company did not place any help wanted ads to find local workers, even at the wages it pays the convicts, who are imported from a state prison in a nearby city. (The Hightower Report)

SAN FRANCISCO. Sprint Corporation fired 235 Latino employees a week before they were scheduled to vote on unionization. The employees worked for Sprint subsidiary La Conexion Familiar, which sold Sprint long-distance services to Spanish speakers. Sprint claims the subsidiary was shut down due to financial difficulties, but the subsidiary was recently showcased by the San Francisco Chronicle as a successful company. In response, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Fred Feinstein is seeking a court order to force Sprint to re-open the facility. The NLRB acted in response to a petition from the Communications Workers of America. The Subsequent investigation by the NLRB revealed that Sprint had committed over 50 labor law violations in an effort to thwart the unionization drive. (Labor Notes/AFL-CIO News)

PORTLAND/VANCOUVER. Roughly 9,000 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teamsters had been on strike at 126 Fred Meyer, Safeway, and other stores for 87 days ending mid-Nov. As of early November, Fred Meyer had lost about $13 million, and the price of its stock had declined. The main issue in the strike was part-time vs. full-time work. Unions were asking for a guarantee that at least 41% of workers receive at least 32 hours a week, but ended up settling for less than this. (NW Labor Press)

WINES: Besides Chateau Ste Michelle and Columbia Crest, the various other incarnations of US Tobacco-owned wines, including , Farron Ridge, Snoqualmie, and Allison Combs. Kurt Peterson of the state United Farm Workers says that liquor store sales of the first two brands have dropped 15% in the last year, but the other three brands have remained steady sellers due to lack of public recognition. Vineyard workers for US Tobacco have for years not been allowed by the company to vote on unionization.

LOCAL BIGGIES: Ernst Home Centers (Food and Commercial Workers); Rainier Brewery, which according to the Operating Engineers has offered a package of pay and benefits inferior to that of rival Pabst, the makers of Olympia Beer-the workers at Rainier have been without contract since June; appliance retailer Silo, Inc., for foiling organizing attempts in Pennsylvania (Teamsters).

FOODS: Diamond Walnuts and President Clinton's favorite Tyson/Holly Farms Chicken (Teamsters); Mohawk Liqueur gin, rum, schnapps, cordials (Distillery, Wine, and Allied Workers); meat brands Plumrose, Elcona, Dak, and Danola (Food and Commercial Workers).