Abalone Alliance Collection

The Abalone Alliance (1977-1985) was a nonviolent civil disobedience group that formed in response to their opposition to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company's Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo, California. Abalone Alliance's concerns were that accidents or abnormal operations; and the location of Diablo being near an active earthquake fault could result in a large release of radiation that could pose dangerous and deadly results for people, animals, and plants. The group's goal was to permanently stop the construction and operation of nuclear power plants in California through direct action and education; and to encourage alternatives of safe, clean, and renewable sources of energy. The group was modeled after the Clamshell Alliance, a group that was protesting the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire. They called themselves Abalone Alliance in reference to the thousands of wild California Red Abalone that were killed in 1974 after a hot flush in Diablo Cove. The statewide alliance started in May 1977 after over 70 activists came together, and their first action took place on August 6, 1977 at Diablo Canyon. Between 1977-1984 many other blockades and occupations at Diablo Canyon would take place leading to thousands of protestors showing support by attending rallies, demonstrations, and anti-nuclear concerts held throughout the years; some of which resulted in the arrests of demonstrators; and would also bring on a $1 million lawsuit by Pacific Legal Foundation against the Alliance in hopes they would prevent further actions by the Alliance. The case was eventually dismissed five years later. Abalone Alliance's campaign to stop construction of the Diablo Canyon reactor was not successful and operation of the reactor began in May 1985.

Another action Abalone Alliance participated in was a protest in opposition of the operation of the Rancho Seco plant in Herald, CA., with the goal of convincing Governor Edmund "Jerry" Brown to shut the plant down due to concerns of a possible meltdown similar to what happened at the facility at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. On November 28, 1979 approximately fifty protestors calling themselves People United Against Rancho Seco occupied Governor Brown's office in what would turn into a thirty eight day sit-in. After meeting with the Governor, the official occupation ended in January 1980 after the governor offered to arrange for a testimony at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearings in Sacramento, donate $2,000 to anti-nuclear activism, and provide Abalone Alliance with nearby office space. The Rancho Seco plant was decommissioned in June 1989.

During its existence, the Abalone Alliance had affiliates in most major cities in California including Alliance for Survival, Greenpeace, Nuclear Free California, and Redwood Alliance. Although the Alliance officially disbanded in 1985, the statewide office in San Francisco remained open until 1989; and alliance groups and members remained active in civil disobedience events such as a rally and teach-in to protest the reopening of the Rancho Seco reactor; and a march at the gates of Diablo Canyon to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. The last project in 1990 was an action that opposed plans to build a nuclear waste dump at Ward Valley near Needles, California. For more historical information on Ward Valley see Series II, Sub-Series C.

For more information regarding the current status of Diablo Canyon campaigns see: https://mothersforpeace.org/

The Abalone Alliance was started in May of 1977 when over 70 activists came together to setup the statewide Alliance. Within a year, the group had consensed on the wording of a Declaration of Nuclear Resistance. Its first action at Diablo Canyon took place on August 6th 1977 where 47 people were arrested at the gates. The following year, the number of those arrested jumped to 487 people.

The local affiliate of the Abalone Alliance was preparing to hold anti-nuclear rally in early April of 1979 when the Three Mile Island meltdown took place just over a week before hand. Over 25,000 people showed up for the rally in San Francisco, helping to set off a huge response that culminated in the June 29th rally at San Luis Obispo (SLO) where nearly 50,000 people attended a rally and concert with then Governor Jerry Brown coming out publicly against nuclear power. Many AA activists were highly opposed to Brown's "Grandstanding" at the rally.

The Alliance made a strategic decision not to hold another action at Diablo Canyon until the NRC granted PG&E a license, which hurt the movement energy. But even so, after the NRC illegally gave PG&E a license, the Alliance held what is to this day the largest act of civil disobedience in US history where nearly 1,900 arrests took place over a 20 day blockade at Diablo Canyon. Just as the blockade was coming to an end, a newly hired 25 year old engineer discovered that PG&E had built the seismic supports for the reactors backwards, resulting in a huge national scandal, that forced the NRC to pull the operating licenses. Well over 10,000 people showed up in support of the September 10 1981 blockade. A year after the action the Pacific Legal Foundation and SLO County filed legal suit against the Abalone Alliance (AA) in an attempt to get its membership list to force them to pay for the police costs of the blockade. The SLAPP suit would go for nearly 5 years, all the way up to the US Supreme court before settling.

