Thread: Local fishermen block mouth of Bayou to protest BP hiring, p

Local fishermen block mouth of Bayou to protest BP hiring, payment practices
By Casandra Andrews
June 02, 2010, 9:33AM
View full size(Press-Register/John David Mercer)Johnny Bosarge, an oysterman for 14 years, stands in protest Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at the Bayou la Batre, Ala., city docks. Local fishermen protested Wednesday, claiming BP PLC lied when it made promises about helping local seafood industry workers hurt by the oil spill.
View full size(Press-Register/John David Mercer)A boat is painted with a protest message on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, in Bayou La Batre, Ala., where fishermen angry with BP PLC let their feelings be known. (Press-Register/John David Mercer)

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. -- Before dawn today, more than half a dozen small boats formed a line near the mouth of the bayou, effectively blocking access to the Mississippi Sound to protest what some local fishermen called unfair hiring and payment practices by BP PLC.

A handmade sign that read "Commercial 1st We need work now" hung from one of the vessels idling in the waterway. A smaller gray boat was spray-painted with bright orange letters "44 days still pumping BP lied."

At least two boats were blocked from passing through the mouth of the Bayou before police and other authorities asked the men to end the blockade or face arrest.

Phone calls for a response from BP's incident command in Mobile went unanswered by mid-morning.

The owner of the boat with the orange message, Brent Buchanan, was taken from the docks in handcuffs by local police about an hour after the protest began at 5 a.m. His two sons watched from a small pier a few feet away.

Buchanan said later he was asked to bust up the protest and refused. So he was ticketed for interfering with police and eventually released.

After Buchanan was taken to a cruiser, owners of the other boats began slowly moving the skiffs and trawlers out of the way. The work boats passed a few minutes later.

"I knew it was going to come to that," Buchanan said, holding the yellow ticket in his fist as the sun rose. He brought his two boats and family out "to get a point across to the community. We need a job."

Dozens of supporters surrounded the area at the mouth of the bayou, about 100 yards from where BP has an operation center set up at the docks.

BP owns the well where the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded April 20, killing 11 men. Since then, the company has tried a variety of measures to stop millions of gallons of oil from leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Most waters have been closed to commercial fishing as reports of oil coming ashore on Dauphin Island emerged this week.

Ray Foster, 62, who owns the trawler Miss Joyce, docked his wooden-hulled boat across from the others in a show of solidarity Wednesday morning. "I ain't against nobody making money," Foster said, "but I think BP ought to put all our commercial fishermen's boats to work."

Foster, of Heron Bay, who was hired by BP through its vessels of opportunity program, said he and his crew were on standby for 14 days and submitted an invoice for payment. That was more than a week ago. "They told me to stand by the phone," Foster said. As of Wednesday morning, more than nine days later, he hadn't been called back to work or paid for his service. "I need to go to work."

Several other fishermen at the docks Wednesday, including Philip Seaman and Michael Sprinkle, of Irvington, said they are still waiting on checks from BP for two weeks of work.

"They hired me for 14 days," Sprinkle said. "They've got boats that have been working for 30 days."

Sprinkle, 26, owns two boats, and said if it weren't for the oil contaminating the water, he would be out catching shrimp right now: "It's ruined us. I don't think we'll get to do it again. Especially if they don't get it stopped anytime soon."

Sprinkle said he has spent hours calling BP phone numbers to find out when he'll get paid or get work again: "They said be patient and wait by the phone."

Wendy Buchanan, who's husband was arrested, said he, too, was working for BP but has yet to get paid. "We're frustrated and tired of the run-around," Wendy Buchanan said. "We had six people employed under us. A lot of these guys, this is all they know."

Wendy Buchanan thinks it would be fair for BP to hire people whose income depends on commercial fishing for a living. "They need to go by tax returns," she said. "I know people who have quit jobs to come do this."

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/local_f ... th_of.html

About about using them to do this BP!!!!

Cool solution to clean up oil disaster.

http://www.wimp.com/solutionoil/


Kathyet

Just the begining. Don't worry....Obama will fix it...with a boat load of our money!!!!