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20 March, 2006
A United Steel Workers (USW) local union in the US is alleging Bridgestone/Firestone (BFS) blocked a plant-gate effort to raise money for Firestone rubber plantation workers in Liberia. This would violate workplace rules as defined under the national US labor law statute.
USW Local 1055 in LaVergne, state of Tennessee, filed the charges last month with the US government over management’s action at a BSF auto/truck tyre plant employing 1,500 workers. The branch union was blocked by the company from collecting funds and sending the voluntary proceeds to some 6,000 plantation workers in war-infested Liberia, who, with their families, have been exposed to toxic chemicals in the cultivation of natural rubber.
“We’ve stood for years collecting for members who are ill or other locals on strike,” said USW Local 1055 President Lewis Beck. “Most recently, we collected to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.” The US government’s labor board will now investigate the charges and issue a ruling.