OTL EMPLOYERS from Julian Atkinson
Two items in the June 1
n 5th Oil and Gas J. to which recent militant trade union Eotvigy age comment by me is . we read: unnecessary! Under the headings "Te
"Continental Oil Co. is usi
. us help local supervisors run ;
monstrate the extent
U.S. oil bosses
amsters at it again"
ng supervisors from plants in 6 citi
a teamster-struck plant at Lak ae The Teamsters' Union Loc=1 663 called the strike of ey ee negotiations on a new contract b
. roke down over the issue of flexibili work assigned by management. Continatal quickly flew in 80 rb abd ss from other plants to join some 12 i working 12 hour shifts, © salaried personnel in Lake Charles in
"The manager, K, Andrea, said the union was told attempt to get flexibility without lay-offs but the Goi Ges not believe us." The Teamsters won bargaining rights over an independent union at the plant in an election in March, The strike is the first in the plant's 23-year histor7."
Another item goess
"The industry's largest union is waging an unprecedented battle to win the loyalty of organised workers away from their employers and to tarnish the industry's image with public officials and the public at large"
,, "The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union is broadly suggesting to its members and to elected officials that oil companies may be tax-cheaters, profiteers and price-gougers. These are 3 of 22 counts on which OCAW raises questions of the industry's guilt.
"The extraordinary attack on the industry that gives them their livelihood is a turnabout for OCAW officials, who until this year have generally supported the industry, This radical shift in policy and posture is being interpreted in the industry as a desperate attempt to substitute political power for the strike power that the union has lost through automatione Behind the assault on the industry is a steady decline in union bargaining leve~age over the past 5 years.
“Automation in refineries and oil fields has reduced the number of employees needed in operations and maintenance. The large automated proce essing unit can be operated with much less manpower. Thus the union has lost financially through declining membership and it has lost power at the bargaining table. The modern plant can be run efficiently by supervisors, which would have been impossible a few years ago. This was the hard lesson learned in the long strikes first against American Oil Co., then against Shell and Mobil in the past 5 years. In each case the union suffered crush-= ing defeats...Jack Knight, OCAW presid=ct, frustrated with his weakening position in traditional bargaining, believes the balance has swung too far to the management's side. And he feels obliged to find a new source of counter-balancing strength. OCAW is seeking congressional help in its fight against the use of supervisors in strikes. What irks the union is that because of automation, supervisors often are able to continué operating a refinery indefinitely during a strike with no loss of output. This means the union has 2 tough time meking a strike effective. The union favours legislation which would make it illegal for a company to let anyone take over the work done by union members on strikes.see"