After the large blockade, the huge contingent from the SF Bay Area shifted its attention to the Livermore Labs where a new group called the Livermore Action Group started doing regular actions for a number of years. The AA also helped put on a major Hall of Shame tour, going through the financial district of San Francisco documenting the nuclear connections of large corporations that had offices. AA also played a key roll in organizing nuclear weapons related actions at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Then in 1984, after President Reagan had secretly given PG&E over $2 billion to help rebuild Diablo for the 3rd time AA activists carried out months of smaller actions called the People's Emergency Response Plan at the gates of Diablo Canyon where hundreds of activists were arrested but ignored by the media. Even a rate strike campaign was initiated but was blocked by the PUC. During this time, the put out its own semi-monthly newspaper called It's About Times that covered nuclear news from around the world. During actions the Alliance also put out Handbooks that were used educate as well as prepare activists for what would be in store. The 1981 Blockade handbook was nearly 100 pages long for example.

In August the NRC again gave PG&E a license to start operation. In late November one of the NRC commissioners leaked the transcripts documenting, giving opponents the legal proof that the reactors had been illegally licensed, setting off a major struggle between the Mothers for Peace and the courts that went through 1986. After the courts ruled in favor of PG&E/NRC to let the reactors go hot, the AA closed most of its offices across the state. The AA statewide office in SF was held open until 1989 as a small number of local groups still continued to pay dues. The SF office also became an intervenor during the nearly 4 year long CPUC hearings over how much the public should pay, as well as taking a modest role in the post Chernobyl events that included the campaign to close Rancho Seco. The last activist project of the office took place in 1990 when California pushed to open a nuclear waste dump at Ward Valley, near Needles. The city office played a key role in helping gain the critical early delays that helped keep Governor George Dukumejian from licensing and opening the dump on land deemed sacred to 6 tribes.

During the AA hey days, the Alliance had affiliates in nearly every major city in California with over 60 member groups, that included the huge Alliance for Survival in Los Angeles and San Diego. Greenpeace was also a member of the Alliance and took an active part in the 1981 blockade.

Thanks to its sister bivalve group the Clamshell Alliance, Quakers and especially young quakers who were part of the Movement for a New Society played a major roll in pushing the Alliance to adopt a non-violent, feminist process called Consensus process that included extensive non-violent trainings for all people wanting to take part. The key roll of a non-hierarchical, non Robert Rules of Order process was almost unknown within the progressive movement until the Clamshell then the AA helped to promote the ideas of consensus, non-violence, and Affinity groups. The corporate media all but trashed the AA and its actions, ignoring its broad support within the local SLO community at the time. The Alliance went to help finance a documentary of the 1981 blockade that took five years to complete called a Question of Power that laid out the Issues at Diablo and why the AA chose to act the way it did.

After the Three Mile Island and the dramatic upswing in interest of the Alliance, activists spent nearly a year investigating and modifying consensus process to deal with the complexities of dealing with large numbers of people spread over a very large area. Individuals would not be allowed to block at the state level, requiring that only groups had that ability.

During this time, it became ever more clear that it would be very difficult to carry out a a pure form of consensus based decision process when it meant that groups large and small had to routinely travel long distances to get to statewide meetings.

Biography taken from The Energy-Net, the archival website of the Abalone Alliance: https://www.energy-net.org/01NUKE/AA.HTM

Abalone Alliance Story. Full timeline and pamphlet available in "Abalone Alliance, About" Box 103, Folder 8.

August 6, 1977

The Abalone Alliance holds its first blockade at Diablo Canyon ;47 people arrested while 1,500 people show support at a nearby rally.

