NEW YORK
Labor's road warriors confront AK Steel
By S.
Hedgecoke
Member, Communication Workers Local
14199
Printing Workers Sector
New York
Union road warriors from the AK Steel lockout in Mansfield,
Ohio, joined with New York labor activists to picket corporate
crimes outside the Waldorf Astoria hotel Sept. 25.
Inside the lush hotel, AK Steel--a company known for its
brutal working conditions and environmental
destruction--received the "Green Cross for Safety" medallion at
a National Safety Council fundraiser.
Some attendees decided not to go into the fundraiser after
encountering handbillers from Steel Workers Local 169 at the
door. Local solidarity activists from the International Action
Center, Jobs with Justice and Peoples Video Network joined the
locked-out workers.
The noisy picket drew the attention of some local
politicians who unexpectedly stopped to offer words of support,
including State Senator Tom Duane and City Council members
Christine Quinn and Steven DeBrienza.
Inside, environmental activists disrupted the
$5,000-per-table event and handed out flyers exposing AK
Steel's real safety record until they were thrown out of the
hotel.
Since 1992, 10 workers have been killed in AK Steel mills.
AK also faces millions of dollars in fines for air and water
pollution. Despite these and other crimes against the workers
and their communities, the National Safety Council allowed AK
to purchase its "safety award" for a $150,000 donation.
Steel Workers organizer Mike Zielinski told picketers,
"Wherever there's a corporate criminal, we'll be there" to
expose them.
Before wrapping up their action, the road warriors and
supporters surprised New York police with a march around the
Park Avenue hotel.
Locked out for a year
Local 169 members were locked out by AK--then known as Armco
Steel--after their last contract expired on Sept. 1, 1999.
During negotiations the company brought in an army of 200
uniformed security guards to intimidate union members. The
thugs walked around the plant, slapping their clubs in their
hands and glaring at the workers. A former guard later told the
Akron News-Journal that they were trained to provoke
violence.
After the lockout began, guards followed Local 169 members
and their families to and from the union hall and the grocery
store. They have even followed workers' children home from
school.
The company also engages in economic terrorism. AK filed
lawsuits against Local 169, the national Steel Workers union,
individual union members and city officials. AK Steel Chief
Executive Officer Richard Waldrop Jr. oversees this vicious
intimidation campaign.
But the Steel Workers refuse to bow down to AK. Teams of
road warriors, like the one that visited New York, are
traveling across Ohio and around the United States building
solidarity. Local 169 members also journeyed to Washington for
demonstrations against the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank last April.
For more information on the lockout or to arrange for a
speaker from Local 169, call (419) 522-9375. Donations of food
or cash can be made to the Local 169 Food Bank, 376 West
Longview, Mansfield, OH 44903.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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