Long Time CEJ Activist, Member, and UAW Member Ron Bassham Shares His Story

In celebration of CEJ's 25th Anniversary, we are telling 25 stories through this blog, at our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, and with a newsletter coming out in June. CEJ has been blessed to work with so many incredible people throughout our years, and we hope to shed a light on some of their amazing stories in order to inspire us all in our continued fight for jobs with justice! This week's story comes from our friend Ron Bassham. (To purchase tickets to our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, click here.)

Following the devastating blow of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Ron Bassham, long time CEJ activist and member and a UAW member decided to respond to the disaster. The Coalition for Economic Justice and the UAW had built relationships with the residents along the border, following TriCo’s decision to move operations to Mexico. As CEJ was just coming together around the fight to save thousands of jobs at TriCo in the mid-late 1980's, CEJ's founding members visited communities where the new plan was coming on-line. They found that the workers who earned next to nothing in the factories were living in shacks side by side with the factory and the streams of waste coming from the plant. The owners of the plant gave them the empty plastic jugs that stored toxic chemicals to use for collecting rain water. Workers in Buffalo and Mexico suffered from this re-location.

In the wake of Hurricane Mitch, Ron decided to collect clothing and other donations in coordination with his local UAW Local 686 and the Coalition for Economic Justice. Ron decided to drive the van down to the border towns and personally deliver the donations. Driven by his understanding of the exploitation of industry, and the personal relationships he developed while on a fact finding mission the year before, Ron felt it was the only option he had. Not taking action was not an option. The conditions he found on arrival, Ron explained, were deplorable. The workers had very little to begin with, and the effects of the storm left them even more deprived.

Rather than stay home and watch, Ron and the Coalition for Economic Justice helped collect 8.5 tons of clothing, medicine and toys for the working brothers and sisters in northern Mexico. For Ron, this story shows the values of the Coalition for Economic Justice, and what solidarity with fellow workers is all about.