Thursday saw joint actions in Hillsboro, OR and Bellevue, WA against transport company Omega Morgan’s involvement in shipping tar sands mining equipment via megaloads across the Northwest.
Rising Tide Seattle occupies the Omega-Morgan office in Fife, WA, over the company’s involvement in tar sands megaloads, Dec 3, 2013
In Oregon, protesters with Portland Rising Tide stormed Omega Morgan headquarters, demanding to meet with the company’s CEO. When company officials refused a meeting, a standoff ensued, with protesters refusing to leave. The standoff eventually resolved without any arrests.
In Washington, protesters from Rising Tide Seattle stormed the office of a General Electric subsidiary, Thermal Products, which produces some of the tar sands extraction equipment being transported by Omega Morgan’s megaloads.
The actions are part of a growing campaign against tar sands megaloads. From the Earth First! Newswire:
This is one of several actions in the last 2 weeks, including an office occupation in Fife, WA, by Seattle Rising Tide in solidarity with protestors who stopped the Omega Morgan mega load from rolling out of the Port of Umatilla by locking down to the 380 foot long behemoth. … Ongoing actions are being held to directly block Omega Morgan’s shipments through Eastern Oregon in collaboration with members of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. The Nez Perce Tribe recently blocked Mega-load shipments in Idaho with support from Wild Idaho Rising Tide.