Forging a Common Bond

"Timothy J. Minchin studies one of the longest labor disputes in American history, a lockout involving the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers' International Union and BASF, a German-based chemical manufacturer. The dispute ran from 1984 to 1989 at the BASF plant in Geismar, Louisiana, and was resolved only after the union applied an unusual strategy of alliance with environmentalists in order to bring pressure against the company from several directions at once. Minchin examines the range of innovative tactics applied by the union, from joining with Greenpeace on a "Toxic March" through Louisiana to raising concerns about possible links between plant emissions and residents' health problems, especially the state's high cancer rate. He also documents how the union used workers' awareness of past environmental practices to disrupt the company's efforts to expand operations at the site."--BOOK JACKET.