Response by Don Nelson, IWA Local #3-469 – Labor Notes, September 1990
I am incensed that Labor Notes would print the article supporting “Earth First!” and the Wobblies in their fight against the International Woodworkers of America and lumber workers throughout the Northwest.
Judi Bari and Roanne Withers, and their friends, are not supporters of workers. They are elitist agitators who jump from cause to cause and have no regard for truth or accuracy.
I have personally tried to convince them to work with the IWA to regulate forest practices sensibly so that we can continue to work but they chose confrontation with workers as their method of action.
The workers know what is happening to their jobs, and they know that Judi, Roanne, Earth First! and the Wobblies want socialistic anarchism [sic]. Judi’s friend Darryl says “his goal is to feralize himself. That human population is too high and that he supports zero production.”
That “sure, we’re under some peer pressure, and a lot haven’t felt good about tree spiking but the majority, by far, supports tree spiking as an appropriate tactic (Sacramento Bee, 4/12/90).”
Judi said, “We are not condemning Earth First!ers who endorse and continue to endorse tree spiking (Eureka Times Standard, 4/12/90.” “I think if we don’t overthrow the capitalists, we don’t have a chance to save this world ecologically…I think it is possible to have an ecologically sound society under socialism. I don not think it is possible under capitalism (New Settler Interview, May 1990).”
Workers need to unite to fight the elitists who would preserve all our nation’s productive timberlands and put us out of work, thereby eliminating wood and paper products.
Workers and true environmentalists can, and should, work together to prevent exploitation of our resources and ourselves by Wall Street speculators. Judi, Darryl and Roanne are not included in that equation. Your magazine should retract that entire article.