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description=Vestas closed the UK s only wind turbine blade factories, on the Isle of Wight, in August 2009. Workers occupied the factory, then picketed. This blog is a history of that dispute and of the ongoing campaign for green jobs.;

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Text of the page (random words):
like the isle of wight a place with relatively high unemployment again vestas is looking for government subsidies as the price for setting up operations and a compliant workforce that is just grateful to have a job this weekend we saw the announcement that a government adviser wants schools to stop teaching about climate change patrick would have a lot to say on both these issues i remember patrick rolfe as a positive and intelligent young man brimming with energy and enthusiasm for a just transition to a more sustainable world benefiting all if like me you remember him warmly i hope you will leave a comment in tribute vicki 5 comments posted in uncategorized tags patrick rolfe save vestas vestas posted by vm 30 october 2010 worker killed on vestas site http www newsfirst5 com news mississippi man killed in accident at vestas plant leave a comment posted in uncategorized posted by vm 30 october 2010 vestas shed move 3 000 jobs from scandinavia to spain http www guardian co uk business 2010 oct 26 vestas closes wind turbine plants 1 comment posted in uncategorized posted by vickim57 26 october 2010 vestas workers in colorado develop allergies to the resin used in a repeat of the experience of vestas workers on the isle of wight workers in their new plant in colorado have been developing allergies because of the resin that vestas uses in its manufacturing the local newspaper the coloradoan has been investigating the incidents report here a local resident has written a letter in response actions of vestas are shameful in the pursuit of creating jobs and attracting green companies to northern colorado we have compromised the safety of our residents and perhaps our environment it appears northern colorado s golden child vestas is not so golden in our haste we have allowed a company to bully its way into our community at the expense and well being of some of our citizens perhaps we should have done our homework and researched vestas environmental and safety record before allowing them to break ground in northern colorado are 500 jobs really worth the health and well being of the 10 or more people who have been fired and what impact has this had on their families are they transferring these harmful chemicals to other family members who is being exposed to the epoxy resin and what are the long term effects we now have former vestas employees struggling to find work because their newly developed allergies have left them unmarketable without income and in essence disabled was it worth it vestas needs to be held accountable for crippling its employees and answer these questions or they can get out of my backyard lydia wiatrowski fort collins 2 comments posted in uncategorized tags isle of wight save vestas jobs the coloradoan vestas posted by vickim57 23 september 2010 anniversary of blades day world s biggest wind farm opens off thanet it was a year ago today that vestas got the remaining blades out of their factory at newport isle of wight at the time and in my thinking now this is blades day a number of ex vestas workers and their supporters gathered on the path beside the medina and watched as a few blades left an event only made possible by the presence of large numbers of police the weather was beautiful the calm beside the river was only enhanced by the hum of the giant cranes doing their dirty work the peace was only interrupted by the sound of police motor launches buzzing up and down the river taking pictures of protestors on the shore it struck me as i watched them then that the people on those launches holding the cameras had probably never been to the isle of wight and would probably never come back they didn t know who we were and they didn t care their job was only to take pictures of potential trouble makers it was sad watching the blades being taken out but the protest the fact that we didn t want the blades to leave was not intended as an act of sabotage it was a protest about the terms under which renewable energy is developed should the switch to renewables depend simply on how profitable the business is in other words should it simply be left to the market to develop the energy we need should renewables companies be seen as unambiguously ethical or should we be able to demand of them that they treat their workers with respect not laying them off at will as vestas does as it chases government subsidies around the world today the economic recession and the anxieties that most people have about cuts in public services benefits job losses etc are looming larger in their thoughts than environmental concerns that s a shame but it only goes to show that while our economic system is as it is we cannot give proper attention to vital issues like what sort of