USW, Global Allies Present ‘Silver Medal’ at Conglomerate’s Houston Office
Contact: Ben Lilienfeld: (832) 556-0370, blilienfeld@usw.org
HOUSTON (February 26, 2015) — Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 235A, along with a group of allies from unions around the world, delivered a ‘silver medal’ to Glencore today in recognition of the global corporation’s second-place finish in the 2015 Public Eye Lifetime Awards for corporate irresponsibility.
The USW members, among 450 locked out of their jobs since Oct. 11 at Glencore’s Sherwin Alumina facility in Gregory, Texas, traveled to Houston with union members from Australia, Great Britain and South Africa for the event at Glencore’s Houston offices. The group later joined striking USW oil workers on picket lines at refineries in Houston, Deer Park and Texas City.
“Glencore is truly deserving of this recognition as one of the most irresponsible companies on the planet,” said USW District 13 Director Ruben Garza. “This company’s bad behavior doesn’t begin and end at Sherwin. Glencore has mistreated workers and harmed communities on nearly every continent. When a company that generates hundreds of billions in revenue each year consistently engages in this kind of reckless behavior, there must be consequences.”
Glencore, the 10th-largest company in the world with net income of $4.6 billion in 2013, finished ahead of Wal-Mart and behind only Chevron in the Public Eye online vote. Allegations of firings, anti-union intimidation and tax evasion have followed Glencore to work sites all over the world, from the United States to Australia, South Africa and South America.
In January, the USW filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Glencore’s lockout in Gregory is illegal. The union has offered to return to work while bargaining on a new contract continues, but the company has refused.
“It’s long past time for Glencore to do the right thing for this community and put these 450 hard-working members back to work,” Garza said.
For more information on Glencore and the Public Eye Awards, visit publiceye.ch.
USW District 13 represents more than 50,000 members in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing workers in a range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, health care, security, hotels, and municipal governments.
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