<html> <head> <meta HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> <meta NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Microsoft FrontPage 3.0"> <title>Steelworkers and Environmentalists to March and Rally in Oakland</title> <meta NAME="Template" CONTENT="C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\OFFICE\html.dot"> </head> <body LINK="#0000ff" VLINK="#800080"> <table CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="7" WIDTH="638"> <tr> <td WIDTH="31%" VALIGN="TOP"><img SRC="../images/5face2.gif" WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="154"></td> <td WIDTH="69%" VALIGN="TOP">United Steelworkers of America 1355 Sutter Street, Suite 105 · San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 292-1409 · (415) 292-1413 Fax</td> </tr> </table> News Release    JOBS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: Steelworkers and Environmentalists to March and Rally in Oakland   Local environmental activists joined hundreds of striking Steelworkers from six states in Oakland, California to protest the unfair labor practices of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation. Todays demonstration included a march and rally to address concerns about Kaisers failure to obey the law during negotiations with the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) and to counter the Companys hard line demands for hundreds of job reductions in a new contract. "Todays demonstration clearly shows the resolve of our Steelworker brothers and sisters to negotiate a new contract that includes job security, fair retirement benefits, and competitive wages. We are energized today by the support of local labor leaders, environmental activists, and elected officials to our just cause," stated David Foster, Director of USWA District 11 and chairman of the unions negotiating committee. "Kaiser Aluminum needs to recognize that their record profits are the direct result of the hard work and high quality labor of their employees." Steelworkers from California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio, and Louisiana joined the demonstration arriving by the busload. More than 3,000 Steelworkers began their strike on Wednesday September 30, 1998 following a series of unfair labor practices by Kaiser Aluminum Company during their negotiations with the USWA over a new contract. The USWA Master Agreement covers workers from five Kaiser Aluminum Company plants located in Gramercy, Louisiana; Newark, Ohio; Tacoma, Washington and two plants in Spokane, Washington. A large number of environmental activists also turned out in mass for todays demonstration. Karen Pickett, Director of the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, addressed the rally crowd and said, "Kaisers parent company, MAXXAM, has shown time and time again that they are more interested in pursuing huge profits than in carrying out responsible business practices, either in the redwood forest or in the aluminum plants in Washington and Louisiana. MAXXAMs CEO, Charles Hurwitz, has shown that he and his company totally lack respect for public trust resources like the Headwater Forest and for the workers at Kaiser Aluminum. We stand in solidarity with the Steelworkers to demonstrate our common ground." Besides the incidents of unfair labor practices by Kaiser, the USWA is extremely concerned about Kaisers proposals for job elimination and restructuring, "contracting out" of work, keeping wages below competitor standards (running behind Alcoa and Reynolds), caps on retiree health insurance, and inadequate pension benefit increases (a Kaiser employee with 30 years of service will receive between $180 and $300 per month less in pension benefits than comparable hourly employees at Alcoa and Reynolds). Todays activities demonstrate the fortitude of the striking Steelworkers and the broad-based community support they have generated in their struggle for competitive wages, fair benefits and job security. Additional information about the strike can be obtained from the USWAs web site: <a href="index.htm">http://www.uswa.org/kaiser/index.htm</a>. # # # <hr> <a href="index.htm">Return to Kaiser Index</a> </body> </html>