The Nation - News from Sept. 17, 1989

Several thousand people attended a peaceful pro-union rally at the Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., to express their support for striking workers at the $535-million expansion of Boise Cascade’s paper mill in International Falls. Later, residents of International Falls gathered in Smokey Bear Park for what was called “a peace rally” to show community appreciation for law enforcement personnel and firefighters. Bill Peterson, president of the Minnesota Building Trades Council, told the St. Paul rally that last week’s violence in International Falls was prompted by the hiring of non-union labor at Boise’s mill expansion. The non-union hirings led strikers to walk off their jobs in July. Some 400 demonstrators caused more than $1 million in damage at Boise’s temporary housing for non-union labor.