Twenty years ago, Nigerian women took over ChevronTexaco and won concessions
Twenty years ago, Nigerian women took over ChevronTexaco and won concessions
The following article first appeared on workers.org in two parts, dated Aug. 1 and 8, 2002. In honor of Black August founded in 1979, WW is reprinting slightly edited versions of both articles which can also be found in “Marxism, Reparations and the Black Freedom Struggle” on workers.org/book/marxis
This takeover included taking a couple of thousand employees and managers hostage. In two separate takeovers, these indigent women brought oil production virtually to a halt. This subsidiary normally produces half a million barrels daily. Nigeria as a whole produces 1.8 million barrels of oil a day, creating billions in profits for Big Oil.
Why have these women risked their lives to carry out these actions? They simply wanted to force a written agreement from ChevronTexaco, a multibillion-dollar global conglomerate, that it would provide their communities with electricity, schools, water systems, health clinics and other infrastructure to raise the level of their living standards. The women are also demanding that jobs be provided, including to their unemployed sons, and that pensions be provided for people over the age of 60.
The women protesters also decided to take these actions, because when their male counterparts attempted similar actions, they faced a greater risk of being arrested or physically harmed by police.