environment do we live in and are we creating today the world s biggest wind farm opens off thanet it s a beautiful sight but it s delivered by companies in private hands that do not care about their workforces except in as far as they can exploit them for profits an apt way to mark the first anniverary of blades day would be to renew our struggle for a worker led just transition to renewables vicki morris p s wouldn t you know it i ve looked at my diary again and discovered that the anniversary was yesterday well they got blades out on both 22nd and 23rd september i think i m not one to airbrush history so i thought i d fess up the issues remain the same leave a comment posted in uncategorized tags blades day isle of wight vestas wind turbines posted by vm 21 july 2010 two links thought we d share a couple of links yesterday when marge and i were trying to put together an new bulletin on academies and trusts and the council cuts we watched this for something to reflect the mood www youtube com watch v dib2 hbsf08 and then after going to the roundabout we went to the medina theatre handed out 250 leaflets and stayed for a bit of the concert if you like cheese then this is a nice anniversary song http www youtube com watch v i6ypsedlcri 1 comment posted in uncategorized posted by vickim57 21 july 2010 with hindsight i would have taken more food matt treacy bbc radio solent reporter during the vestas occupation reflects on his experience a year ago as a news story it gathered interest like a rolling stone it is not often that danish film crews visit the isle of wight but as the situation escalated the occupation became global news a local dispute became a national debate on climate change policy which in turn became an international debate on green issues in a global downturn read matt s article title with hindsight i would have taken more food here there s also a link to a recording made in march 2010 with an ex vestas worker title redundant south where s my job gone leave a comment posted in uncategorized tags isle of wight matt treacy radio solent save vestas wind turbines posted by vickim57 20 july 2010 vestas occupation anniversary marked as the island fights cuts former vestas workers who occupied their factory in newport isle of wight last summer to protest against job losses and a number of their supporters marked the anniversary of the start of the occupation today a report from the scene of the recoccupied magic roundabout vestas magic roundabout re occupied on 1st anniversary of the workers occuaption at around 4pm this afternoon one year on from the beginning of the vestas occupation 15 ex vestas workers and campaign supporters re occupied the magic roundabout next to the vestas factory the roundabout was the home of the support campaign for over 4 months last year in solidarity with the 600 workers who lost their jobs when the wind turbine factory closed its doors last august the ryde and east wight trades council activists from workers climate action and a local rmt member were all part of today s re occupation they are there to remind people that the fight for jobs justice and the climate is far from over on the isle of wight and beyond climate campers were there in spirit their stickers still looking good on the site s road signs within three minutes the police had arrived having being called to the site by vestas security the mini reunion is not just made up of campaign supporters as within a couple of hours the familiar faces of the old vestas security team were back on the scene looking very concerned one year on and the occupiers have still not been reinstated and a tribunal that was to be held last week for some of the occupiers ended prematurely when ex workers were threatened with full and crippling costs by vestas and forced to withdraw their case at 5 30pm tomorrow wednesday these campaigners will join a lobby of the full council to protest against cuts an islander reports protest at the full council meeting tomorrow at 5 30pm too tired to think through the list of cuts closures jobs losses and price hikes and you ll all know how to find out about them there is a lot of anger among young people about the scrapping of the student rider today was the anniversary of the vestas occupation and a group of us from last year occupiers trade unionists and local supporters marked it by coming down to the industrial estate to see each other in a place with good memories of a fight we re all proud of the fact remains that the official unemployment figures out last week always an underestimate not taking into account the seasonal dynamic put the number out of work at 2 200 we still demand the factory be re opened it was the product of millions of regeneration money over a decade it is the obvious way to create jobs on the scale that they are urgently needed yesterday a thousand teachers lobbied parliament against the scrapping of the building schools for the future money on the island this translates into the scrapping of the significant school improvements due for carisbrooke medina sandown and ryde with these latest rounds