On the Eve of
Destruction - The EXXON Valdez “Wreck” Remembered!
Soon upon us once
again that March 24th “horror scene” and this time around
commemorating the 31st anniversary of that historic wreck - how time
flies! All is not yet well, as the destructive habit of stubborn and weathered
oil lingers on like a forever death-grip for Prince William Sound, what have we
learned? As when it was all said and done with in the “Courts” upon sentencing during
the “Wreck’s” aftermath blame game, the EXXON $fines$ and Captain Joe’s bar time,
all reduced to a slap on the wrist. Maybe so we learned nothing, yes nothing so
is it time for a rewind, say from 1989 backwards to 1979? As surely there has
to be a “someone” or “something” to blame - it was not an accident so that “something”
doesn’t count. And that leaves us with that “someone”, yet Joe was let go with an
almost “free & clear” penance. Hear Ye, Hear Ye will the guilty “someone”
please step up to the plate!
Due my affiliation
with the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company during that “event” of a lifetime,
well the “Eve of Destruction” that unprecedented “wreck” crashing a fully laden
tanker into a well-known “reef” located in a pristine marine ecosystem, it started
long before Joe radioed in that he was “hard aground and leaking some oil”. And
poor old Captain Joe Hazelwood, well he did apologize, with a Simple Simon
remorse of “I abuse alcohol”. And the Mighty EXXON did also offer up an apology
through an action, as it sold the “wreck” to China and that heap of scrap was renamed
the Nicety! What’s up with that? But that “Eve of Destruction”, for those of us
in the know it was in reality on the day before that this “Wreck” found
historic and worldwide fame, wherein it all began. When just before midnight a Yellow
Cab “Taxi” pulled up to the Alyeska “Marine Terminal” Security with a boatload of
binge drinking seamen no longer able-bodied, out and about enjoying “bar tab” furlough
freedom as that tanker went filled to the brim with “crude oil”. But that was
not unusual for the Alyeska “contracted” Security detail to turn a blind eye,
as even if “Under-the-Influence” this slipping through that “watch” it was
condoned by the Alyeska Management - as moving oil at any expense was the goal.
And it was not that these “can’t walk a straight line” seamen were driving a car,
well welcome home now climb aboard that tanker and sail it through the “Sound”.
OK, but that night before on that “Eve of Destruction”, it does not do justice either
as one must go back even further in time to make a determination who was the
ultimate “someone” at blame that allowed this “Wreck” to occur. Yes, read on
and find out the fuse and who lit that fuse for that destruction, as it should
have been and could have been avoided so easily. Matter in fact, we came so
close to STOPPING this abuse. Unfortunately, our efforts sidetracked by overzealous
jealousy from within the Alyeska “Management” ranks, that we didn’t trust them
while we enjoined “Solidarity” our distrust. Look, we could not take away Joe’s
keys, but we bargained for the power to restrict that “furlough” as a solution,
yet the Alyeska Management balked and the outcome of that stubborn like
behavior is well known - “Hard Aground”!
It all started in
1979, when a small fraction of the Alyeska workforce in Valdez decided to hold
an election for “organized labor” representation. It was a unanimous decision
in favor of a “UNION”, with 22-YEA verses 5-NEY in the final “vote” tally. It
meant a small faction, a fraction of the 200-head count workforce at the “END”
of the 800-mile long Trans-Alaska-Pipeline now entertaining being under the
umbrella of a “collective bargaining unit”. This came about when Jimmy Carter
was still the sitting U.S. President, an all important fact based on the fact
that to hold such an election it must be sanctioned by the National Labor Relations
Board “chaired” by the President’s appointees, those that find an affection for
the Commander’s political agenda. A time when the “Union” found a whole lot of
breathing room. So it was a done deal, the “vote” in favor of a “UNION” and
soon certified by the NLRB as “official” and “We’re In” we saluted!
