It’s All About Protecting Our Members Rights!
Many of you may or may not know that our union has recently arbitrated a long-standing grievance involving an employee with twenty-five years of combined service with Allegheny Energy and First Energy. This employee worked shift work in plant operations for fifteen years, advancing all the way to the “A” Operator’s position, and then bid to maintenance for an additional 10 years.
This employee also witnessed the birth of UWUA Local 304 and served our union faithfully as a Steward and as the Secretary Treasurer. The trouble started when this employee was being “resource shared” at Fort Martin in September 2018.
The employee fell from a platform, injuring his shoulder. The employee reported it, as required. This touched off a series of events that were as unimaginable as they were unwarranted. That’s when the employee engaged our union by filing a grievance.
Previous to the accident, our union fought the company over the forced use of the now infamous “Form 709″. The union had argued that this medical related form that gave the company unfettered access to an employees’ ENTIRE medical history. The union fought and won in a previous arbitration that Local 304 members were EXEMPT from the offending form and made it clear that the company had no right to an employees’ entire medical history or even a specific diagnosis about a member’s condition when they use, they’re contractually guaranteed sick time (remember-others lost this defined benefit, replaced by PTO).
For some time after 2017, the company was still slipping 304 members the 709 form, and the employee/grievant received the disputed form and returned it as requested. Once the company had wrongfully granted access to the employees’ entire medical history, they denied the employee the overtime that he usually would’ve worked and later would not even allow the grievant to return to work.
Over the next two years, the union, on behalf of the grievant, and the company wrangled while the grievant was bounced from company doctor to company doctor. Two of the company’s doctors even cleared the grievant to return to work. Regardless of what each doctor’s notes said, none of them were good enough to allow the aggrieved employee to return to work. All the while, the grievant used up his full- and half-time sick pay, his PAD days, and all of his vacation days. He was being starved out.
The grievant was allowed, briefly, to return to work. Another grievance was filed in an effort to get the employee paid for the work; plus, overtime he was wrongfully denied. Essentially, our union wanted the grievant ‘made whole”. The employee retired in disgust in 2020, but our union fought on.
In the end, our retiree/grievant Brother was MADE WHOLE as the union requested in its’ grievance. The award granted by the arbitrator reads as follows:
The grievance is granted. The Company failed to prove it had just cause for the de facto
suspension of the Grievant when it took him off work on October 30, 2018.
1. The Company is ordered to compensate the Grievant for economic losses he
suffered as a result of being removed from work.
2. The Grievant is to be compensated effective February 22, 2019 until the date he
returned to work, December 4, 2019.
3. Compensation includes lost pay at straight time for all regular hours of work that he
would ordinarily have been assigned, as well as the paid time off the Grievant used
to supplement his income, such as vacation and personal absence days.
4. Lost pay shall include any wage increases the Grievant would have received had he
not been removed from work and any lost overtime from February 22 to December
4, 2019.
5. The parties are to meet and attempt to determine the amount of compensation and
other make whole relief owed to the Grievant from February 22 to December 4,
2019. The Arbitrator retains jurisdiction for 90 days to resolve any issues as to this
remedy only.
So, what does old grievances from a now retired employee have to do with present day 304 members?
The answer is that the Utility Workers Union of America, through its’ Local 304, is always looking to protect your rights. In this case, it’s the right to keep your personal and private medical information in your control and not allow anyone, not even our employer, to abuse those rights for their own ends.
The grievance process is one of the most important tools we, as members, have in defining and enforcing our collective bargaining agreement, as this arbitration and award proves.
Our contract gives management certain rights to run the business as they see fit, most of which are codified under the section called “Management Rights”. However, even these broad and far-reaching rights do not give management the right to abuse our members rights, either collectively or by singling one of our own out.
As a union, UWUA Local 304 may not always win, but we will always fight for you!
Work/Life Balance M.O.U.
Check out our latest Memorandum Of Understanding which gives our members added flexibility in work schedules! The entire document is available by going to “304 Resources“, check it out!
