BY DEAN COOK
HOUSTON - The locked-out workers from Crown Central
Petroleum in Pasadena, Texas, are organizing a rally to bring
together workers who are engaged in struggle to mark the
third anniversary of the lockout at Crown. The 252 members of
the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Union
(PACE - formerly OCAW) were locked out of their jobs on Feb.
5, 1996, when they refused to accept a concessionary contract
that would have eliminated their seniority and 105 jobs for
union workers, making the jobs temporary.
The workers are not only fighting for a fair contract so that they can return to work, they are also defending themselves against a civil lawsuit Crown has filed against them in an attempt to destroy the solidarity of the workers and their union.
The lawsuit, filed in Federal Court, names 14 workers, one union official, and their Local, and charges the workers with sabotaging the refinery - also Crown's justification for the lockout.
Organizers of the rally have invited members of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (BFAA); National Organization for Women (NOW); members of the Catfish Workers of America fighting for justice in Belzoni, Mississippi; Steelworkers on strike at Titan Tire in Natchez, Mississippi; Steelworkers locked out at Kaiser Aluminum; and United Mine Workers of America members from the recent strike in Illinois. So far, the BFAA, NOW, and the Kaiser workers have confirmed they will have speakers at the rally.
Everyone is invited. Come listen to workers speak and then participate in an action at the Crown refinery gates.
The rally is scheduled for Feb. 5, 1999, at Local 4-227 located at 704 East Pasadena Freeway in Pasadena, Texas, and then at the refinery gates. The rally will be divided into two parts, the first beginning at 11:00 a.m., the second at 3:30 p.m. In between, everyone is invited to a reception at the hall for hot-dogs and good conversation.
For more information about this rally, check the Defending Workers Rights' newsletter at www.nwwin.com/~ocaw4227, or e- mail us at dcook@nwwin.com, or call 713-475-9560.
Another rally is being organized in Baltimore, Maryland, where Crown's corporate office is located. This rally, organized by the staff of PACE, is scheduled for February 11 at the Blaustein Building at One North Charles Street in downtown Baltimore.
For more information about the Baltimore rally, contact the Crown Boycott Office at 410-837-7906.
Dean Cook is a locked-out member of member of PACE Local 4- 227. This article will be appear in the next issue of the Defending Workers Rights newsletter.