Boxer Statement on The Rio Tinto Lockout Boxer's statement regarding mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to lock out employees at the company’s mine in Boron, California, after a stalemate in labor negotiations
BigNews.Biz - Mar 05,2010 - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) released the following statement regarding mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to lock out employees at the company’s mine in Boron, California, after a stalemate in labor negotiations:
“I am very concerned about Rio Tinto’s decision to lock out nearly 600 workers at the company’s mine in Boron, California. Rio Tinto’s decision is hurting its hard-working employees, their families and the local community. I urge Rio Tinto to end the lockout, immediately resume contract negotiations in good faith, and seek a fair resolution that protects good jobs for California workers.”
About Senator Boxer:A forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, and her State of California, Barbara Boxer became a United States Senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives and six years on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any Senate candidate in American history.
A national leader on environmental protection, Senator Boxer is the first woman to Chair the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). She is a powerful advocate for clean air and water, and focuses much of her Committee work on climate change, transportation and infrastructure.
Chairman Boxer secured passage of the Water Resources Development Act, which authorized $1.3 billion for 54 flood control, ecosystem restoration and navigation projects in California. The bill had languished for six years until she led the fight to pass it and override a veto by President George W. Bush.
Senator Boxer has won numerous awards for her efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment. She fought to remove arsenic from drinking water and authored an amendment ensuring that drinking water standards protect children. She has fought to protect California’s coast from the harmful effects of oil drilling and fought the unethical use of human subjects in pesticide testing by federal agencies.
To ensure that generations of Californians will be able to enjoy our environmental heritage, Senator Boxer wrote laws protecting approximately 1 million acres of priceless California wilderness. Boxer also authored the California Missions Preservation Act to protect and restore California’s 21 historic missions, which are major historic and tourist attractions.
A champion of quality public education, Senator Boxer wrote landmark legislation establishing the first-ever federal funding for afterschool programs. Her law now covers 1.4 million children.
To protect children from dangerous toys, Boxer authored a provision in the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Commission Law requiring children’s products sold over the internet to list cautionary warnings in their advertisements. Boxer was also a leading figure in negotiating language to protect children from lead and other dangerous chemicals.
A strong proponent of life-saving medical research, Senator Boxer wrote bipartisan legislation to accelerate America’s contribution to combat global HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. She wrote a bill to make health insurance tax deductible and another bill to let any American buy into the same health insurance program that members of Congress are provided.
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