Posted on Thursday, 11 July
Early on Thursday morning 28 June a community picket took place to stop work at the Thomastown factory of Electromold. The picket kicked off a new wing of the campaign against Melbourne-based weapons manufacturers who profit from supplying the tools for Israel’s genocide.
Omar Hassan, Victorian Socialists’ candidate for the federal seat of Calwell, explained that Electromold is a vital part of a supply chain that produces the F-35 fighter jet. This fighter jet is being used to cause death and destruction in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Omar also made it clear that we’re not against the workers of the factory.
“We’re going to be communicating with the workers inside this place to say we’re not against them, we want them to get paid for their shifts – but we’re demanding that their bosses stop producing weapons. There’s plenty of other useful things that they could be producing and supporting, but weapons is not one of those.”
Victorian Socialists members have been involved in several campaigns targeting weapons manufacturers across Melbourne over the last 9 months including the Heat Treatment Australia campaign, AW Bell, and Rose Bank Engineering campaigns.
The campaign to shut down Electromold’s weapons manufacturing will be ongoing. If you would like to get involved, go to Victorian Socialists’ events page or Whittlesea for Palestine’s instagram for info about upcoming pickets and organizing events.