Union says company improperly declared impasse
Filing by United Steelworkers accuses LyondellBasell of unfair labor practices
The United Steelworkers union, whose members have been striking at LyondellBasell’s Houston refinery for 12 weeks and counting, has complained to federal regulators that the company improperly declared an impasse in contract negotiations .
The union last week filed unfair labor practices charges with the National Labor Relations Board in response to a pointed open letter to employees from LyondellBasell management. The letter posted on the company’s website said talks had stalled after the union voted overwhelmingly to reject what LyondellBasell called its “last, best and final offer” on April 14.
“The refinery continues to operate and the company must move forward,” head of refining Kevin Brown wrote. “Houston Refining has tried diligently for over three months to reach a deal with the USW negotiators, but the company’s efforts have proved futile. Even with the help of a federal mediator, the union has taken an intractable stance. Negotiations are at an impasse.”
He wrote that the company would move ahead to hire new workers under the terms of its final contract offer, a four-year pact that included pay raises that started at 2.5 percent and grew to 3.5 percent in the final year.
The refinery is one of five locations in Texas, Ohio and Indiana with a combined 3,000 workers still on strike, union spokeswoman Lynne Hancock said.
Some 500 workers are on strike at the local LyondellBasell plant.
“We were surprised by this because we didn’t think there was an impasse,” Hancock said.
She said the union reached out to the company last week and LyondellBasell would not return to the bargaining table.
LyondellBasell did not respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
The terms still under dispute are largely around health, safety and scheduling. Hancock said the company proposal would require employees to work week-
end shifts with little notice.
“The company can at its whim tell you on Friday you have to work,” she said. “It doesn’t allow you to have a life.”
She said the company also was trying to dismantle safety procedures put in place after a blast at another company’s plant killed 15 workers in 2005..
“LyondellBasell’s premature declaration of impasse and refusal to bargain with USW Local 13-227 is outrageous,” local union representative Jim Lefton said in a statement. “LyondellBasell used the declaration of impasse to bully its workers to accept a substandard contract that does not stop the company from working its employees to the point of exhaustion.”
The charges with the NLRB allege the company refused to bargain in good faith, claims the labor board will investigate. The union also wrote to a federal mediator asking that the mediator return to oversee further contract negotiations.
“There is plenty of movement that can be made at the bargaining table ... and that’s why we urge Lyondell-Basell to return to the bargaining table,” Lefton added.