ST. THOMAS — The United Steelworkers continues fighting for fair contracts for more than 2,000 members in the territory after the governor refused to sign negotiated and ratified collective bargaining agreements due to financial concerns related to hazardous pay.
A group of about three dozen USW union members protested 12 expired contracts outside the Legislature Monday evening on St. Thomas ahead of Governor Albert Bryan Jr.’s sixth State of the Territory Address, booing the chief executive as he exited his vehicle to enter the building.
The USW is urging all its members to sign an online petition on the union’s website to stand in solidarity with workers in the territory as they demand the government and other employers respect their work, pay them what they’ve earned, and live up to the contract agreements.
The governor and the union’s district director both agreed it’s time to get back to the bargaining table and come to a resolution, but the local staff representative for the USW is ready to fight to keep everything in the contracts that have already been negotiated and ratified by union members.
Fair contracts:
The protesting union members, representing a cross section of workers in the territory, demanded fair contracts, including negotiated wage increases and hazardous pay that the governor has not ultimately approved. A similar protest took place outside Government House Monday on St. Croix.
“The whole thing it’s about is trying to get the government to recognize the contracts and the promises that they made in those contracts,” Daniel Flippo, USW District 9 director, said. “We sit down, we negotiate an agreement, we reach a meeting of the minds and then the governor simply doesn’t sign it and doesn’t provide our members what they’ve already promised.”
Discussing those unkept promises, Flippo noted negotiated wage increases for employees at the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, 10% hazardous duty pay for workers at the territory’s homes for the aged, and $4,000 in annual hazardous duty pay for crime scene investigators. He stressed the need to negotiate three-year terms for the remaining nine USW collective bargaining agreements.
Bryan said the union representatives and Office of Collective Bargaining might have agreed on the terms for negotiated wage increases, but clarified he didn’t approve them because the government can’t afford it.
“They have no signed contract,” he said outside the Delly Deck Diner and Bar Tuesday morning after appearing on a live episode of “Analyze This with Neville James” that was streamed on location at the Havensight Mall restaurant.
Hazardous pay:
The governor said he’s not in favor of granting the negotiated hazardous pay for workers whose jobs are inherently hazardous, including police officers, firefighters and nurses.
“I think the negotiators are on point in terms of the regular pay, but we’re not paying hazard pay at 10% and 20% to people who already have hazardous jobs,” he said, suggesting that the union should simply negotiate wage increases as opposed to requesting hazardous pay.
Flippo pointed out a modest wage increase was negotiated in the same package that included the request for hazardous pay. He said the coronavirus helped the country realize that nurses, crime scene investigators and others who work around body fluids deserve hazardous pay.
“They’ve done it on this island up to this year when the contract expired, so hazard didn’t go away just because another year came around,” he said outside the Delly Deck after discussing the issue on James’ radio show.
The union members also protested Viya’s plans to move customer service jobs out of the territory. They stood across the street from the Legislature building in orderly fashion as they waved signs that read, “Governor Bryan: Respect Workers and Contracts,” “Fair Contracts for Virgin Islands Workers,” and “Fair Contract Now.” They chanted, “hey, hey what do you say; time to give us all our pay;” “this is a union town; we won’t let you tear it down;” and “Bryan, Viya, you’re no good; treat our unions like you should.”
Rather than going on strike, Flippo said the union members are working based on day-to-day extensions of their expired contracts.
“We understand our members provide services for the public, so it’s not like we want to take a work action to stop those services, but at some point, when they’re not doing the things they should do with the government, we have to do what we have to do.”
Communication breakdown:
The OCB officials and union representatives need to reignite negotiations to agree on a contract the government will sign.
Bryan said the union reps have not requested a meeting with him for months, noting they missed an opportunity to do so when they were all at the Delly Deck.
“They had a chance to speak to me,” he said, adding they weren’t interested. “They want to fight because I don’t know for whatever reason the USW didn’t want Bryan-Roach to be governor and lieutenant governor. That’s OK, but this is the people’s business. We want to get people paid.”
Flippo, whose USW district includes the Virgin Islands, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina, greeted the governor and shook his hand at the Delly Deck. He discarded the governor’s statement as being untrue. He said he has requested meetings with Bryan, the union has requested meetings with OCB and politics doesn’t have anything to do with it.
“I have no problem in coming to the Virgin Islands,” he said, adding that he lives in Birmingham, Alabama but has offices on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Jerry Jackson, USW District 9 staff representative for the Virgin Islands, confirmed during a phone interview that the union’s ongoing efforts to arrange meetings with the governor and Chief Labor Negotiator Joss Springette have failed.
“He has yet to respond back to the union on any days to meet,” he said about the governor. “We’ve been asking the chief negotiator, Joss Springette, for days to meet in reference to all the open contracts we have. She keeps pushing back the dates.”
Attempts to contact Springette by phone and email for an update on the status of negotiations with the USW were unsuccessful as she is out of the office on sick leave until Friday.
Political games:
When it comes to politics, Flippo said the union not being where it wants to be in terms of its CBAs has nothing to do with a lack of support for the Bryan-Roach administration. He said it’s because OCB and Bryan are not responding to the union’s requests to negotiate.
“Regardless of who gets elected, we’re going to work with who gets elected,” he said. “I honestly don’t recall if we supported him in the last election; that’s why I’m positive it’s not about politics.”
Jackson has his own opinion about why the governor won’t sign off on the contracts.
“I think he’s being malicious in it because he’s claiming we didn’t support his candidacy,” he said.
Viya concerns:
The USW District 9 director discussed an evolving situation at Viya that could negatively affect some of the union members.
The USW received notification from Viya that the telecommunications provider plans to move its call center jobs in the territory to Guyana, Flippo said. He said doing so would result in union members getting laid off, stressing a need to address any ongoing issues to keep those jobs in the Virgin Islands. He said the union believes relocating the customer service jobs would place Viya in violation of its contract, noting a grievance has been filed. He discussed how Viya employees are bringing the company’s telecommunications services into the 21st century.
“They’ve done that, and they don’t deserve as thank you for all that work for their jobs to be moved to another country,” he said.
Geraldine Pitt, Viya chief executive officer, in a written response to WTJX about the union’s grievance, indicated the company’s focus is always to balance the needs of all stakeholders of the business to get to the optimal customer experience. She declined to publicly comment on the private matters between Viya and the USW, noting the collective bargaining agreement allows for “candid and open” exchanges between both parties, and serves as the appropriate forum for any discussions pertaining to such matters.
“In instances where these efforts may result in tough decisions regarding our team, we prioritize open communication and collaboration with our employees’ union representatives,” Pitt said in an email. “Our employees are the foundation of our success and have been instrumental in serving the Territory throughout our history. We value their contributions and consider them integral to Viya’s success.”
Path forward:
When it comes to the union and government reaching an agreement, the governor discussed the path forward to settle the issues.
“I think they just need to get back to the table; request a meeting, we sit down, we work it out,” he said. “The only thing that I really have in contention is the hazard pay; that’s the only thing, but they haven’t asked for a meeting to discuss it and get it resolved.”
The union remains ready to negotiate, Flippo said.
“We’ve requested negotiations, we’ve requested meetings, we’ve got nothing,” he said.
Although Flippo discussed a desire to return to the bargaining table, Jackson isn’t ready to give up any negotiated hazardous pay.
“I don’t think we need to renegotiate at this junction,” he said, noting the government initially came to the table with terms for hazardous pay, and the union has taken the issue to the Public Employees Relations Board. “We are going to fight for it because you cannot renege. Right now, we have already filed a charge with the PERB based on fair labor practice.”