of cuts the ones we know about and those that are rumoured it is surely time to make a proper stand and assert the feelings that most ordinary people have about this so called economic crisis we did not cause it and we will not pay for it as one unison member put it this morning the bankers robbed us and the government is mugging us 3 comments posted in uncategorized tags building schools for the future isle of wight vestas wind turbines posted by vickim57 9 july 2010 wind turbine manufacture re commencing on isle of wight the bbc website carries the story sean mcdonagh one of the workers who occupied the vestas wind turbine factory in newport isle of wight last summer when it was due to close is due to begin manufacturing wind turbines small scale ones the turbines we are building will fill a niche in the market you could be running your house or business premises from the power created by these blades vestas was all about going bigger and bigger but we are looking at the smaller end of the market which we think has great potential sean hopes to employ some ex vestas workers for some companies it is a disadvantage being on the island but the skill pool that is still here is why we are here leave a comment posted in uncategorized tags isle of wight sean mcdonagh vestas wind turbines posted by vickim57 13 may 2010 climate emergency vigil night of 15 16 may london and derby campaign against climate change events this weekend post election climate emergency vigil overnight saturday to sunday 15th 16th may outside parliament candlelit procession down whitehall assemble 11 00pm outside st martin in the fields trafalgar square put climate change back into politics take the message to the new government that dealing with the climate crisis needs to be their top priority light a candle for scientific realism and rationality against the dark populist tide of sceptic lies and ignorance let them know straightaway that the cuts we need are emissions cuts not jobs cuts and we need to start the work of building a zero carbon britain straightaway 11 00 pm assemble outside st martin in the fields trafalgar square service inside the church from 11 00 pm organised by christian ecology link contact ruthj phonecoop coop 07970 907784 12 00 midnight candlelit procession for the climate down whitehall 12 30 5 00 am overnight vigil at old palace yard outside parliament speakers from ukycc the spartans plane stupid a tar sands group the green party etc more details later art and empowerment events through the night bring lanterns your music your art 5 00 am zero carbon dawn 6 00 am climate vigil istas communal breakfast we have the use of two venues that will be open all night and are within walking distance of the vigil where vigil goers can go to get some refreshments and rest their legs the lambeth methodist mission and st jude s community centre we also have nearby toilet facilities provided by the salvation army for map and detailed schedule see www campaigncc org overnightvigil leave a comment posted in uncategorized tags campaign against climate change climate change older posts categories uncategorized what we re fighting for vestas blades uk made production workers at their factories on the isle of wight redundant on 12 august 2009 more than 500 jobs were lost many more jobs that depend on vestas will follow this makes no sense from a green or a labour perspective at the same time the government announced a major expansion of renewable energy including wind power we are calling on the government to intervene to save jobs at companies like vestas through nationalisation if that is what it takes to show that it is serious about saving the planet what you can do hardship fund for sacked and redundant vestas workers send a donation from your trade union or other organisation or make a personal donation cheques payable to rmt iow 2 vestas hardship defence fund and send to keith murphy 57 well street ryde iow po33 2ry actions meetings wednesday 17 february newport isle of wight 7pm save our services public meeting called by unison but open to all who want to campaign against the proposed cuts to council and all jobs and services venue hunnyhill room the riverside centre the quay newport isle of wight vestas workers support groups and local contacts birmingham alistair alistair_wingate yahoo co uk 07846 490408 brighton john brightonvestassupporters googlemail com 07845 183407 leeds dan leeds vestas solidarity googlemail com liverpool and merseyside daren ireland nwestnwalesrc rmt org uk 07787 128498 london central and north savevestas gmail com london south nadine houghton battersea and wandsworth trades council nadine bwtuc org uk 07946 172461 manchester hugh manc_sfe yahoo co uk medway towns kent tipping point 46 high street gillingham me7 1az tippingpointmedway gmail com newcastle ed whitby ed whitby workersliberty org oxford kate douglas kate douglas talktalk net downloads and social media model motion for union branches schools pack created by lambeth nut vestas campaign poster vestas occupation twibbon vestas workers support general leaflet ea...