DISTRICT 1 OHIO

Steel goes after Dupont

groundwater are ination

CIRCLEVILLE USW researchers
lave been all over the Dupont

ings available to media. The
USW says Dupont is “mired
in hypocrisy, controversy and
a possible cover-up.”

DISTRICT 2 MICHIGAN

Locals band together to
organize in health care
SAGINAW. Steelworkers’ local
unions that worked together

rganize private health care
workers at the St. Marys
hospital here this past sum-
mer. Wages, pensions and
inconsistent practices were
the key issues highlighted in
the union’s campaign.
District 2 Director Harr

m-
mended member-organizers
who came in fro
Le dl California.
s to

Care facilities in Wisconsin

and Michigan. The USW rep-
aoe over 25,000 American
health care workers.

A — day’ for labour says Leo Gerard

CHICAGO In Iate July, three major
unions owing millions in back dues to
the AFL-CIO: the SEIU, Teamsters and
UFCW, made a devastating decision to
mark the soth anniversary of America’s
House of Labour, by disaffiliated from it.
Calling themselves leading proponent of
the “Change to Win Coalition,” the
unions decided to pull out rather than
stick it out and make reforms to an

On July 25, the evening proceeding the
levadhacenis cornet USWA nt ternational

as a stragic day because those that ee the

and shame on them.”

Gerard eal that the ites cae
unions, wl d
put more resources into organizing ae
less into political action campaigns, are
provoking divisions among American
labour when a need for unity has never
been greater. Today only 12.5 per cent of

moves to divide U.S. labour. ar.-cio

American workers belong to a union.

support large-scale programs in both.
r a plan adopted under AFL-CIO
oana John Sweeney’s leadership, organ-
ing will be increased. Industry ©: rg ganizing

O8

in core industries and encourage member
mobilization to organize.

BP REFINERY KILLED 15
Union questions OSHA
deal on blast penalty

BEYOND PETROLEUM (BP), formerly

deal following an investigation into a hor-

ma eqlosion ae tie conan s Texas City,
y The blast

killed j 1,

ing women, some who were vapourized. One
hundred and seventy were injured.

BP will pay out the largest settlement in
OHSA’s history. But the agency’s citation

reached.
Normally a citation, la the eneliess
tion, is posted an en there are negotia
tions for a a ee In latter ce

workers at BP.

USW International President Leo Gerard
said: “We will never know what the
traded away to get the settlement.” He
added that workers, their families and com-
munities have a right to know what the
agency found out. USW Region 6 Director
Gary Beevers not that BP’s fine amount to
less than a half-day of corporate earnings
and don’t even equal the money that would
have been spent to prevent the the blast.

32 T DECEMBER 2005 THE ALLIED WORKER