By Staff - Earth First! Journal, Lughnasadh / August 1, 1990
“The timber companies treat the loggers and millworkers the same way they treat the forests—as objects to exploit for maximum profit.”
—Judi Bari, October 1989
In the entire timber industry, no company demonstrates the above like Georgia-Pacific. G-P, whose Northern California operations are based at Fort Bragg, is not only a primary culprit in the destruction of ancient forests, but has announced plans to eliminate thousands of North Coast jobs by moving its processing facilities to Mexico.[1] This maneuver will not only give the company access to a fresh pool of nonunion, low-paid labor, but turn Northern California into a timber colony, looted of its resources and jobs.
On Saturday, July 21, two thousand Redwood Summer activists targeted G-P with a rally in Fort Bragg, followed by a march to the pulp mill. The day of protest, organized by Industrial Workers of the World, Seeds of Peace, Earth Action Network, and Earth First!, began at 10 AM with music and speeches.
A counter-demonstration, organized by the industry-sponsored Yellow Ribbon coalition, took place on the opposite end of town.
At 2 PM, Redwood Summer demonstrators paraded to the California Department of Forestry building and on to the pulp mill. Although occasionally confrontational, there was no violence and only six arrests.
There, marchers deeded the mill to those whose it really is: the people of Fort Bragg. At the same time, Redwood Summer organizers insisted that the mill not just reduce, but eliminate its emissions of dioxin and other deadly toxics. Two timber workers were invited to speak, and shared concern with the crowd about log exports, sustained yield logging and their families’ future.
Notes:
[1] Actually the author of this article is slightly mistaken, as it was, in fact, Louisiana-Pacific (not Georgia-Pacific) who was offshoring their workforce.