Striking USW members bolstered their solidarity with their fellow labor leaders in the Netherlands on Tuesday as the oil workers shared their concerns about refinery safety.
The USW delegation, led by District 11 Director Emil Ramirez, met with members of Dutch labor union FNV in Spijkenisse, Netherlands, and held a press conference to address the reasons behind the USW’s 10-day-old strike in protest of unfair labor practices (ULP) by oil companies in the United States.
“Our strike is not about wages and economy, but the safety of workers,” Ramirez said. “The oil industry is the richest in the world, yet higher profits seem to be more important to these companies than a safe work environment.”
The ULP strike, which began on February 1, now includes more than 5,000 USW members at 11 refineries owned by Shell, Tesoro, BP, Marathon and LyondellBasell. Shell, which is leading bargaining with the USW on behalf of the companies, is based in the Netherlands.
USW International President Leo W. Gerard requested a meeting with Shell’s chief executive officer to address the union’s concerns, but the company has yet to respond.
The USW began the ULP strike after the companies failed to address the union’s safety concerns, refused to negotiate over mandatory subjects, impeded bargaining, and threatened workers if they joined the ULP strike.
The USW members and their global allies will join forces again on Wednesday for pickets at a Shell facility in Pernis, Netherlands, and LyondellBasell facility in Botlek, Netherlands.
“We stand in solidarity with our American colleagues,” said Egbert Schellenberg, FNV’s process industry director.