Ukraiine - Employees as 'Mercenaries': Billionaire Orders Steelworkers into Streets of East Ukraine to 'Restore Order' — Will Workers Be Fired If They Don't?

"Steel workers" on patrol with police in East Ukraine. (Screen capture
from YouTube  video)

HISTORICAL NOTE: Corporations, billionaires, and unions have worked with the CIA to crush the will of the people in the past: During a CIA operation in Chile in 1972 and 1973, truckers were funded and used to a devastating affect — their strikes sabotaged the economy and helped set the stage for the overthrow of the elected government of Salvador Allende in a bloody coup. —Ronald David Jackson




By Brian Ries
Thousands of Ukrainian steelworkers have hit the streets in eastern Ukraine, working to bring normalcy back to towns that have been overrun by pro-Russian separatists.

The steelworkers are employees of Metinvest and DTEK, two companies that are run by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man, the New York Times reports. There are nearly 20,000 of them — far outnumbering the militants, who haven't been seen in days.

"Ukranian Oligarch Bets on Law and Order in Mariupol"

Akhmetov, it seems, has decided it is time to protect his assets in the region. And as a result, the steelworkers are rooting out the militants, taking down barricades and generally keeping the peace — all without firing a shot.
Collectively, the steelworkers amount to a "huge army," according to Yuri Zinchenko, the man who oversees Mariupol's metal plant, which is managed by Metinvest.

"We understand clearly that if any decisions are made outside the law the first consequences would be the closure of all markets we have today for our products," Zinchenko reportedly said. "Not only the leadership and the owner of the company realize this, but I want to stress that today workers realize this as well, and today in the SCM Group which belongs to our shareholder Rinat Akhmetov, there are over 300,000 staff, plus their families, so it's a huge army," he added.

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