Crude oil drivers for Sunoco Logistics Partners (also known as Energy Transfer) have successfully forced United Steelworkers (USW) union bosses out of their work unit, according to a statement issued on May 20 by the The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The victory for workers comes after Jay Fifer, a driver for the oil transportation company, gathered signatures from the majority of his coworkers on a petition demanding that Sunoco Logistics officials end their recognition of the USW as the majority “representative” of the drivers. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acknowledged Sunoco Logistics’ withdrawal of recognition from the USW on May 12. As the result of Fifer and his coworkers’ effort, more than 420 drivers from around 30 Sunoco Logistics facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico are free of the union’s control. Said Fifer: “I’m glad that my coworkers and I were able to band together to force this Steelworkers union out. The union was not a positive force in our workplace, and we are better off without it. I am lucky to live in the Right to Work state of Texas where I could at least choose to stop sending my money to this union while it was still in power, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for all of my fellow drivers.” The NLRB is the agency charged with enforcing federal labor law in the private sector, which includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Thanks to the 2019 Foundation-won Johnson Controls NLRB decision, workers who want to remove unwanted union officials can also do so by submitting a majority-backed petition asking their employer to stop recognizing the union. If there is a dispute about the petition, the NLRB can administer a secret-ballot vote to test the employees’ opposition to the union. Fifer lives in Texas, a Right to Work state barring union bosses from enforcing contracts that require employees to pay dues or fees to union officials as a condition of keeping their jobs. Oklahoma and Louisiana are also Right to Work states, but Sunoco Logistics drivers in New Mexico do not have the benefit of Right to Work protections and can be forced to sacrifice part of their paychecks to union bosses or be fired. However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, federal law lets union officials impose their monopoly “representation” on all workers in a work unit, regardless of whether they support the union or not.
Leave a Reply