547 

 Senator Wirth. Thank you very much, Ms. Baade. 



STATEMENT OF FLORIAN SEVER 



Mr. Sever. My name is Florian Sever. I am here today to speak 

 in favor of Senator Wirth's bill, S. 346. I would add that the mora- 

 torium areas in the bill should, and must, be strengthened to the 

 "wilderness" designation. The old growth rain forest is too rare to 

 squander on the production of dissolving pulp. 



I was an employee of Alaska Pulp Corporation, a company owned 

 entirely by the Japanese. During the 1986 strike in Sitka, I was a 

 union negotiator. The 273 members of my union were permanently 

 replaced, and my union was decertified after a 10-month struggle. I 

 would like to submit a letter from my union in support of S. 346 for 

 the record. 



A National Labor Relations Board Judge has ruled that we were 

 unfairly treated at the hands of APC, and that AFC had committed 

 many unlawful, discriminatory acts against us. I would like to 

 submit this NLRB ruling for the record, along with this statement. 



The essence of the 50-year APC contract was to provide jobs for 

 Southeast Alaskans, as illustrated in Section 12(k) of the contract, 

 not to give a quick cash windfall to out-of-state interlopers, oppor- 

 tunists or scabs. The facts point to the charge that APC is the first, 

 and foremost, violator of the 50-year long-term contracts. 



The 50-year contracts must be revoked if fair play and justice are 

 to return to the work place. Not only did the permanent replace- 

 ments take our jobs at the APC mill, their families have occupied 

 the majority of the remaining jobs that were available outside of 

 the confines of the mill. Many strikers and their families have 

 been forced to move away. This is contrary to the original intent 

 behind the contracts. 



I was fired by APC for publicly speaking out against these very 

 excesses. On May 19, 1987, I testified before the United States 

 House of Representatives concerning the terrible conditions that 

 the workers had to endure before, during, and after the strike and 

 APC's blatant disregard for the environment. I believe this to be a 

 violation of my civil, and human, rights by a foreign-owned corpo- 

 ration. 



I have also been fired from a subsequent job with an APC sub- 

 contractor because I continued to testify before Congress in favor of 

 the Tongass Timber Reform Act and to speak out publicly against 

 APC's unlawful, discriminatory labor practices and the continued 

 pollution of the environment. 



Notwithstanding excellent qualifications and good job recommen- 

 dations, APC has conspired with others to "black list" me to the 

 point where I cannot obtain any kind of employment, not even as a 

 part-time dog catcher for the City of Sitka, even though I was the 

 only person who applied for that position. 



These actions against me, and other working men and women, 

 have served only to further strengthen my resolve to stand up for 

 the cause of justice that is so sorely lacking in the Tongass, and, 

 indeed, throughout the State of Alaska. 



I have formed a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, the Founda- 

 tion for the Protection of the Common People, my goal being to 