August 6, 1978

487 people arrested at the gates of Diablo Canyon, while 5,000 people attend a support rally

April 7, 1979

A San Francisco rally sponsored by the Alliance's local group draws 25,000 people.

June 28, 1979

A statewide rally draws 40,000 people to San Luis Obispo. Governor Jerry Brown publicly comes out against Diablo Canyon at that rally.

Thanksgiving 1979

Alliance members hold a 38 day sit-in at Governor Brown's office to protest continued operation of the Rancho Seco reactor.

June 1979-September 1981

The Alliance organizes neighborhood outreach campaigns and educational workshops across California, while also preparing for a major blockade at Diablo Canyon

September 10, 1981

The Alliance begins a two week blockade of Diablo Canyon during which 1,960 people are arrested.

October 1981

The Pacific Legal Foundation, part of a nationwide network of right wing legal organizations challenging the First Amendment, brings a $1 million lawsuit against the Alliance, hoping to prevent further Alliance actions.

January 13, 1984

After the NRC announces it will license Diablo Canyon, the Alliance mobilizes the People's Emergency Response Plan which lasts through April and results in over 500 arrests involving actions at the main gate, in the back country and at PG&E headquarters in San Luis Obispo

August 12, 1984

One week after the NRC grants a full power operating license for unit 1, a protest is held at Diablo Canyon. At the same time, Mother's for Peace gains an injunction against the reactor's operation until November.

September 1984-April 1986

The Alliance, seeing that licensing is inevitable, prepares a ratepayers' protest for when the reactor goes on line.

Intense electoral work on Jackson and Freeze campaigns and a generalized perception that nuclear power is dead bring financial stress to the Alliance, causing the loss of its newspaper "Its About Times" and elimination of salaries for staff at the two state wide offices and commensurate downturn in anti-nuclear power activity. Volunteer staff continue operating the Alliance statewide office as a clearinghouse for nuclear power and alternatives and participates in the massive PUC hearings over who would pay for Diablo Canyon

August 10-11, 1986

Alliance groups hod a rally, teach-in and civil disobedience in Sacramento to protest the reopening of the Rancho Seco reactor. Twenty one people are arrested.

September-December 1986

Nuclear Free California, an Abalone group, starts a statewide petition drive to pressure lawmakers into phasing out nuclear power in California. Another affiliate, The Redwood Alliance and the state-wide office actively participate in Diablo Canyon's decommissioning/rate hearings before the PUC.

October 21, 1986

The 5 year lawsuit by the Pacific Legal Foundation goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme court before being settled in favor of the Alliance.

April 26-27, 1986

400 people march to the gates of Diablo Canyon in conjunction with 40 other groups across the U.S. to commemorate the 1st anniversary of Chernobyl. 15 people are arrested for stepping across a blue line into PG&E property.

October 13, 1987

The judge in charge of the case prosecuting the people involved in the 1981 blockade of Diablo Canyon finally issues his decision granting defendants the right to use the rarely allowed "Defense of Necessity". The state immediately drops charges against all arrested rather than allow expert witnesses the chance to legally present the technical flaws at Diablo Canyon and the specific dangers of operating a nuclear facility on an active fault line as the primary reason for being arrested

June 27, 1988

In a dramatic reversal in the Diablo Rate Case, the PUC proposes a settlement scuttling an 80% disallowance proposed by their own staff for PG&E's disastrous construction of Diablo Canyon.

December 19, 1988

The PUC decides in favor of giving PG&E California's first ever free market contract to a utility for Diablo Canyon. This is done over opposition by the Alliance and other concerned groups.

January 28, 1989

Abalone Alliance begins working with the national Greens on creating a green energy policy platform and creation of a computerized Green energy network.

June 8, 1989

Rancho Seco is finally closed by popular vote.

August 1990

The Alliance sets off statewide alert opposing plans to build a nuclear waste dump at Ward Valley near Needles, CA.

November 17, 1990

Individuals representing California groups form Don't Waste California to work on nuclear issues such as the Needles dump and the NRC attempt to deregulate nuclear waste (BRC).