Isn’t Life Strange?

With all the announcements of jobs being lost, companies scaling back operations, and some going out of business altogether, it seems to me that most people would be grateful simply to have a job at this time.

Never count out a union negotiation to throw a monkey-wrench into a machine (That would be our economy) already in danger of collapsing.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Workers at 11 area refineries and chemical plants could go on strike as early as Sunday if ongoing negotiations fail to produce a new contract.

Labor agreements that cover 30,000 energy and chemical workers nationwide, including 4,200 Houston-area employees, expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. Key remaining sticking points are wages, medical insurance, and health and safety concerns, said Alan Barnes, treasurer of the United Steelworkers union Local 13-1.

So far, union negotiators have rejected two contract offers. The most recent one called for a 2.5 percent raise the first year and 2 percent raise in each of the second and third years of the contract, Barnes said.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me, but the union does have an issue here that I believe should be resolved.

One of the sticking points is a proposal by Shell to limit the amount of overtime each employee can work to 30 percent of their normal annual hours to prevent fatigue. But management reserves the right to waive the rule and requires some employees to work more overtime than the cap permits, said Barnes.

I don’t particularly like the “reserves the right to waive the rule” language. As a contractor, I’ve been asked to work well into the evening a number of times at a job site, and I am generally willing and happy to do so as long as it doesn’t pose a safety issue. But refineries are intrinsically dangerous places where workers need to be alert and aware of everything around them at all times. I can certainly identify with the union over this issue… and I am not a big fan of unions. These companies consistently trumpet safety and environmental responsibility as their main priorities for both employees and visiting contractors. But all too often those concerns are forgotten when the line goes down and they need to get it running again.

Hopefully these two parties will find a resolution and a new contract will be signed. Otherwise, production will suffer, supply will drop, and yes, fuel prices will spike. And this time, you won’t have George W. Bush to blame - not that some of you won’t try.