ST. CROIX — A handful of United Steelworkers members and union representatives stood from their seats under the large tent while holding signs in silent protest today as Governor Albert Bryan Jr. delivered his speech during the opening ceremony of the 54th annual Agriculture and Food Fair at the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture on St. Croix.
Members of the USW, North America’s largest industrial union, quietly sent a message to the governor that they are ready to negotiate fair contracts after years of working on day-to-day extensions.
The union representatives displayed their new motto, “kicking ass for the working class,” on the back of their T-shirts. The signs the protesters waved included slogans such as “Fair Contract Now,” “Governor Bryan: Respect Workers and Contracts,” and “You Can’t Spell Union Without U and I.”
“We have approximately three contracts that are out there presently, going as far back as 2013 that they have yet to get us to the table to ratify,” Gerard “Jerry” Jackson, USW District 9 staff representative, said prior to the silent protest. “Some of them we’ve been negotiating but have yet to get back to the table over two and a half years.”
Jackson said working under expired contracts means the union members are not receiving adequate salaries, especially considering the increasing cost of living in the territory. He said supervisors are especially affected.
“We have members of the rank and file basically making more than their actual supervisor,” he said.
Lisa Richards Ryan, secretary and grievance officer for the USW Supervisors’ Union Local 9489, said members of her union have been on a day-to-day contract for more than three years.
“We’re asking the governor, as well as our officials, to give us a date so that we can negotiate for our members,” she said while preparing to participate in the silent protest.
Ryan, who also serves as vice president of the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Islands, said the union needs a fair contract for its members.
“We need to make sure that they have fair wages, they have health insurance, as well as the different things that they would need to live on this island,” she said.
Bryan, while exiting his vehicle and proceeding to the stage to begin the opening ceremony, responded to a request for comment about the USW’s concerns. He said that every other union has been able to get to the bargaining table and negotiate its contracts.
“If they can’t get to the table, I will question their union leadership,” the governor said. “Maybe they need new leaders.”
Jackson responded with a message to the governor.
“Stop lying to the people of the Virgin Islands and stop lying to my membership because we wrote Joss Springette a letter, and she said that you have yet to give her the authority, and I have it in writing that you have yet to give her the authority to negotiate with the Steelworkers,” Jackson said.
Jackson said Springette, chief labor negotiator with the Office of Collective Bargaining, notified the union two weeks ago that she has yet to receive authorization from the governor to negotiate any of the union’s expired contracts. He said, however, the union is ready to negotiate and has submitted dates of availability.
“We’re hoping that they can get us to the table before election,” Jackson said.
During the opening ceremony, USW members and union representatives sat at a picnic table under the large tent as they held their signs next to them.
The protesters stood from their seats and quietly made their presence known as they held up their signs when Bryan approached the podium to address the crowd.
Jackson said the union has been protesting at public events throughout the past year and a half, including the Crucian Christmas Festival parades and Liberty Day celebration, in hopes that its message will reach the governor. The union also held a protest outside the Legislature building on St. Thomas during the governor’s State of the Territory Address last month.
“We did our demonstration there to remind him that we’re still waiting for our wage increases,” Jackson said. “We’re still willing to get to the table. We have a lot of different issues.”
In addition to having three expired contracts that need to be negotiated, Jackson said union members are owed more than $190,000 in retroactive pay dating back to the 1980s.
Additionally, Jackson said the union has not received any money after being awarded a $20.4 million arbitration settlement in 2024 following a 12-year fight for retroactive wages owed from 2009 to 2013 to more than 500 bargaining unit employees working as support staff in 21 Virgin Islands government agencies and departments.
“We have yet to see any movement in reference to when our membership is going to get those monies,” he said.
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Jackson said the union is also raising awareness that its members continue working in hazardous conditions due to mold in government agency workplaces, despite promises that workers would be relocated.
Although the protests the USW members have held have not been successful in getting the government to the bargaining table, Jackson said the union is building awareness of the issues.
“We’re getting a lot of support from the community,” he said. “We are also hearing from the prospective individuals who want to seek a position within the Legislature.”
