Texas refinery workers, along with refinery workers throughout the country, are striking against several refinery operators including Shell, LyondellBasell, and Motiva Enterprises. They intend to keep the strike going until their demands are satisfied.
On March 5, the United Steelworkers Texas refinery workers staged a protest with more than 500 workers participating. They rallied in front of both the Shell and LyondellBasell headquarters in Houston, Texas, and they were very well-organized, with all the workers present knowledgeable on the issues they were fighting for.
Lee Medley, president of United Steelworkers Local 13-1, explained that this action is not about money. "This is about safety," he said. "It's about people being qualified and trained at these refineries. It's about working long hours and people getting on the roads and putting other folks in danger. ... We have good jobs. We want to come home from these jobs safely, though. ... This is not about money. There have been no arguments over the money."
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Medley went on to say that even the companies acknowledged that it was not about wages. He said that what's not talked about is the retrogression language. The workers must have "no retrogression" language in the contract. United Steelworkers spokesperson Lynne Hancock said the a "no retrogression" clause ensures that the companies cannot go back on past agreements.
About a week after the strike, a tentative agreement was reached:
"The new agreement calls for joint review on the local level of future, craft worker staffing- needs,” said USW International Vice President Tom Conway. "Included are hiring plans to be developed in conjunction with recruitment and training programs."
The tentative agreement calls for yearly wages increases as well as maintaining the current health care plan cost-sharing ratio.
“Preserving 'retrogression' clauses in our agreements was also an objective established by our policy conference and we accomplished that, too,” said USW International Vice President Gary Beevers, who oversees the union’s oil sector. "There was no way we could turn our backs to the accomplishments of prior contract negotiations."
Anyone marching with the United Steelworkers could feel the solidarity. It is evident that Shell realized it would be best to get a deal as opposed to continue playing hardball with the workers.
During the protest Ben Lilienfeld, United Steelworkers sub-director, echoed Medley's position that the protests and strikes were not about money, but about safety and no retrogression. He said that because parts of the negotiations are effected as letters of agreements, companies could request a change. Under labor laws, a company could bargain to impasse to get their change.
These Texans and American refinery workers throughout the country are very hard workers. For all practical purposes, they work in dangerous environments that put their lives at risk. They are exposed daily to higher levels of chemicals that over time do their bodies much harm. While these workers are well-compensated relative to the population at large, that compensation was won because of the power of unions to concentrate the voices of the workers.
Many of these workers seemed concerned about bringing up the issue of money. They fear they will lose support of poorly paid non-union workers throughout the nation. Wage envy?
Here is the reality: It is about money. The lack of safety is about money—corporate and shareholder profits at the expense of the safety of employees, less expensive poorly paid contractors used to temper wages. Yes, it is about money. Yes, it is about protecting the wages they fought for and earned with their productivity. It is about ensuring they are not undercut by a subtle form of outsourcing—contracting.
It is important that unions not only fight for their current members. American wages have fallen as union memberships have declined. Right-to-work states are really right-to-work-for-much-less states. It is important that unions educate the American worker at large. The survival of unions—and with them, a vibrant middle class—depends on it.