JUST one day before Democrats and Republicans were set to forge a trillion dollar debt deal that would impose savage cuts on the American working class, US workers took decisive strike action to defend their living standards.
Licensed deck and engineering officers and stewards represented by American Maritime Officers (AMO) walked off American Steamship Company (ASC) vessels on Monday.
The strike came after AMO’s contract with the company expired at midnight July 31.
‘This strike is the result of American Steamship’s Company refusal to negotiate in good faith, or even present a proposal that recognises the professionalism of the AMO officers and stewards and their value to a company that operates very profitably with AMO on board its ships,’ said AMO National President Tom Bethel.
‘When asked for a final offer, ASC presented AMO members with a proposal that would cut 14 jobs arbitrarily, give the company the ability to eliminate a total of 56 jobs, and would fail to fund the medical, retirement and training benefits of AMO officers.
‘In all, 99 per cent of AMO members working for the company voted to reject ASC’s proposal,’ Bethel said.
‘This strike is the unfortunate but predictable outcome of American Steamship Company’s effort to break the union and punish AMO officers for doing their jobs and doing them exceptionally well.
‘All the while, American Steamship Company has been actively trying to hire and recruit scabs to replace AMO officers on their ships.
‘The company is trying to drag out the negotiating process as long as possible beyond the deadline and is asking AMO members to continue working without a contract while they do it.
‘Over the past week, company representatives have repeatedly boarded the ships and offered the captains an escalating series of bribes,’ Bethel claimed.
‘Meanwhile, ASC has failed to contact AMO with a reasonable proposal.’
Six months ago, AMO offered ASC the opportunity to be the first Great Lakes operator to negotiate a successor agreement to the existing contract, such that the agreement between AMO and ASC would have set the pattern for the Great Lakes fleet.
ASC and its parent company, GATX, declined the opportunity.
Since that time, AMO has secured successor agreements and/or extensions with every other AMO-contracted employer on the Great Lakes.
ASC and GATX would not even begin the negotiating process with AMO until two weeks ago.
During negotiations, AMO officials and company representatives discussed the terms of the pattern agreement at length, and AMO Plans executives met with ASC and GATX representatives to explain the benefit plans, contribution rates and to answer questions.
‘The company representatives asked about moving some numbers around in different years of the agreement, but seemed comfortable with the terms,’ Bethel said.
‘ASC told us they’d take the contract to GATX for a decision.
‘We told them they had to present a final offer to AMO well in advance of the contract’s expiration.
‘At that point, it looked like an agreement would be reached.
‘The proposal GATX came back with was shocking, to say the least,’ Bethel exclaimed.
‘ASC wanted to cut jobs, have contractual permission to cut many more jobs at their discretion, refuse to fund AMO medical, retirement and training benefits, and replace established AMO benefit plans with inferior company benefits.
‘When the ASC proposal was given to AMO members for a ratification vote, it was no surprise that nearly everyone voted it down,’ he added.
‘The company’s Ameri-Force “help wanted” ads started popping up on the Internet and in newspapers in the Great Lakes region trying to bring in scab mates and engineers.
‘This is clearly not about the economy and it’s not about the competition,’ said Bethel.
‘This is a greedy company that is operating more ships and making more profits than any other on the Lakes.
‘AMO’s contract is completely reasonable and seeks only fair raises and the continuation of members’ benefits at their current levels.
‘This strike is not what we want. But, we are standing together and we are committed to securing fair treatment and a reasonable contract from ASC.’
Also on Monday, hundreds of cement and concrete workers took strike action at the World Trade Centre site.
The workers struck at two Lower Manhattan sites — the eastern portion of the World Trade Centre transit hub and World Trade Centre Tower 1.
However, workers did not walk out at the World Trade Centre Memorial, which is scheduled to be completed in time for the upcoming tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Members of Local 6a, Local 18a and Local 20 walked off the job early morning after the Cement League refused to renew their contract which expired on July 1st.
The League is also trying to cut building workers’ pay by up to 20 per cent.
‘It’s a horrible situation, you know?’ said John Hardt of the Cement and Concrete Workers Union.
‘We built this city and they want to take money away from us, in this bad economy.’
Fellow union striker Salvatore Merlino said: ‘They want to cut us whatever it is, five, 10, 20 per cent, they want to take from us. All these years, we built this city.’
Striker Luis McCoy added: ‘We mainly did this because they tried to give us a pay cut.
‘We make a nice amount of money, and they’re trying to take it down, because it’s all about politics.’
A spokesman for the Cement League said negotiations with the union are ongoing.
The Port Authority claimed the mass walk-out had little effect on progress at the World Trade Centre site and no effect on work on the September 11 memorial.
However, strikers are expecting more workers to join them.
Union officials have said a full-blown strike could stall work at 34 sites across the city.
Concrete workers did not show up Monday for their jobs at the new Weill Cornell Medical Centre research building on East 69th Street even though developers and unions have signed labour agreements not to strike at the site.
Meanwhile, Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local 28 members voted down a new deal recommended by their leadership, who have agreed to continue talks through to September 19.
Carpenters have agreed to work until August 15 under the terms of their old deal.