Steward’s Corner: What to Do When Your Union Leaders Break Your Heart
Article used with permission and grateful appreciation as it appeared in Labor Notes # 491. This post is not meant to denigrate or disparage any Officer, or member of UWUA Local 304, the UWUA National, or the AFL-CIO and affiliates.
This post is meant as a warning to those union members who, over time, may grow to take they’re union for granted, or think solidarity and participation by them is not necessary.
Labor Notes/ Steward’ Corner February 14, 2020 / Ellen David Friedman
If you’re a union member, unfortunately the chances are good that you’ve had, or will have, your heart broken at least once by one of your own leaders.
Maybe it happened when you first tried to get active in your union, but found that leaders didn’t welcome you into their inner circle. You wondered whether there was some special skill you lacked, and you ended up confused and self-doubting. Maybe you just gave up.
Or possibly you brought an issue to your leaders—something that was serious to you and your co-workers—but were ignored, or treated with disdain, or told “there’s nothing we can do.” Or you worked long and hard to reach apparently apathetic co-workers and finally got traction on a specific goal, only to be undercut, abandoned, or straight-up sold out by union leaders.
When this happens, it can feel pretty harsh. You’re not only disappointed with these leaders, but also wondering how it is that your union, an organization that exists to make your work life better, is in the hands of people who aren’t doing that.
I encourage you to recommit to your union and to change the culture into one where leaders respect and serve their members. And, if your current leaders can’t or won’t serve their members with more respect, then start making plans to recruit and support candidates for union office who will.
HOW WE GOT HERE
If you’re bursting with organizing ideas and union leaders shut you down, often it’s not because they hate you. More likely, your ideas make no sense to them.
People serving in union office tend to follow the rules of the system they inherit. Maybe they’re clinging to familiar old patterns because they’re overwhelmed, underprepared, or beset by pressures from different constituencies. Maybe they think the union’s power is limited to filing grievances, and they have little experience about how to do things differently.
How did things get to be this way, and how can we change it? It’s useful to zoom out for a moment to consider the effects of the 40-year corporate offensive known as neoliberalism.
During certain periods—the 1930s and ’40s, and the late ’60s and ’70s—both union power and the push for union democracy were strong. Members were typically more active and more ready to fight. They also felt they should have more of a say in their own unions.
But starting in the 1980s, unions suffered a series of defeats, growing weaker and weaker. During the same period, more and more union leaders began to discourage, or even actively suppress, members’ initiative and willingness to fight. The idea of “keeping the peace” with the boss became dominant—when exactly the opposite strategy was needed to fight the corporate onslaught.
CULTURE OF SECRECY
Sadly, plenty of union leaders believe that unions should be top-down, with a small group controlling all the important information, decisions, and actions. How many times have you heard that grievances can’t be discussed with the membership because of “confidentiality”? How often are months of contract negotiations reduced to a terse report that “progress is being made on Article 17, Section 5”?
This withholding of information isn’t required by law; it’s just widespread in union culture and practice. The effect is to keep members uninformed and distant from decision-making.
These kinds of leaders likely have many explanations about why member engagement won’t work: “Members don’t come to meetings,” “They don’t read their email,” “They are complacent,” “They expect me to do everything,” “They are scared,” “They only care about their own problems.”
Rather than take responsibility to educate, consult, and engage members, they dismiss the members’ essential role.
The underlying dynamic in locals like this is disrespect. Leaders don’t trust the members, and therefore disregard them. Members feel disdained and excluded, and therefore withdraw.
Such a hollowed-out union is weak because it poses no real threat to the boss. If the only person the boss needs to contend with is a union president, because no one else ever shows up, then the boss will conclude that he just needs to satisfy the president. This can become a system of “exchanging favors” rather than “contending for power.”
A strong union needs competent leaders who invite member engagement and help to give it focus. It also needs active members who can bring their aspirations, creativity, and power to any initiative.
GET CONCRETE
If your leaders aren’t the ones you hoped for, it may be up to you to change the culture and shape the future of your union. The first step is to get past disappointment or despair. Commit to action.
As in any union situation, don’t act alone. Talk to other co-workers. Your purpose isn’t to convince anyone, but to ask questions. For example:
- How do you think we’re doing, as a union?
- Are you able to get information and questions answered?