Now this “organized
bargaining” was one of those things that did not have an invite through that Alyeska
“OPEN DOOR” Policy and Alyeska decided to “object” to the fact that a “UNION”
was now standing in that doorway and wanting in on the action. And interesting enough,
that “objection” was overruled in a “supplemental decision” by the NLRB “Regional
Director”, that the objection was merely a take-down on how the bargaining unit
bosses “boast” upon the benefit of a “UNION”, also known as “puffing” and a very
common denominator tool used to entice “organized labor” at the worksite. It
basically means “zero” interference upon a worker’s rights and it meant the
UNION was here to stay time to arrest the drunks. What does that mean? OK, the
interest in a “UNION” was not due to the lack of a livable wage nor the work conditions
second to none, but out of a growing suspicion that the Alyeska “Management” from
far and away in Fairbanks and Anchorage was derelict in its duties to make sure
the Alaskan oil trade was performed with emphasis on safety, including
environmental concerns addressed. And some of us working the Valdez detail, we had
enough of the drunks and when the management failed to acknowledge that a
210000 DWT tanker filled to the brim with “crude oil” and driven “Under-the-Influence”,
well not a very bright idea. But the sentiment from management, “boys will be boys”
as moving oil was their only concern. The abuse in inebriation of the tanker
crews on furlough, it was well known about, but for a handful in Alyeska’s
executive rank and file, it seemed they just did not care. With a “UNION”, we
had more clout to make sure our concerns were addressed and if push comes to
shove, a work “slowdown” by this small faction now “represented” by outside
interference - it gets the point across. The small faction that was now under
that “UNION”, it meant the “Instrumentation & Electrical” crew now front
and center of attention with newfound “power”. And without our expertise, tankers
were dead in the water as was the entire system in Valdez derailed and that meant
curtailment of the “Pipeline” now delivering 20% of the nation’s energy needs. We
were now on the forefront to yield a power that could send shivers up the spine
of “Big Oil” and restrict that lucrative Alaskan “oil trade” to a halt. And that
said, all we were asking for is for the “Management” to get rid of the “drunks”.
It was a simple solution. But Alyeska then asked for a review of the “supplemental
decision” that found in favor of a “UNION” over the objection and the original
decision in objection that the “voice of the workers” through that NLRB
sanctioned vote desired that “UNION”. Which means the case landed on the bench
of the NLRB “Chairman” but not scheduled on the docket until 1982, a long ways
away for those Valdez workers to watch their backs and best carry that RIGID
818 to fend against those unruly tanker crews. For real, I had to resort to
that “weapon” when a bunch of “drunks” returned from that “furlough” and
demanded I give them a ride from the “Taxi Stand” to their awaiting tanker’s
gangplank. I refused in “solidarity” and raised that RIGID in defiance! Now during
this “objection” time-out, the “UNION” was placed in a holding pattern. Yes,
Alyeska wanted that “Board” hearing not in a hurry, but wait until Ronald
Reagan was sworn in as the 40th POTUS and then had enough time to
seat his own kind on important “boards” like the NLRB. The entire process was
time delayed in efforts to favor Alyeska’s stance, to fight off the “UNION”.
And finally, when a John R. Van de Water was christened in the “Smith Seat” as
Chairman of the NLRB, then it was time for Alyeska to play hardball with the
Valdez workers saluting that “UNION”. Van de Water was known to be a flat-out UNION
Buster, so during his Senate confirmation was strongly opposed by the labor
organizations like the AFL-CIO. Matter of fact, that is what Van de Water did
for a living, as a consultant with a lucrative career in anti-union campaigns
to the point his track record, well in his testimony Mr. Union Buster admitted
that he was involved in 125 successful campaigns to “block” union organizing,
losing only 5 and calling on the losers to fight to undo what was done! And
guess what, when the “Board” heard the Alyeska case, what was once considered “puff”
stuff in 1979 was now considered a “fist inside a velvet glove” approach and
the entire election was thrown out. What a difference a few years makes, puff
to fists to the point the “Board” referred to the “Union” tactics as “evil”? Now
the NLRB was smart, as it realized that on “appeal” that this “evil decision” based
on a political calling card, it could find its way all the way to the U.S.
Supreme Court and of course the “Supremes” would have found that it was “puff”,
nothing more and that election would have been stayed in favor of a “UNION”.
But by calling for the direction of a “Second Election” some many months away
and now years away from the original “vote”, it didn’t allow a request for
intervention by the “High Court” and it gave Alyeska all the time in the world
to unravel the definition of a “collective bargaining unit” by making changes
on how business responsibilities went divided up at the Valdez “Marine Terminal”.
Gone with the wind was the “Maintenance Group” as a whole, which means the “I&E”
Technicians were divided up and spread around, all of us now classified as “Technicians”
- which meant very hard to find a majority of all similarly situated
technicians interested in a “UNION”. Look, an operator has no interest in the
IBEW, as so a mechanic wants nothing to do with “electricity”. And it was the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers that the Valdez “I&E” won that first
election promoting an affiliation with “organized labor”. So conquer by dividing, as those that had spoken
out against the drunk’d tanker crews, repositioned up the hill to the Power
Vapor Group, and never again would there be any contact with the inebriated
sailor boys in a retaliatory out-of-site out-of-mind mentality. It stunk, as we
knew it was still going on unabated and many workers just too damn scared to
speak up as by now the “threats” from Alyeska’s management center of attention.
