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With 30,000 commercial fishing and
related jobs lost, there is a desperate need for employment among idled
workers. They have accused BP of unfair hiring practices in its Vessels
of Opportunity program and a severe lack of jobs. In August, BP
decreased the number of response workers from 45,000 down to 35,000.
In addition, many clean-up workers have
not received the pay they have coming to them and are being cheated out
of wages. There is widespread illness and demoralization among
their ranks due to equipment failures such as gaping gaps in useless
boom, general disorganization and other frustrations on the job.
As reported by The Nation, BP is
using free labor from the Prison/Industrial Complex in another one of
its infamous cost-cutting measures. This explains why fisherfolk were
not being hired to the degree of their availability.
Instead, BP has been using inmates from
Louisiana
correctional institutions to shovel crude off of the state’s beaches.
At first, they were wearing scarlet pants and white tees with “Inmate
Labor” printed on them in bold. The sight apparently outraged the
locals so the uniforms were changed to BP shirts, jeans, and rubber
boots with no prison markings.
Although the inmates are not getting
paid as part of their sentences, BP is Fireceiving remuneration for
exploiting them. Through the work opportunity tax credit, it receives
$2440 per week for each released inmate they “hire.”
In addition, Jim Hightower reports on
CommonDreams.org that BP told its investors it expects to receive $10
billion in subsidies from “Uncle Sugar” to help cover the costs of the
oil spill. Big Polluters like BP can get up to 35% of their business
losses deducted from their taxes. So once, again, it’ll be the
taxpayers footing the bill for clean-up.
On Aug. 7, at a news conference in Ocean Springs, Miss., members of
the commercial fishing community of four Gulf states
complained that they are being forced by the premature opening of inland
and Gulf waters to choose between a clean Gulf or their livelihood.
They demanded that local fishing people be given first and full
employment in the clean-up operation. “Fishermen would rather work
cleaning the severely damaged Gulf than selling tainted seafood,” said
Karen Savage.
Fishing families from the Gulf held a
news conference in Panama City, Fla.,
on Aug. 15, stating, “BP are liers and thugs,” and “Obama has let us
down.”
“Fishermen do not want to lose our
credibility or deliver contaminated seafood to market and make people
sick,” said Kathy Birren.
“While President Obama and state
officials claim that the Gulf is ‘open for business,’ these fishermen
say the spraying of dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico is ongoing and
they’re concerned that seafood pulled from impacted waters is unsafe
for eating.”
“It’s outrageous,” said Acy Cooper,
vice president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. “We don’t think
these waters are safe for shrimping, yet they open them anyway. BP is
laying off fishermen from the cleanup, so a lot of them won’t have a
choice. But we all know what will happen if contaminated shrimp gets
into the market. And the fishermen will get the blame.”
Workers in the fishing industry have
put forward the following demands:
• The closure of all fishing
waters until harvests go through oil and chemical dispersant testing.
• An immediate halt to all use of
chemical dispersants.
• The microbiological testing of all
seafood and fisheries with updated testing protocols.
• The hiring and training of commercial
fishermen for hazardous testing initiatives and clean-up work in a
culturally competent manner.
• The development of community-based
health centers by federal, state, and local agencies to service the
at-risk seafood-industry population.
• Blood tests administered for those
who are exposed to oil and dispersant while engaged in clean-up.
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