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A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
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A coalition of striking aluminum workers, members of the IWW and Earth First! successfully blockaded a shipload of Australian aluminum ore from docking at the port of Tacoma Washington on Monday, December 7. 3,100 members of the United Steel Workers of America local 7945 have been on strike against Kaiser Aluminum since September 30 citing unfair labor practices and planned layoffs at plants in Tacoma and Spokane and other plants across the country. Earth First! operatives locked down at the tip of a shipping crane and to an elevated ore conveyor while unionists and other activists picketed the port's terminal 7 and a flotilla of small boats blocked the waterway forcing the 650 tonne ore transport Sea Diamond to anchor off. Members of the Longshoreman's Union refused to cross the picket in solidarity with the striking workers. The only rough point in an otherwise smooth action came when the climbers on the conveyor, who had waited through openings of calm for slow responding media, deployed a 50foot banner in gusty winds and were tossed like rag dolls for several minutes. Kaiser aluminum is 68% owned by Charles Hurwitz's MAXXAM corp. and both unionists and environmentalists scored media hits against the controversial corporate plunderer, drawing parallels between MAXXAM's treatment of workers and the environment. "HURWITZ CUTS JOBS JUST LIKE HE CUTS TREES" read the giant banner above symbols of the United Steelworkers, IWW and Earth First! While some inroads have been made in forging solidarity between timber workers and environmentalists in California, this is the first time such groups have worked together at this level. Two Earth Firsters were arrested and three others were issued citations. New ties were forged between the groups involved and activists from each camp were abuzz with plans for future cooperation. The Sea Diamond did eventually dock late in the day, but the longshoremen, bound by arbitration to continue work, have been rather slow about unloading scab bound ore from previous shipments, it took them twice as long as usual to unload the last ship. A single day's delay costs MAXXAM some $32,000.
note:
I was not able to file this story until the evening of the 9th. Unloading of the Sea Diamond has still not begun as Longshoremen preparing for work Tuesday discovered that the conveyor had been damaged. Rumor has it that the sabotage was targeted to critical and difficult points in the unloading apparatus. The reported damage, the cutting of the conveyor belt, is estimated to cost $50,000 and several days delay.
The banner hang made all the local outlets in addition to coverage on Northwest Cable News, UP, NPR, and a brief live CNN cut. Image files available at http://www.ecoecho.org/unfurl.html
Given Julia Butterfly's media the same night,a sympathetic if condescending last story on NBC's evening news, a pretty bad press day for Hurwitz.
Thuja
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