The fire that tore through the Malden Mills textile plant in Massachusetts and the response of the factory's owners, exposes the ugly face of capitalism. While the big- business press tries to give the impression that this was some sort of natural disaster that the company and employees are suffering through together, the testimony of workers in the plant makes clear that the December 11 explosion and fire was just one more case of a boss's criminal negligence and disregard for the lives of working people.
The company had been cited in the past for inadequate emergency plans, and faulty fire detection and suppression systems. There had been other serious fires in recent years, including in the area that blew up December 11. Workers often complained of inadequate ventilation, while being kept in the dark about what dangerous chemicals were being used. The boss put his precious profits first, and safety last.
Many workers barely escaped with their lives as supervisors ordered operators to stand by their machines as the fire spread. Yet, the owner of this death trap mill is now being hailed as a hero by the capitalist politicians and media - with some union officials joining the chorus - for promising to reopen the plant and agreeing to pay one month's wages to the 1,400 workers left jobless.
The state's gesture of "compassion" has been to waive the waiting period for workers to collect unemployment compensation. But these public relations gestures - aimed primarily at muting any calls for a thorough investigation into the fire - can't hide the fact that the company was running an unsafe plant for years and the fire was an accident waiting to happen.
There is nothing unusual about what happened at Malden Mills. As a norm, bosses plead poverty or "undue burden" to avoid taking serious safety measures. Government agencies that are supposed to watch for violations are often woefully understaffed or complicit with the bosses. The owners pressure workers to accept dangerous conditions out of fear of unemployment. According to big-business mouthpieces like the Boston Globe, we should feel "lucky" to have the job at all.
As competition deepens among the employers in this period of economic depression, they will cut more corners on safety at the same time that they drive to slash workers' wages and other conditions. The bosses will continue to press this war against working people here as they drive to war against the working class in Yugoslavia, and elsewhere around the world.
Working people must take an uncompromising stance against the greedy Malden Mills bosses and all other employers who act with a similar disregard for human life. It is the working-class movement above all that cares about safe job conditions - a life and death question.
Only workers and our unions have the interest and ability to wage a real fight for safe and healthy working conditions, along with jobs for all.
The labor movement should demand:
A full, public investigation of the disaster at Malden Mills and criminal charges against those responsible.
No loss of income for mill employees. Unemployment compensation at union scale wages for as long as the workers are out of a job.
Full medical coverage for all those injured and out of work. The company must pay for the results of its actions.