Unions across Australia are showing solidarity with striking USW oil workers
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), which represents maritime workers working in the oil and gas industry, welcomed Mike Smith from USW Local 5 in Richmond, California to their Western Australia Conference February 24-27. The MUA delegates passed a resolution congratulating the USW “on their fight to ensure that workers and local communities can expect the highest levels of safety from Chevron and other oil companies.
“The MUA will work with the International Transport Workers and its affiliates to extend solidarity and support to the United Steelworkers in this important fight.”
The same week, Alan Scott and Bob Timbs, members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) who were in Texas to support locked-out USW members at Sherwin Alumina, took their solidarity one step further and joined the picket lines of USW Local 227 at LyondellBasell and Local 13-1 on strike at Marathon in Texas City, along with members of UNITE from the United Kingdom and the National Union of Mineworkers from South Africa.
The following week, USW representatives at the National Conference of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) met with AWU leaders from BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil to inform them about the strike. The AWU also pledged solidarity with the USW refinery workers.
