LIBERIA: NEW UNION LEADERSHIP AT FIRESTONE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000887

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

AF/W FOR JBUELOW, PDAVIS, AOKEDIJI INR/AA FOR BGRAVES, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EAGR PGOV KDEM PHUM LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: NEW UNION LEADERSHIP AT FIRESTONE

REF: A. MONROVIA 0518


B. MONROVIA 0253

1.(U) SUMMARY: Members of the Firestone Agricultural Workers
Union of Liberia (FAWUL) elected new leadership on July 7
after months of infighting and two strikes. FAWUL is the
largest union of workers at the Firestone Plantations
Company. The elections were peaceful and turnout was high.
Austin Natee of the Aggrieved Workers Union was declared the
winner. Foreign and local observers declared the election
fair but the four losing candidates have protested the
results. The date of appointment has yet to be set by the
Ministry of Labor. The Labor Court invalidated the election
on July 20 until "certain issues" could be resolved. END
SUMMARY.

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Background
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2.(U) The FAWUL has been in dispute since December of 2006
when Labor Minister Samuel Woods suspended the leadership for
allegedly misappropriating funds. An interim leadership was
established by the Minister to run the organization until the
investigation could be completed. The suspended leadership
took this decision to the Supreme Court and got a writ of
prohibition against the interim leadership. The parent Union
of the FAWUL, the General Agricultural and Allied Worker
Union of Liberia (GAAWUL),intervened and the case was
removed from the court in April and negotiations began
between the FAWUL, the GAAWUL and the Minister of Labor for
settlement. (FYI: The Minister of Labor, Samuel Kofi Woods,
previously was the head of local labor NGO, the Foundation
for International Dignity (FIND). Additionally his sister is
suing Firestone, in a US court, for slave labor practices in
Liberia. END FYI) A faction of the FAWUL called the
Aggrieved Workers Union split to demand that the suspended
leadership and interim leadership both be ineligible to lead
the Firestone workers. On April 9 there were dueling
protests in front of the Ministry of Labor. The Aggrieved
Workers Union is backed by the Congress of National Trade
Unions of Liberia (CONATUL) while the GAAWUL continues its
support of the suspended FAWUL leadership. Adding to the
confusion, CONATUL receives help from the United Steel
Workers (USW) in America which represents Firestone workers
in the Ohio plant. On April 24, a "go slow" action by
Firestone workers halted operations at the plantation for a
day and UNMIL and the LNP had to be called in to restore
order. An April 28 meeting in Monrovia among union factions,
legislators from the House of Representatives and Firestone
management decided to hold new elections on July 7.

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Election
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3.(U) The Ministry of Labor appointed an elections
commission, led by Sister Mary Brown of the Catholic Church,
to oversee the election. 32 candidates ran for 7 positions.
There were 3,000 votes cast and Austin Natee won the
presidency with 1,367 votes (45% of the vote). The four
defeated presidential candidates have filed an official
complaint against the election, alleging that Austin Natee
violated the elections guidelines by engaging in
pre-campaigning activities. They also claimed that the
disqualification of one of the candidates by the Election
Commission was not justifiable.

4.(U) The United Steel Workers (USW) sent an elections
observation team from the US and Nigeria to observe. The
group, along with the general secretary of the CONATUL met
with Pol Off and Econ Counselor at the embassy on July 10.
They all confirmed that the election was free and fair and
that they hoped that the Firestone management would now work
with the newly elected leadership in addressing worker issues
in pay and educational opportunities for family members.


6. On July 20 the Labor Court in Monrovia nullified the
election. This was in response to an injunction filed by the
GAAWUL asserting that the Minister went ahead with the
election without consulting Liberian law. Additionally the
Minister of Labor, Sister Brown and the Agricultural Minister
were fined in the decision.

5.(SBU) COMMENT: The election of Austin Natee will not stop
the infighting that has plagued the FAWUL. Natee is seen as
a favorite of the Minister of Labor and as such, the
supporters of the suspended former leaders of the FAWUL are
expected to undermine his leadership. The GAAWUL is also

MONROVIA 00000887 002 OF 002


suspicious of the connection between Natee and the Ministry
of Labor. The Firestone management is wary of the new
leadership because they worked with Minister Woods when he
was Director of FIND to help prepare the case of alleged
slave labor against Firestone in the US. Another potentially
disturbing issue is that the USW observers seemed anxious
that the workers of the Firestone plantation receive wages
far above the prevailing rates in Liberia. Such wages,
despite the current high world price for rubber, could be
ruinous to an industry that needs to heavily reinvest after
the destruction wrought during 14 years of conflict if it
wants to remain viable. END COMMENT.
Booth