Members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades were joined by hundreds of other community and union activists including the Laborers, Jobs with Justice, Fuerza Laboral, Teamsters Local 251, the SEIU, and the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty to rally outside of the shipyards of J. Goodison at Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
This coalition of labor, community, and faith groups were joined by Rhode Island State Representative Aaron Regunberg to support over 50 full-time shipyard workers who want to unionize to make their workplace safer. Employees at J. Goodison have expressed particular concern over lead exposure, and the company is currently under active investigation by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
WLNE ABC 6 News reported that employees “share horror stories from the years they’ve been working there, saying that the company doesn’t view their safety as a priority.” Local leaders of the IUPAT aim to change that.
Continue to visit www.IUPAT.org for more updates on this campaign.