Burmese Refugees Battle Oppression in U.S. Plant
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Aung Oo fled his native Burma with his family to escape the brutality, ethnic violence and repression of that country’s military dictatorship.
After being allowed to legally migrate to the United States under the refugee resettlement program, he faces another kind of oppression―working for an employer that pays him half what he should make and that forces him and his co-workers, both native and foreign, to work in unsafe conditions.
So on Sept. 8, Aung Oo and a U.S.-born employee, Tim Hand, went on strike against W&K Steel on behalf of all the other 35 workers in the plant, located in Rankin, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh. They are still on strike.
In a letter to W&K, they demanded that management correct such egregious safety violations as water running down into electrical panels, frayed extension cords with exposed wires in standing water, lack of ventilation, exposure to extreme cold weather and lack of safety training. They also demanded an end to discrimination and equal pay for equal work.
