Members of the IAM tend to participate in a lot of marches, but marches in the Big Easy, New Orleans, LA are quite different than your normal labor march.
On a beautiful October Saturday morning, 2,000 union members, city activists and business owners met at the Louisiana Superdome to march to SAVE OUR SHIPYARD, to save 5,000 good jobs and the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. Local Lodge 37 members are part of the Metal Trades contract at Avondale, and they were joined by International President Tom Buffenbarger and Chief of Staff to the IP, Diane Babineaux, and members of Local Lodge 470 in nearby Lake Charles, LA.
In addition to signs and chants of “Save our shipyard! Save our Shipyard!”, the music of the Treme Brass Band, a New Orleans fixture and all members of the local Musicians Union, led the way with a distinctively New Orleans flare.
IP Buffenbarger spoke at the rally, saying “This city must stand together, and we can make our voice heard. I want to see us continue to build ships at Avondale for many years to come. We can win, and we will win!” to cheers from the crowd.
It’s an important fight. Huntington Ingalls, the corporate owners of the Avondale shipyard, plan to close down the shipyard and lay off 5,000 hard working men and women. The owners are counting on a $270 million payout from the federal government that is available only if the shipyard is shut down. They have resisted offers of competent interested buyers to purchase the shipyard and continue to build ships.
The workers have joined with business activists, community activists and clergy to form AvondaleSOS (Save Our Shipyard), with a website at avondalesos.org. Photos from the rally are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/communicatorsouthern/sets/72157627672149801/
