The UE National Officers today issued the following statement in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux people of North Dakota in their struggle to protect their land and water from the oil industry.
UE joins others in the labor movement in condemning the ongoing violent attacks on the Standing Rock Sioux nation and others who oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline. These attacks by a private security company bring back horrific memories of the notorious Pinkertons, who used clubs, dogs and bullets to break up peaceful worker protests.
As delegates to UE's 74th National Convention said in the resolution "Protect Our Planet for Future Generations" in August 2015: "The energy profiteers want a world where both labor and environmental standards are in a race to the bottom. If they get their way, we get poverty and a poisoned planet. To defeat them and ensure the right of all people to live, work, and play in safe, healthy, and clean environments, we need to form stronger alliances"
We support the National Day of Action on September 13, and call on the Obama administration to permanently stop construction of this pipeline.
Peter Knowlton, General President
Andrew Dinkelaker, General Secretary-Treasurer
Gene Elk, Director of Organization