- Have you been active in the union, or tried to get active? What was that like?
- Are there things you’d like to see the union doing?
If you get a sense that others share your heartbreak, get yourself ready to talk directly with the union leaders. It’s important that this not be an emotional confrontation. Be calm, curious, and respectful.
Be prepared with concrete examples of what you and others have experienced, and with suggestions for how things could be improved. For example, you could suggest that the union should:
- Schedule meetings more regularly, at times and places most accessible to members
- Seek input from members for the meeting agendas
- Use meetings not only for officer reports, but also to promote discussion
- Open up processes previously conducted “confidentially,” such as bargaining, grievance representation, labor-management meetings, and so on
FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS
Your leaders may reject your suggestions. In fact, it’s wise to prepare yourself for some very tough sledding if you decide to challenge them.
They may feel you are assaulting their integrity or competence, or trying to “steal” their power. They might react defensively—or offensively. There are, sadly, endless stories of members who have been excluded from union activity or targeted, denigrated, or smeared by their own union leaders.
Sometimes union leaders even collude with management to bear down on a “troublemaker,” by which they mean someone who is trying to democratize the union and the workplace.
If so, stay steady, organize, and persevere. Be strategic rather than angry. Don’t attack the leader, or spread hostility. Instead, figure out a way to build a base and take action.
Find a cluster of other union members who are ready to do something. You could start by finding a workplace issue that co-workers care about, bringing them together to talk about it, and developing a plan for action.
You may want to keep your leaders informed, but don’t ask for their permission. If there’s inadequate information flowing in the union, start an informal channel to share and solicit ideas—but don’t let it become a gripe-fest; that is a short route to disaster. Reach out to other groups that should be allies—unions representing other workers in your workplace, or community organizations—and open up conversations about common concerns.
CONSIDER A CAUCUS
In the end, if you find that you can’t move your local in a more democratic, inclusive, and activist direction, you might consider starting a rank-and-file caucus to open up the question of what kind of union the members really prefer.
Rank-and-file caucuses have a long and proud tradition in U.S. unions. The last time caucuses were common was the 1970s, but now they’re popping up again, particularly in teacher unions.
A caucus is simply a group of members who are dedicated to improving their union. Often the motivation is a lack of transparency, or leaders’ unwillingness to fight, or too much coziness with the boss. A caucus can start by organizing around issues, and may end up challenging the existing leaders in union elections.
If you do decide to go down the caucus path, prepare yourself for a lot more heartbreak along the way. It’s likely the incumbent leaders (old guard, as they are commonly called) will accuse you of being divisive or even anti-union. Your motives will be questioned, and bogus accusations made about your methods. But efforts to democratize unions are essential to rebuilding our power, and worth every hard, uncomfortable, and heartbreaking moment. Stay steady!
Ellen David Friedman is a retired organizer for Vermont NEA and a member of the Labor Notes board.
Trick or Treat!
Your union decided to forgo the “tricks” and hand out treats to those in the neighborhood of our union hall. The kids were extremely grateful and happy to receive our offering! Happy Halloween!
Join the Credit Union Today!
Many of our newest members may not be aware that the company has its own credit union!
The APS Federal Credit Union (APS FCU) located on Fremont Road, Charleroi, Pennsylvania was chartered in 1935 which serves all employees of First Energy and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
APS FCU offers a a full range of banking and lending services to First Energy employees at very competitive rates. They are really great to work with too! Check them out!
Nuclear Gets a Big Endorsement From Hollywood
There’s a new documentary out, crafted by none other than legendary film maker Oliver Stone. No stranger to taking on controversial subjects like he did in Natural Born Killers, Platoon, JFK, or Snowden. Mr. Stone’s latest work is a one-hundred-five-minute infomercial extolling the almost magical benefits of nuclear energy. The preview has all the elements of a classic horror movie with calm assurances of the destruction of our planet dubbed over imagery of smokestacks belching black, inky smoke into the air. The name of this film is Nuclear Now, and it premiered April 28th of this year (click on the link for a preview).
