Oil Spill Response Workers on Strike Over Unfair Labor Practices

by Mike Hall, Aug 21, 2008

Oil spill response workers, members of the Inlandboatmen’s Union (IBU), are on the picket line this week in Tacoma, Wash., striking over what they say is illegal discrimination and intimidation by their employer, the Marine Spill Response Corp. (MSRC).

In 2006, the workers voted to join the IBU, an affiliate of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). But the company has dragged its feet in negotiations and failed to reach a fair contract with the boatmen. The workers also say they have been threatened with violence.

The oil spill workers are among the many employees across the country who face employer harassment, threats and intimidation even after they form unions. The proposed Employee Free Choice Act would allow for mediation and arbitration for such first-contract disputes because one-third of the time, private-sector employers do not negotiate a first contract.

In June, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) office in Seattle issued a complaint against MSRC charging that the company “has been interfering with, restraining and coercing employees” and “discriminating in regard to…terms and conditions of employment.”

The workers say the most recent example of the company’s actions came this week, when they were excluded from an important emergency response training in Everett. They say they want the abuse and discrimination to stop so the company can instead focus on providing the best spill response possible.

Says striking responder Jason Connelly:

If an oil tanker ruptures in the Puget Sound today, we can’t afford to wait around for enough workers to arrive from other parts of the country to help us out. You can’t push the “pause” button during an oil spill, so you need enough highly trained workers nearby who are prepared to work immediately, before it’s too late.

Klete Freudenstein, another responder, says that denying the training to employees also puts the community at risk:

It makes no sense to deprive response workers of trainings that are designed to make us more effective at spill response. We just want to do the best job possible, but the company is acting out of spite—and the community deserves better than that.

If a spill occurs, the workers will immediately return to work. Says responder Jack Jones:

Our heart and soul is in protecting our waters and our community. That’s exactly why were here— because we can do the best job possible if we have a say in improving operations.

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