Central Labor Council Support
Bolsters Crown Boycott Campaign


MOMENTUM FOR THE CROWN Central Petroleum boycott campaign is gaining as central labor councils throughout the Southeast rally and picket in support of the 252 locked-out workers at Crown's Pasadena, Texas, refinery.

Central labor council support bolstered recent events commemorating the three-year anniversary of the Crown lockout on Feb. 5. On that date in 1996, Crown locked out its workers, using unproved charges of sabotage. The former OCAW claims that Crown locked out the workers because they refused to strike over the company's offer of gutting seniority and replacing nearly half the work force with contract laborers.

Two hundred union members and supporters attended the anniversary rally at the Houston, Texas, Local 4-227 hall and the Pasadena refinery. Besides representation from the Harris County AFL-CIO Council in Houston, Texas, the event drew Steelworkers and Catfish Workers who are on strike or locked out, according to Bobby Phillips, the Houston coordinator of the Crown campaign.

The Harris County AFL-CIO Council has worked to assist the locked-out workers through its community services program and by encouraging their affiliates to attend Local 4-227 rallies.

"It's difficult because there aren't any Crown stations in this area, and we'd love to have a target," said Richard Shaw, president of the Harris County AFL-CIO Council. The labor council has asked local elected officials to urge state environmental regulators to enforce the law against Crown.

"As time goes on, we get more support from different people and organizations," said locked-out worker Dave Dela-houssaye, a 24-year Crown employee. "If it wasn't for them, the fight would have been over a long time ago."

Ellen Bari-Roberts, the main plaintiff in the discrimination lawsuit pending against Texaco. attended the Feb. 11 rally at the Blaustein Building at Crown Central headquarters. She linked the racism and sexism she experienced at Texaco to the race and gender class-action lawsuit eight union and management employees filed against Crown.

Ernie Grecco, president of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions, served as the emcee for the Feb. 11 rally. His organization has assisted in organizing at least four "Street Heat" rallies, and continues to inform its 200 affiliates of the Crown boycott and educate them about not patronizing Baltimore-area Crown gas stations.

"Many of the union leaders who had credit cards from Crown have torn them up and mailed them back," Grecco said. "Until those workers return to work, no matter what we do, it won't be enough."

The boycott campaign's "adopt-a-station" program is proceeding rapidly in the Atlanta area, thanks to the Atlanta Labor Council. The Labor Council, Jobs with Justice and the Martin Luther King parade committee have adopted seven gas stations that sell Crown fuel. A Feb. 21 rally of 100 trade unionists and Jobs with Justice members virtually shut down an Atlanta gas station for several hours.

"You just have to raise your voice against the evil that is present," said Stewart Acuff who is president of the Atlanta Labor Council. "We have to make clear that we're willing to take a stand against it."

Also giving a great boost to the Crown boycott campaign are United Auto Workers members. They have held informational pickets at Crown stations they have adopted in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Georgia. Al Lloyd, the regional coordinator for the United Auto Workers Region 8 Community Action Program, is planning to send mailings and place articles in CAP newsletters about the boycott.

"Every time they (the companies) win one of these fights, it's one more feather in their cap," said Lloyd. "We have to go after all of them and make sure the companies don't win any more."

PACE boycott activity is having an effect. Crown is eyeing a partial or total sale of its business in the future. The company has hired an investment bank to explore its options. Crown could be a buyer or seller, merge with another company, sell a portion of its business, buy part of another company or swap assets with another firm.

The PACESetter, vol.1 no.1, March 1999