So we were toast, as that possibility of another successful election, it was
never to happen and the EXXON Valdez made history. We were trying to STOP the
bastards, and instead of Alyeska targeting that “boys will be boys” bull-crap,
it was the “vocal UNION supporters” like myself that fell victim to this busting
effort. This is what political “clout” finds as an advantage over the workers,
as it takes but for a single individual to make this sensation from “puff to
fists” and yielding the power to overthrow an election, the “will” of the
workers! That person of interest, that “someone” to blame for that March 24th
“wreck”? Look nowhere else, point a finger at that NLRB “Chairman” Van de Water.
And when Alyeska
wasted precious resources to fend off the UNION, with the drunk tanker crews it
meant more and more time to take advantage of the situation at hand at times
totally out of control. See, it was easy to STOP the drunks, no lawyers
required, maybe a few broken knuckles from our RIGID 818s! So Alyeska had the
message, but “Killed the Messenger”.
With that NLRB “evil”
ruling back in 1982 upon a valid election in 1979, by the Chairman “UNION”
Buster, the “direction for a second election” would never materialize - not
until 2004 wherein the United Steel Workers would make another attempt to “Unionize”
the workforce in Valdez. Strange, as in the initial “objection” by Alyeska still
out in force fighting any and all “organized labor” approaches, funny that the
NLRB is of record that “the record reveals no evidence of bargaining history
with this employer and any union”? What the furlough, is this our government at
work with the taxpayers’ supplied funds for fun? Maybe I was seeing double, but
I voted in an election with the IBEW, how there can no longer be a record, how
about Case 19-RC-9016? But what really shows the success of Alyeska’s “Union
Busting” now more then ever empowered by the Van de Water decision, when that
election in 2004 was a success for the Valdez “collective bargaining unit” so
defined, in “objection” Alyeska likewise threw that election under the bus of
Democracy in consideration “workers’ rights”. By figuring out that Alyeska and
the entire Trans-Alaska-Pipeline was by definition a “Public Utility” and thus
not subject to the jurisdiction of the NLRB. This set a bad and sad precedence for
our children’s future in any labor movement activity, as even slaves had a
better chance at salvation then what is happening today for “Organized Labor”. Sad,
when it was “organized labor” that built this pipeline while the “Union”
members braved treacherous work conditions in extremes of cold, a project many
experts said was an impossibility. Even sadder, when that the Red, White &
Blue still flies from the flagpoles of Alyeska’s Bragaw Street “Headquarters” and
at the “Marine Terminal”, as that is a sacrilege against everything American in
“Labor”!
~~~~~
And herein is how Simple Simon it was to
prevent that “Wreck”:
Rewind of 89: In 1979, the Valdez “I&E”
bargained for “organized labor” representation, a unanimous overwhelming decision
in favor of the “UNION” 22 to 5 in final tally of ballots. With that, Alyeska’s
executive management under Frank Turpin grooming George M. Nelson, it was realized
this choice was the voice of the “workers” and Alyeska did not appeal the “vote”
outcome. With that, the NLRB stayed the election results as “certified” in
favor of the “UNION”. Soon after, Alyeska’s management and the workers were in
serious negotiations as to how this “Union” relationship would work to both
parties advantage - a working together as Alyeska was known as a reputable
organization in charge of operating the 800-mile long Trans-Alaska-Pipeline so
essential for America’s energy stream independence. The biggest annoyance as to
why the dedicated “I&E” workforce sought a UNION, the drunk tanker crews
causing problems with the Valdez workers just trying to do their assigned jobs.
Alyeska was quick to accommodate a “fix” to cover the Unionized workers concerns
upon this “I abuse alcohol” syndrome and placed the “Causeways” between the
tanker loading berths and Alyeska’s “Marine Terminal” property proper off
limits to non-essential/non-Alyeska personnel. Essentially an easy justification
eliminating that shore-side furlough for the tanker crews who in the past enjoyed
time off in the town of Valdez and consuming way too much alcohol before
sailing away with a boatload of “crude oil”. Without access upon the “Causeways”,
that furlough was STOPPED and so was the binge drinking. Basically, from now on
then the tanker crews restricted to the ship’s quarters, unless out of a
medical necessity. All was good, Alyeska management and the UNION smiled in
harmony and on March 24th, 1989 - it was just a normal day for the
Alaskan oil trade business as usual with no unusual events. As by now tanker
crews were minding their Ps&Qs and all was calm in Prince William Sound and
“clear sailing” all the way to the high seas. Thanks to the “UNION” and Alyeska
management working together to eliminate a potential nightmare, in a “Hard Aground”
scenario a tanker hitting Bligh Reef because of “I abuse alcohol” as a root
cause in negligence. Wow, “We’re In” and “Oil In” and “We Won”
hurray for the State of Alaska and Alyeska and the UNION!
Yes, that simple!
...And this
from this...
