Tacoma, WA – A dozen people gathered along the fence of U.S. Oil & Refining Co on Wednesday, May 27 in an emergency picket and vigil for the 11 people killed in the Longview paper mill disaster. Signs with statements like “Clean it up or shut it down,” “Justice for the Longview 11” and “System change not climate change” waved as attendees picketed the back gate.

This emergency event was called by Climate Alliance of the South Sound (CASS) in response to one of the deadliest industrial accidents in Washington state history. On Tuesday, May 26, a paper mill chemical vat imploded, killing ten workers and wounding several more; at least one of whom has since died from their injuries. The paper mill, owned by multi-million dollar company Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., was severely out of compliance with state and federal regulations.

Dez Chalfant, rank-and-file worker with UFCW 367 and delegate of the Pierce County Central Labor council, stated, “Nippon Dynawave has had a history of non-compliance with environmental and safety regulations. They were fined for their noncompliance, and despite that, they still gambled with the lives of their employees and allowed this tragedy to occur. They risked the lives of their workers and polluted the environment in their own self-interest.”

Attendees highlighted how the U.S. Oil & Refining Co. in the Port of Tacoma is also out of compliance. Picketers chanted, “Noncompliance causes deaths, U.S. Oil could be next!” drawing a clear connection between U.S. Oil & Refining and Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.

“We've had, for decades and decades, up until 2023, a paper mill virtually identical in our backyard. We have the same pollutants as Longview does,” CASS member Cora Swindale said, further connecting Tacoma and Longview. “So it feels like there's a lot of parallels, and it feels like there's a lot of ways where this tragedy could have happened here.”

All 11 of the workers killed were union workers with AWPPW Local 580. Four of the identified people killed — Gilbert Bernal, Dillon Miller, Jared Ammons and CJ Doran — were fathers, some with very young children and pregnant wives.

“Many of us in Climate Alliance come from working-class families. I myself come from a blue-collar family, and so it's really sobering to be reminded of the fact that so many of our loved ones can go to work and not come home, and that shouldn't be the case,” Jami Nelson-Cortes explained. “We shouldn't have to be sacrificing worker safety for profit, especially when many of our parents are the sole income for our family or the main income for our family.”

The U.S. Oil & Refining Co. is on the Puyallup Tribe of Indians’ reservation, but under the jurisdiction of the Tacoma Port Commission due to laws passed in 1918. As of 2025, the elected port commission has been deemed legally responsible for the pollution of tenants in the port.

After several speeches highlighting the connection between workers’ rights, climate justice and indigenous sovereignty, including several songs to honor the killed workers, attendees resumed the picket. Chants including “One struggle, one fight! Climate justice, worker’s rights!” “Cut the carbon emissions, empower the climate commission” and “Gilbert Bernal, say his name, non-compliance is to blame!” filled the air.

“Everywhere we look, we see protections and regulations that are meant to prevent these things being stripped back. It's really clear that they don't care about us, so it's time to stand up and fight back,” Swindale stated.

The Climate Alliance of the South Sound is demanding that the acting port commission, including John McCarthy, shut down U.S. Oil and Refining Co. until they can achieve full compliance, including full compensation for all workers who lose work due to this noncompliance.

The emcee of the event, Justine Racine, tied these demands into CASS’s broader campaign for a community-controlled climate commission. “We at CASS stand in solidarity with the people of Longview and demand that Nippon Dynawave compensate the families affected, and for Nippon Dynawave to meet the environmental standards and safety standards they grossly neglect, and we demand a community-controlled climate commission in Tacoma that can keep companies in Tacoma compliant to environmental standards.”

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