Local 235A bargaining committee member Jessie Green joined dozens of the USW’s international allies in London on December 10 for a rally outside the headquarters of Sherwin Alumina’s corporate owner, global mining giant Glencore.
The protest, which coincided with Glencore’s annual Investor Day as well as International Human Rights Day, demanded that the company end its abuse of workers around the world, including the two-month lockout of 450 Local 235A members.
“This is a company that makes huge profits off the backs of workers and tries to bully us into accepting less and less,” Green said. “It’s corporate greed - pure and simple - and unless we stand up to it, it will only get worse.”
Members of Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, also took part in the protest. Unite is the USW’s partner in the 3 million- member international union Workers Uniting.
“The only way we can stand up to these corporate giants is to bring the fight to them,” Green said. “Through Workers Uniting and other global alliances, we are able to challenge the abuse of workers all over the world.”
Green also delivered a letter to Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg on behalf of Workers Uniting, calling on the company to negotiate in good faith to resolve the labor dispute at Sherwin, as well as those at Glencore-owned mines in Peru, South Africa and Colombia.
Pictured above is Jessie Green, second from right, rallies with USW allies outside Glencore headquarters in London. At center next to Green is Tony Burke, Assistant General Secretary of Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union.