By The Star Staff
The Alliance of Active and Retired PREPA Employees called for a public demonstration today starting at 10 a.m. in front of the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico on Chardón Street in Hato Rey, when Judge Laura Taylor Swain will be hearing the disclosure statement related to the debt adjustment plan of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA).
At the hearing, the U.S. district judge will receive objections from creditors opposed to the plan submitted by the Financial Oversight and Management Board on Sept. 15, 2023.
The alliance invited citizens, including all retired PREPA workers, “to come en masse to this demonstration to defend our pocketbooks against the increase in rates to pay PREPA’s foreign debt, as well as to defend our pensions and those of [active workers].”
Participating in the protest will be the Multisectoral Board, which is made up of more than 60 organizations that bring together all sectors of the public, such as retirees, industrialists, merchants and professionals, along with community, religious and nonprofit entities that will be directly affected by an approval of the PREPA debt adjustment plan.
“All together we will express our repudiation of the recommendations of the [oversight board] to approve the Debt Adjustment Plan, which will be a major blow to the Puerto Rican economy and will lead us back to a second bankruptcy sooner than expected,” the alliance said in its written statement.
Joining the demonstration will be the Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers Union (UTIER by its Spanish acronym), the main labor organization for PREPA workers.
“It is time to raise our voice to protect our pensions and reject any attempt to unfairly increase energy costs,” UTIER President Josué Mitja said.