-Caveat Lector- > Marc Rich's Hidden History as a Union-Buster > By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > Longtime fugitive from justice Marc Rich has become the most > notorious > recipient of a presidential pardon since Richard Nixon. President > Clinton > issued a pardon for the commodities trader in the final hours of his > tenure > in office. > > What is now widely known about Rich has cast a dark cloud over what > Clinton hoped would be a glorious exit from the presidency. Charged > with > income tax fraud and conspiracy, Rich fled to Switzerland, from which > he > could not be extradited. Living in the lap of luxury, he continued > his > wheeling and dealing in international commodities markets, including > through trades with apartheid South Africa. He invested heavily in > seeking > a pardon, courting the Israeli government (dethroned Israel President > Ehud > Barak personally lobbied Clinton for Rich's pardon), hiring > top-ranking > officials from Democratic and Republican administrations to represent > him, > and relying on his ex-wife to lavish money on Democrats during the > Clinton > years. > > What is not widely known, at least outside of West Virginia and > certain > labor circles, is that Rich played a central role in one of the > highest > profile union-busting efforts the United States has seen in recent > decades. > > In the early 1990s, Marc Rich was the power-behind-the-scenes at the > Ravenswood Aluminum Corporation (RAC) facility in Ravenswood, West > Virginia, > site of one of the most embittered U.S. labor-management disputes of > recent > decades. > > The Ravenswood conflict has been chronicled by Tom Juravich and Kate > Bronfenbrenner in their inspiring account, Ravenswood: The > Steelworkers' > Victory and the Revival of American Labor (Ithaca, New York: > ILR/Cornell > University Press, 1999). > > In 1990, in a premeditated effort to break the union, RAC locked out > its > 1,700 workers, members of the United Steelworkers of America, and > hired > permanent replacements. > > As the contract deadline neared, RAC installed surveillance cameras, > new > security systems and a chainlink fence around the perimeter of the > facility. > The night of the lockout, the company brought in a goon squad > security force > equipped with riot gear, clubs, tear gas and video cameras used to > constantly monitor the workers' pickets. The goons introduced a > climate of > fear and made violence on the picket lines, and in the town, an > ever-present > fear. > > Caught unprepared, the Steelworkers' local was able to keep all but a > handful of workers from crossing the picket line and union solidarity > was > strong and militant, but RAC was ready to wait the workers out. > > As the lockout progressed, the Steelworkers' international union > became > engaged, and eventually launched a corporate campaign to complement > the > local's efforts. That corporate campaign took them to Marc Rich. > > The Ravenswood plant, which had been owned by Kaiser Aluminum for > four > decades, passed into the ownership of RAC in 1988. The union > discovered > that, behind a convoluted corporate ownership smokescreen, stood one > man > with a controlling interest in RAC: Marc Rich. > > It is unlikely that Rich initially knew what RAC was up to when the > lockout began -- RAC was just a piece in his global corporate puzzle. > But > about four months into the conflict, the union had made the Rich > connection and was calling on him to end the lockout. > > "From that point on, Rich was culpable for what went on and the > suffering > the Ravenswood workers went through," says Bronfenbrenner. > > For 20 long months, the workers lived on minimal strike benefits, six > months > worth of unemployment benefits and donated food and supplies. Being > out of > work for so long, even from a lockout where union solidarity remains > high, > takes an emotional toll to match the financial one. It is no > exaggeration > when Bronfenbrenner speaks of the suffering of the workers and their > families. > > As the Steelworkers tracked Rich to Switzerland and began applying > pressure > on his business operations in Europe, the corporate campaign moved to > a new > plane and the union discovered how extensive was Rich's reach. > > Soon they found themselves negotiating with Leonard Garment, White > House > Counsel under Richard Nixon, and William Bradford Reynolds, the > number two > at the Reagan Justice Department. Both Garment and Reynolds worked > for Rich > -- who would later show that he was right to trust in high-priced, > politically connected legal help when Jack Quinn, former Clinton > White House > Counsel, would do the crucial work to win Rich his pardon. > > As the Steelworkers' campaign got closer to Rich's significant > financial > interests, union representatives received numerous death threats. > > When left-leaning Michael Manley was elected president of Jamaica in > 1989, > the Steelworkers were hopeful he would follow through on promises to > cut his > predecessor's close ties to Rich -- ties which gave Rich access to > Jamaica's > alumina at less than half the market rate. But when Manley faced > immediate > pressure from the International Monetary Fund to raise foreign > capital, Rich > gave the government a $50 million cash advance. Manley then backed > down from > efforts to end the Rich connection. > > But the Steelworkers' comprehensive international campaign did > achieve major > successes, including blocking Rich's purchase of the Slovakian > National > Aluminum Company and a majority stake in a luxury Romanian hotel, > convincing > Budweiser and Stroh's not to buy RAC aluminum, and heaping unwanted > publicity on Rich. Meanwhile, local solidarity remained strong. > > This all cost Rich. In April 1992, Rich finally moved to replace > management at RAC and end the lockout. The final contract terms were > not > entirely favorable to the workers, but they had at least succeeded in > defeating the company's vicious attempt to bust the union. > > Asked about Clinton's pardon of Rich, Dan Stidham, who was president > of the > Ravenswood local during the strike and is now retired, says it is > "really > disappointing." > > Stidham modestly says that he's "pretty upset that Clinton would > pardon that > guy after all we went through for 20 months." > > In granting the pardon, Clinton probably did not know of Rich's > odious role > in the Ravenswood lockout. Perhaps, as he claims, he did not know of > Rich's > ex-wife's support for the Democrats. > > But neither of those facts, if they are facts, makes the pardon smell > any > better. > > If Clinton didn't know, he should have. And if he didn't know, it > only > highlights how in an increasingly corrupt political system, money not > only > can gain you access to the highest levels of influence and but can > enable corporate lawbreakers to launder their image and reputations. > > Ironically, even though Rich has won the right to return to the > United > States without facing trial, the attention surrounding the pardon has > permanently stained his reputation. > > That may be some small solace to the workers at Ravenswood, who will > forever know Rich as a criminal in more ways than one. > > > Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate > Crime > Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based > Multinational Monitor. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: > The > Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: > Common > Courage Press, 1999). > > (c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > _______________________________________________ > > Focus on the Corporation is a weekly column written by Russell > Mokhiber > and Robert Weissman. Please feel free to forward the column to > friends or > repost the column on other lists. If you would like to post the > column on > a web site or publish it in print format, we ask that you first > contact us > ([EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]). > > Focus on the Corporation is distributed to individuals on the > listserve > [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to corp-focus, send an > e-mail > message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text: > subscribe > > Focus on the Corporation columns are posted at > <http://www.corporatepredators.org>. > > Postings on corp-focus are limited to the columns. 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