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Liberia, home of a huge Bridgestone/Firestone rubber plantationand rich forests and iron ore mines, is emerging from a long andbrutal civil war and the USW is playing a role in promoting laborlaw reforms and a stronger presence for organized labor.The West African country is suffering from serious poverty thatwas greatly exacerbated by 14 years of war and the resulting destructionof the economy.Roads, electricity and water supplies and other infrastructure weredestroyed. Unemployment is high. Illiteracy soared during the waryears as schools were destroyed during the conflict in which childrenfought on the front lines.Since a newly elected democratic government took officein 2006, international donors have pledgedaid to rebuild schools, hospitals androads while multinational corporationsare preparing to againinvest in the country, givingunions a unique opportunity toaffect labor policies and renegotiaterules governing operations of multinationalcompanies.Mittal SteelMittal Steel, the world's largeststeelmaker and a major USWemployer in the United States, hasentered into an agreement to developiron ore mines that were abandonedand destroyed during the war.Mittal has promised to redevelopthe mines and pour money intorailways and port infrastructure."It's a very exciting timein Liberia. They are at a criticalmoment," said MikeZelinski, a staff member withthe USW's strategic campaigndepartment. "The needs inLiberia are enormous, but so isthe potential for making a dramaticdifference in the lives ofworkers."The USW and the AFL-CIO'sSolidarity Center sent a delegation toLiberia last October that includedZelinski and Marilyn Brown, an activistfrom USW Local 1055 at theBridgestone Firestone plant, in LaVernge, Tenn. Another delegation ledby USW International Vice PresidentFred Redmond had visited the rubberplantation the previous July.Over 11 days, the delegation providedtraining for trade union leadersand rank-and-file activists on unionbuilding and strategic planning.They also worked to establish tieswith two labor federations andactivist workers involved in keyPhotos by M34 winter 2007 • USW@Work