One of our own members saw this developing ten years ago, and wrote an article that was published in the West Virginia State Journal back in 2013 that strongly rejected nuclear energy displacing coal. Excerpts of that article appears below (click on the link above to read the article in its entirety):
“…Then there’s the nuclear revivalist, preaching the gospel of how safe, clean and
environmentally sound nuclear power is. Trouble is, every time these fortune tellers start
prognosticating about a bright, happy, wonderful future all powered by nuclear reactors,
a nuclear power plant explodes…
…Only recently have there been any new permits issued for new nuclear power plants to
be built in the United States since the TMI (Three Mile Island) accident in 1979. There was talk about a
revival of nuclear energy just before Chernobyl, and a small revival was gaining steam
just before the tsunami destroyed Fukushima. These factors add up to an aging U.S.
nuclear fleet…
…One conveniently ignored fact about nuclear power is the billions if not trillions of dollars
wasted on the financing of projects that never got off the ground.
Marble Hill was to be a two-unit nuke plant in Indiana capable of producing over 2,000
megawatts of electric power. It was proposed in 1973 and terminated in 1984 after a
cost of an estimated $2.8 billion.
Bellafonte was another plant proposed in Alabama by the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) in 1974. Construction was halted in 1988, after 14 years and $6 billion dollars
invested. TVA partially defunded construction to finish a second unit that had also been
halted decades ago at its Watts Bar facility.
One of the most glaring examples on the failure of nuclear power in this country is the
Shoreham plant on Long Island. The project was announced in 1965 as a 540MW unit
to be online by 1973 and cost $65 million to $75 million dollars. Plans changed in 1968
when it was announced the unit was being changed to an 820MW unit, and the price
tripled to $217 million dollars. Construction finally began in 1973 and completed amid
huge anti-nuclear protests that grew out of the TMI accident. Shoreham was finally
finished in 1984, but was never put in service.
There are other examples across the nation, from Washington State’s SATSOP project
to TVA’s Hartsville/Phipps Bend projects, but the reality is that no one knows how much
taxpayer, ratepayer and government, as well as private money went up in the smoke of
the promise of the good life with nuclear power…
…This brings us back to coal. Technology such as scrubbers for sulfur dioxide (SO2)
control and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to remove nitrous oxide (NOX) make
coal cleaner than ever…
…On plants deploying NOX removal equipment, they’ve even recognized that the deNOX-ing process helps remove harmful mercury too…
…Emerging technologies such as carbon capture and coal gasification are paving the way
for coal into the 21st century…
…Coal is safer than nuclear, more reliable than wind, solar, or other renewable generation
currently available and, remains the most stable and reasonably priced fossil fuel
available in our country…”.
This is not to say that Mr. Stone’s work isn’t entertaining for its artistry and editing, because it is, but this documentary is proof of the lack of information people have in how power is produced and transmitted to them.
Fossil plants add flexibility to the grid by being able to cycle up and down, whereas nukes are more likely to push renewables off the grid to allow the reactors to run at full capacity for which they are designed to do. If we are going to have energy independence, then we need the “all the above” energy strategy we were promised.
By all means, anybody in the power generation business should see this film, and do so with an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out!
UWUA Local 304 Members Judge WV Skills USA Competition
On the weekend of March 25th, 2023, SkillsUSA held the statewide competition for West Virginia High School students who participate in career and technical education (CTE) classes at various career centers. This was a chance for the best of the best of career center student to compete for a chance to go to the National SkillsUSA contest in June at Atlanta, GA.
SkillsUSA is an organization that works to develop student for jobs in various career fields and strengthen the nation’s workforce by turning out young, ambitious, and employable young people who are interested in careers in the vocational and/or technical jobs sector. SkillsUSA is in 53 state and territorial education associations with nearly 14 million annual members since 1965, with 130 different job categories in over 17,000 classrooms nationwide.
Our country is facing a skills gap as “baby-boomers” retire, leaving a deficit of qualified workers to replace them. This is especially true in the skilled trades.
For the 2nd year, Fairmont State University hosted the competition at the Marion County Technical Center located on the North Marion High School campus. There were also competitions in other job classifications at MTEC in Morgantown, and UTC in Clarksburg.
