Stand off in the Mojave Desert as 560 workers refuse global mining giant's demands! Rio Tinto Zinc, who has busted unions and destroyed small cities all over the world for decades, has aimed it's sights on this tiny desert town of 2,000.
UPDATE: From the locked out workers site www.boraxminers.com comes the news that a mediation date is set for tomorrow, April 9th. Members are preparing to attend shareholder meetings in London and Melbourne to speak out for the families of the locked-out workers. They’re also going to rally in front of the British Consulate offices in LA, Seattle, Boston and Canada. Thank you, commenters, that suggested I re-post this, or as one noted, "Rio Tinto Zinc – the worst company no one has ever heard of."
RTZ's intent, as they've done to their other mines, is to eliminate union contracts and replace it with "individual" contracts with each employees which would allow outsourcing their jobs, turning them into part-time at a whim, punishing employees for complaining to the Labor Relation board (damn, sounds almost like a West Virginia Coal Mine, doesn't it?). As outlined in this article from The Nation (PLEASE read complete article:
Labor War in the Mojave
http://www.thenation.com/...
The company wants a contract that would allow it to capriciously promote or demote; to outsource union jobs; to convert full-time to part-time positions with little or no benefits; to reorganize shift schedules without warning; to eliminate existing work rules; to cut holidays, sick leave and pension payments; to impose involuntary overtime; and to heavily penalize the union if workers file grievances against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.
As one worker put it, it's like waking up one morning and realizing you're married to a serial killer. Please check out their website at www.boraxminers.com, and read the Sagebrush Telegraph on the site.
These guys are fighting to hold the line, and stop the erosion of union benefits and membership. Please help them out!
http://www.ilwu.org/...