councilor.org
| Source | D. Ohmans |
| Date | 99/05/01/02:30 |
| /* Written 2:47 PM Mar 25, 1998 by jshell@netcom.com in igc:labr.all */ /* ---------- "Release Jailed Nigerian Labor Leade" ---------- */ NEWS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE OIL, CHEMICAL & ATOMIC WORKERS INT'L. UNION, AFL-CIO For Immediate Release: March 25, 1998 Contacts: Roger Bradley, Dir., Atlantic Region - 703-876-9700 Joe Drexler, Special Projects Director - 303-987-5349 Bob Burdick, International Rep. - 609-428-3115 Art Wilson, International Rep. - 302-234-0705 Oil Workers' Union Begins Campaign To Win Release of Jailed Nigerian Labor Leaders Philadelphia Refineries of Sun Company Targeted in Protest Over Use of Nigerian Crude Oil LAKEWOOD, CO -- The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW) will start efforts today to win the release of Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi, two Nigerian oil union leaders who have been imprisoned since 1994 and 1996. The two labor leaders have been declared "prisoners of conscience" by Amnesty International. They are believed to be in poor health, and have been denied medical care and legal assistance. The OCAW efforts are part of a worldwide campaign to win the release of the jailed labor leaders. The actions are being coordinated by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions -- representing some 20 million union members worldwide -- and to which OCAW is affiliated. The campaign is promoting an international boycott of Nigerian crude oil to secure the union leaders' release. The U.S. is the largest importer of Nigerian crude oil. OCAW actions are viewed as a "significant first step to let U.S. oil companies and the Nigerian government know that we are preparing for action," said Robert Wages, OCAW President. OCAW represents almost all of the unionized oil refinery workers in the U.S. The first OCAW effort starts today at Philadelphia-area refineries operated by Sun Company. Similar efforts will start next week at Tosco, which operates a refinery in Marcus Hook, Pa. "We will be attempting to persuade the companies to find another source of crude oil," said Roger Bradley, director of OCAW's Atlantic Region. "If the Pope can speak out against Nigeria's military dictatorship and for the release of political prisoners, so can we," said Bob Burdick, OCAW international representative, in referring to Pope John Paul's call for the release of political prisoners during his visit to Nigeria five days ago. Informational handbilling and one-on-one discussions will be occurring throughout this week and next at Sun and Tosco refineries in the Philadelphia area. The actions are aimed at informing and educating union members on the situation in Nigeria. OCAW members will also be signing petitions addressed to each company's CEO, calling for an end to the use of Nigerian crude oil and asking that the CEOs use their leverage to seek the trade union leaders' release. Postcards from OCAW members at the refineries and other OCAW-represented workplaces on the East Coast, demanding the release of Kokori and Dabibi, are also being sent to the Nigerian Ambassador in Washington, DC. OCAW will gradually escalate its activities, targeting oil refining companies nationwide, until the trade union leaders are released. Other U.S. oil companies importing Nigerian crude are Mobil, Texaco, Chevron, Shell, and Phillips Petroleum. Letters were sent by President Wages on Tuesday to the CEOs of oil companies which process Nigerian crude, urging them to use their influence to seek release of the trade unionists and to find an alternative source of crude oil. "Although we are directly seeking the release of Kokori and Dabibi, we join with others throughout the world who are calling for the release of all political prisoners in Nigeria and for the restoration of democracy," added Wages. Frank Kokori, general secretary of NUPENG -- which represents Nigeria's production and refinery oil workers -- was imprisoned by the current Abacha dictatorship after oil workers struck in 1994 in protest over the military regime's draconian anti-labor decrees. Milton Dabibi, general secretary of PENGASSAN -- largely representing white-collar oil company employees -- was jailed in 1996 for protesting the lack of democracy and the incarceration of Kokori. Both unions have been taken over by the military government and have had their bank accounts frozen. |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho