Local Earth First!ers lock down in Atlanta Staples

Asheville activist Scott Williams locks down in the aisle of an Atlanta Staples.

Editor’s note: the following is a first-person account by a participant in the action.

By Olivia Lim

Atlanta, Georgia, Feb. 19— Earth First! members from Asheville and activists from around the South occupied Staples in downtown Atlanta on February 17, to protest the largest chain of office supply superstores in the world. Eight people blockaded the paper aisle locking down to bloody tree stump effigies. About 75 protesters rallied in front of the store carrying signs and chanting along with the “radical cheerleaders.” Two activists unfurled a twenty-foot banner that read, “On Sale Now-Clearcut Southern Forests” from the roof of the store.

About forty police arrived minutes after the action was deployed. They immediately cleared all protesters from the store except for those locked down and reporters. Outside, the police unsuccessfully tried to get the protesters to leave the premises. In spite of the five paddy wagons, a dozen police cars, and many officers, the protesters held their ground and the radical cheerleaders screamed even louder, “Who’s that over there cutting all the maples? Making all the money. Why look, it’s Staples.”

Two hours into the action the cops figured out how to remove the activists attached to the bloody stumps and hauled them off to jail. The action ended soon after that, but our campaign against Staples has just begun.

Why Staples?

A nationwide campaign targeting Staples for selling paper products from clear-cut forests was launched this past November with over 75 protests across the United States. French Broad Earth First! and Katuah Earth First! turned up the heat on February 17, because of Staples involvement in the destruction of Southern forests. More than half of the paper in the US comes from Southern forests and these forests contain the greatest biological diversity in the continental United States. Habitat destruction from industrial logging is the leading cause of the current mass species extinction. It also contributes to the destruction of marine ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems, degrades water quality, and facilitates erosion.

The South is the largest paper-producing region in the world, and our forests are under siege because of giant office supply corporations such as Staples. This office supply giant pays for the clearcutting of thousands of acres of forests every year by creating a market for virgin fiber paper products. Along with creating the market, Staples also promotes mass consumption of virgin fiber paper. The expansion of the paper industry throughout the South due to companies such as Staples has resulted in unprecedented levels of clearcutting and the conversion of native forests to pine plantations. The consequences for the land, communities, and local economies have been devastating.

The demands

When we walk down paper aisle at Staples we see clearcut Southern forests. Consumers don’t want to buy products that come from destroyed forests. People would purchase 100% post consumer fiber and tree-free paper products, but Staples does not give consumers a choice. Ninety-seven percent of their office copy paper comes from clearcut forests. In 1999, the CEO of Staples made a salary of $39 million while Staples says they cannot afford to buy and sell high post-consumer content and tree free paper. Staples must change their purchasing and supply policies. As long as the native forests of the South are still under siege, we will continue to put pressure on Staples. Earth First! and environmental organizations across the nation demand that Staples:
*Immediately phase out all wood and paper products made from old growth fiber.
*Immediately phase out all wood and paper products made from fiber from US public lands.
*Commit to achieving 50% post consumer content for all paper products within two years and begin an immediate phase out of all products that are made from 100% virgin wood fiber.
*Make available 100% post consumer paper and paper that is made from agricultural fiber by designating and stocking permanent shelf space at all stores and other points of sale. *Educate all employees, customer and suppliers on the benefits of recycled paper, recycling, alternative fibers, and healthy forests.

As Staples continues to buy and sell clearcut Southern forests, we will continue to escalate our tactics in the campaign against the office supply giant until they meet our demands.

The arrestees and what you can do

The eight arrested at the February 17 action were jailed until the morning of February 19. They were charged with felony obstruction of an officer and misdemeanor criminal trespassing. At their arraignment on February 19 the felony charge was dropped to misdemeanor obstruction of an officer and the misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge still stood. They go back to court March 16 and face 30 to 100 hours of community service. For more information and how you can help the arrestees email mamarevolution@aol.com.

You can help with the Staples campaign. Another national day of action against Staples will take place March 28. Organize an event in your area.

Workers riot in South Korea

Workers calsh with police in Seoul, South Korea.

Compiled by Robert Brown

February 20— Following the lay-off of 1,750 workers at Daewoo, South Korea’s third largest manufacturer, workers engaged police in pitched battles in the area of the Daewoo plant in Bupyong, about eighteen miles west of Seoul.

About 300 laid-off workers and their families began a sit-down protest Friday night inside the Bupyong plant. Early Saturday, they were joined by 50 workers who slipped past police lines. An estimated 2,500 riot police in helmets and armed with plastic shields and batons blocked all gates into the plant. In scattered clashes over the weekend, at least two workers and three riot police were slightly injured. Police obtained arrest warrants for 30 union leaders but were reluctant to move into the plant for fear of violent clashes. Workers erected barricades at the gates with trucks and other steel structures, hurled gasoline bombs and turned fire hoses on the police. “We’ve nothing more to lose,” union leader Kim Il-sup said on state KBS-TV. “What can we do but protest.”

A solidarity march of 2,000 to the besieged plant burned two empty police buses. At one point, angry police officers used plastic shields to smash the windows of a van owned by the labor group. The fighting, which lasted for 20 minutes, broke out when police blocked the marchers from approaching the plant. Several ambulances, sirens wailing, headed to the scene. One policeman was taken away, bleeding from a leg. Police declined to comment on the number of injuries and arrests. Officials at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said they would hold more protests until police release 80 workers detained Monday at Bupyong.

The labor fight-backs occur in the context of a major effort by Korean government officials, Daewoo owners and management, and Daewoo’s creditors to sell the company to US company General Motors. The lay-offs are seen as an attempt to make the deal more attractive. GM has reportedly offered three and a half billion dollars for Daewoo, which applied for bankruptcy last November with debts of fifteen billion.

A minority opinion holds that the South Korean government should purchase Daewoo and run it as a national corporation.

South Koreans, who emerged from the dramatic free fall of their economy in 1997 with an equally spectacular recovery by 1999, are shocked to find signs that their country again seems to be teetering economically. The stock market has plummeted by 40 percent in 13 months, and the banks are still saddled with bad debts. Another round of bank reforms and looming bankruptcies may put as many as 200,000 out of work this year. The Korean National Statistical Office said that January’s jobless figures are the highest in ten months, and that February’s were expected to be higher.

In the midst of an across-the-board review of the world’s economies, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official confirmed on February 20 that Korea’s economic growth forecast would soon be revised downward.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC, Korea Herald, Korea Times