Los Angeles, February 21 — While 13,000 West Coast dock workers returned to work today, another 1,350 oil refinery workers walked out at the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, the largest refinery in the U.S.
The dock workers, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have been waging a work-to-rule campaign against the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), in a nine-month contract fight. Once a communist-led union, the ILWU remains the most militant, left-wing union in the U.S. They struck the docks during the Occupy movement and again over the issue of racist police terror and the killing of Oscar Grant. They also refused to unload Israeli ships during the bombing of Gaza last summer.
The contract covers all West Coast dock workers, leaving the bosses little wiggle room when there is a dispute. A deal was finally reached after Obama ordered U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez to San Francisco to get the docks back up and running. The new contract covers docks at 29 seaports that handle about $1 trillion worth of cargo annually. The amount of cargo trailers waiting to be unloaded at just the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, if stacked one on top of the other, would reach the International Space Station. U.S. exports are also waiting to reach Asian markets, from agricultural goods to auto parts.
The details of the agreement have not been released, but the PMA’s “last, best and final” offer included continuing fully paid health coverage, an $11,000 increase in the maximum pension benefit, and a $1/hour wage increase over each of the next five years.
On Strike!
Meanwhile, the first nationwide oil refinery strike in more than 30 years is growing. The United Steelworkers union represents over 30,000 workers at refineries, terminals, petrochemical plants and pipelines across the country that produce more than 60 percent of U.S. oil. The Unfair Labor Practice strike over health and safety issues began on February 1, at nine strategic sites in Texas, California, Washington, and Kentucky and has spread to sites in Indiana and Ohio. The Motiva refinery is a joint venture between Shell and Saudi Refining Inc. that produces over 600,000 barrels per day. The walkout there raises the strike level from 10 percent to 20 percent of the workforce, with the rest of the workers poised to go out at any time.
The union called the strike after rejecting proposals from Royal Dutch Shell, the lead negotiator for Tesoro Corporation, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Petroleum, and LyondellBasell Industries. The U.S. oil industry made almost $90 billion in profit in 2014.
No Blood for Oil
Workers are demanding the hiring of hundreds of new workers for safe staffing levels, an end to the use of outside contractors on daily maintenance work, and increased time off between shifts to combat fatigue. This strike shows that the slogan “No Blood for Oil,” rings true whether in the U.S., Iraq or Syria.
These strikes reflect the potential power of the industrial working class. Nothing moves without workers. The slightest stirring strikes fear among the war makers and strikebreakers, especially coming on the heels of the Ferguson rebellion and nationwide upsurge. As May Day approaches, we fight for the day when that power is unleashed to build a communist world, based on equality and meeting the needs of the international working class.