Speaker 1: On this day in working class history, the sixth of February.
Speaker 1: And on the sixth of February two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: six thousand workers at the Bridgestone Firestone Rubber Plantation in Harbell, Liberia,
Speaker 1: walked out on wildcat strike in protest at low pay,
Speaker 1: poor conditions, child labour, and union corruption. Four thousand other
Speaker 1: workers were casual tappers, who were required to tap six
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty trees per day in return for a
Speaker 1: payment of three dollars and thirty eight cents. The pace
Speaker 1: of work was such that workers could only meet their
Speaker 1: quotas by using their own children to help them work.
Speaker 1: Workers also complained about the lack of democracy in their union,
Speaker 1: the Firestone Agricultural Workers' Union of Liberia and the union
Speaker 1: withholding union dues. One worker, Lawrence Tamba, aged fifty seven,
Speaker 1: told Iron News quote, we are living in the plantation
Speaker 1: beyond human imagination. Most of the housing units as taffas
Speaker 1: live in, are dilapidated end quote. Three days later, on
Speaker 1: February ninth, it was reported that the strike had been suspended,
Speaker 1: but workers then occupied their union office and demanded a
Speaker 1: change in union leadership. The strike was eventually called off
Speaker 1: after two weeks, when President Ellen Johnson's SURLEIF intervened and
Speaker 1: mediated an agreement from Firestone to build better housing and
Speaker 1: more schools and clinics for workers and their families. Firestone
Speaker 1: workers organizing would continue, and they would strike again the
Speaker 1: following year. The sources maps and all of our anniversaries.
Speaker 1: Each day, check out the on this Day section of
Speaker 1: our stories at at stories stopworkingclasshistory dot com, and if
Speaker 1: you value our work, support us at Patreon dot com
Speaker 1: slash working class history. Links In the show notes, the
Speaker 1: music by a Decado Are See you Tomorrow