CWA Locals Join Chevron Protest in at California Refinery

Members of CWA Local 9412, UPTE-CWA 9119, and Pacific Media Workers Guild 39521 were a big part of the labor contingent at Aug. 3 march and protest in Richmond, CA, against Chevron, ongoing safety issues at the Richmond refinery, and the potential for more global warming if the company starts to process tar sands oil that would come from the XL pipeline.

The protest marked the one-year anniversary of an explosion at a Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif., which sent 15,000 area residents to local hospitals.

Nearly 3,000 protesters joined the demonstration and 210 were arrested when the march reached the refinery. More than 50 environmental, labor, community, and religious groups endorsed the action, including CWA partners Common Cause, Jobs with Justice, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and more.

Just after last year's explosion, the UC Berkeley Labor and Occupational Health Program helped create a coalition on refinery safety with labor and community activists.