Maritime fuel workers win union in Tacoma supply chain
Operations and Maintenance Technicians in the Port of Tacoma, who will produce Liquefied Natural Gas to fuel TOTE Maritime ships, fought to be union and won an election in August at NAES Corporation to become new members of the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU), Marine Division of the ILWU.
“We are really excited to have joined together for respect and a voice on the job,” said Israel Lopez, one of the O&M techs. “We know our strength comes from having each other’s backs and solidarity from members in other operations connected to this one.”
O&M techs were recruited by NAES from all over the country to relocate to Puget Sound, help commission the plant and begin to operate the facility. Within a short time, workers began to realize managers lacked experience, expertise and the ability to listen to employee concerns.
“When managers refused to provide requisite trainings or follow protocols,” added Israel, “we knew it was time to confront the situation.”
Upon realizing the employer depends on union labor in the maritime supply chain, workers launched a campaign through IBU and ILWU earlier this year at NAES, which runs the operation in the Port of Tacoma to fuel TOTE vessels with natural gas.
TOTE’s parent company Saltchuk also owns Foss Maritime, where for years IBU members have worked on tugs and barges transporting fuel, while ILWU Local 23 members have loaded TOTE’s ships at the Port for decades.
“As we thought about how we could win our fight at NAES,” said technician Tim Coto, “it just made sense we would go union and join with other IBU/ILWU workers able to affect operations when the employer violates our rights.”
O&M techs marched on the plant manager to demand a response and an end to negligence. After upper management held a damage control meeting with employees and failed to take meaningful action, workers were subsequently hit hard by a COVID outbreak at the plant.
After weeks of sickness and slow recovery, technicians were further met with news the plant manager—not workers—had invited a different union in to meet with employees, in a clear attempt to divert employees into a sweetheart deal management could control.
Instead of taking the bait, technicians demanded equal access on the job for a worker-run union meeting in June, and took over a room in the plant with leaders from IBU and ILWU Local 23 to discuss a strong path forward.
“Workers made it clear it was time to move, and almost everyone quickly signed on to be IBU after the meeting,” said IBU President Jay Ubelhart. “We all got on the same page about supply chain power and the industrial links connecting this facility.”
“We shared our history with TOTE and our members’ commitment to solidarity,” said ILWU Local 23 President Jared Faker. “People really understood this employer needs smooth maritime and longshore operations in order to function.”
While the company did not agree to voluntarily recognize workers, NAES clearly saw overwhelming unity when all but one employee signed on the petition and realized they had little chance of dragging out the hearing process when workers quickly filed for an election. Instead, the company stipulated, agreeing to the appropriate unit of technicians eligible to vote in an election.
After receiving a ballot in the mail over the following weeks, almost every single technician came together again, donning an IBU shirt, flashing a thumbs-up, and taking a picture to leave no question in managers’ heads as to how tightly workers are unified at NAES.
On August 6, the National Labor Relations Board counted the ballots and certified the new union as IBU, with over 90 percent support.
“Our union collaboration as a team with better communication will make NAES safer,” said Burt Zook, one of the technicians.
“We’re thrilled to win this vote and ready to push right away for a good union contract,” added Jon Enimpah, one of the technicians. “It’s time we hold management accountable and nail down fair rules for everyone.”