RICHMOND, Calif.—“This is not just a Chevron problem. Corporations across the country are undermining safety in order to make more profits,” Gerardo Sánchez, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Senate in California, told Channel 14, a Spanish-language TV station, Aug. 11.

Sánchez was talking to workers waiting in line seeking compensation from Chevron for medical and property damage caused by an Aug. 6 fire at the company’s Richmond refinery.

“Union struggles against the bosses’ productivity drive are an important part of the fight for safety today and will help pave the way for bigger struggles tomorrow,” Sánchez said.

—JOEL BRITTON