BP voids fishermen's cleanup contracts in La., cites legal mix-up
May 2nd, 2010 1 Comments
Brandon Kruse/The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
VENICE, La. – David Kinnaird, BP’s liaison to Plaquemines Parish, spent Saturday night ripping up the contracts that hundreds of local commercial fishermen had signed to work for BP cleaning up the slick that could wipe out the local seafood industry.
It’s not that BP didn’t want to hire them. And there is nothing these fishermen would hesitate to do to save the bayous, canals and rivers where they and their families have made a living for generations – except this: Sign a contract with BP saying they will “hold harmless and indemnify … release, waive and forever discharge the BP Exploration and Production, Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, regular employees, and independent contractors … from all claims and damages” arising from helping to clean up the mess that BP has made.
No one wanted to waive the right to sue BP, but some fishermen, desperate for cash, signed the waiver anyway.
“I shouldn’t have signed it,” Louie Barthelemy said after leaving a three-hour training course for commercial fishermen interested in a BP cleanup job. Barthelemy was one of hundreds of fishermen who showed up at Boothville Elementary School on Saturday morning for the BP-sponsored class.
Sheriff’s deputies parked along the side of the road with their lights flashing to guide the stream of fishermen into the parking lot. Some who signed the contract did not speak English. Others admitted they could barely read or write but needed work and signed without knowing what the contract said.
“I was 8 or 9 years old when I started on a shrimp boat. I quit school. I can barely read or write,” said Darrell Moreau, a shrimp boat captain. “Who’s going to pay my bills? I got bill collectors calling.”
Confusion reigned. About 200 fishermen, many still in their muddy white rubber fishing boots, discussed BP’s offer to lease their boats and hire crews to lay booms to retain the slick and prevent it from leaking to their precious bayous.
The document they were asked to sign did not specify how much BP would pay, but some captains said they had been offered as much as $3,000 a day for their large boats and crews.
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COMMENTS
SIGN NO CONTRACT!!!
I pray for the workers who are cleaning up the oil, they need to be aware of the chemicals that will be used for the cleaning. Oil companies do not care about human health issues that arise from their toxic chemicals.
I am one of the 11,000+ cleanup workers from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, who is suffering from health issues from that toxic cleanup, without compensation from Exxon.
There is an on going lawsuit with VECO's insurance company, the company Exxon contracted for hiring employees. Please read my article below for more information.
The Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Leaves Exxon’s Collateral Damaged
Oil corporations like Exxon Mobil have control over what, when, where and how they will execute their operations! There are many oil spills happening every day, and oil companies turn their heads with no responsibility to environment or humanity.
The Corporations, Exxon and VECO, determined our quality of life 21 years ago during the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) cleanup.
My name is Merle Savage; a female general foreman during the EVOS beach cleanup in 1989, which turned into 20 years of extensive health deterioration for me and many other workers. Dr. Riki Ott visited me in 2007 to explain about the toxic spraying on the beaches. She also informed me that Exxon's medical records and the reports that surfaced in litigation brought by sick workers in 1994, had been sealed from the public, making it impossible to hold Exxon responsible for their actions. http://www.rikiott.com
Dr. Riki Ott has devoted her life to taking control from corporations and giving it back to We The People. If corporations continue to control our legal system, then We The People become victims. http://www.MovetoAmend.org
Dr. Riki Ott has written two books; Sound Truth & Corporate Myth$ and Not One Drop. Dr. Ott has investigated and studied the oil spill spraying, and quotes numerous reports in her books, on the toxic chemicals that were used during the 1989 Prince William Sound oily beach cleanup. Black Wave the Film is based on Not One Drop, with interviews of EVOS victims; my interview was featured in the section; Like a War Zone.
http://www.blackwavethefilm.com
Exxon developed the toxic spraying; OSHA, the Coast Guard, and the state of Alaska authorized the procedure; VECO and other Exxon contractors implemented it. Beach crews breathed in crude oil that splashed off the rocks and into the air -- the toxic exposure turned into chronic breathing conditions and central nervous system problems, along with other massive health issues. I am only one out of 10,000+ EVOS workers who suffer extreme health problems during and after the 1989 EVOS cleanup. Some of the illnesses include neurological impairment, chronic respiratory disease, leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, liver damage, and blood disease.
Please view the 7 minute video that validates my accusations.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5632208859935499100
My web site is devoted to searching for EVOS cleanup workers who were exposed to the toxic spraying, and are suffering from the same illnesses that I have. Our summer employment turned into a death sentence for many -- and a life of unending medical conditions for the rest of us.
http://www.silenceinthesound.com/stories.shtml
http://www.silenceinthesound.com/gallery.shtml
Merle Savage
702-296-4211