UWUA Local 304 President Stewart Whitehair and UWUA member Ricci Bodkins are both electricians at Harrison Power Station and were asked to judge the competition with Michael Kenny and retired CTE Electrical Instructor Dave Lewis from Putnam County Career and Technical Center.
Stew and Ricci arrived at Marion County Technical Center’s campus on Thursday and helped Marion Country Technical Center instructor Jeff Greenly get set up for the contest.
Before beginning, all students had a safety briefing. There were two competitions held in Mr. Greenly’s classroom and Mr. Morris of MCTC’s Aerospace technology program was a great help in the layout and design of the competition and assisting the judges.
Friday’s contest was 6-hour timed event on industrial motor control. The students were given a project description, layout drawing, and schematic for a 3 phase 120/208V motor circuit with forward, reverse, stop buttons and limit switches.
Saturday’s test was a residential wiring project in which students had 4-hours to wire a Ground Fault Circuit 
Interrupter (GFCI) with a branch duplex receptacle, a pair of three-way switches and a keyless light fixture. The catch was that all receptacles had to trip with the GFCI but the light had to remain on!
The SkillsUSA program is proof of the great things that can be accomplished when education, industry, and labor work together. UWUA members were able to participate thanks to Local 304 and Mon Power’s Volunteer Paid Time Off Program, which is available to Harrison Power Station’s employees through First Energy to allow employees time-off to engage in meaningful activities in the communities we serve. It was a real privilege and honor to be a part of this great competition!
Good luck to all the finalists from UWUA Local 304!
The Danger Of Ignorance
Recently, West Virginia Public Broadcasting posted an article claiming Harrison Power Station, OUR station, was one of the “deadliest” polluters and that emissions from our plant was responsible for contributing to 122 premature deaths in the U.S. annually.
The data used to support the article came from a propaganda piece from The Sierra Club, entitled, “Out of Control- The Deadly Impact of Coal Pollution“. The report goes on to state that 17 coal-fired power plants are responsible for an estimated 1,920 premature deaths.
The study goes into great and confusing detail of the methodology used to come up with these numbers, all backed up by name dropping prestigious universities and governmental bodies that seem to codify their conclusions.
Both the article and the report only serve to prove what we in the power industry already know, which is that ignorance is a very dangerous thing!
The article states that Harrisons TWO units produce 1,984 mega-watts, when in fact, Harrison has THREE units. The footprint of land and resources that Harrison occupies in generating this power is miniscule when considering that the most advanced windmills to date can only produce a maximum of average of 2.75 mega-watts per unit. This translates to 788 windmills to produce the same amount of power of Harrison Power Station.
The largest solar farm in the United States, to date, is the Solar Star project in California. It boasts 1.7 million solar panels that take up over 13 square kilometers of land for a laughable maximum output of 579 mega-watts. After 25-30 years of service, solar panels generally decline in output as they age.
Further neglected is an accounting of the manufacturing energy and resources used in building those windmills and solar panels. Harrison has been in dependable service over 50 years, with regular and predictive maintenance. The blades of windmills are not even recyclable!
One of the emergent technologies coming online is energy storage banks. Large batteries hooked to transformers. Most of these batteries are of the lithium-ion type. The pollution from coal mining pales in comparison to the harmful effects of mining lithium. Lithium mining has been shown to contaminate water tables in the misuse of water, releases large amounts of carbon-dioxide, and destroys large swaths of otherwise fertile land. It takes a half-million gallons of water to process one metric ton of lithium.
What about the power grid?
Large generating units are not meant to cycle up and down like they now have to do as renewable power intermittently cycles on and off the grid, when available. It’s not that renewables will take the place of coal, it’s more likely that this cycling effect will degrade these plants to the point that, because of a lack of reinvestment and a lack of political favor, will be the death nell for coal plants. This at a time when the demand for electric vehicles is set to increase the demand on America’s electrical infrastructure.
The scariest thing is when we get another winter storm like the historic polar vortex we experienced. Gas plants couldn’t run because the fuel supplies were frozen, solar panels were blotted out by an accumulation of snow, and wind turbines sat with icicles hanging from the blades.
Most Americans don’t have a clue how the electricity to their homes is produced, transmitted, and marketed to them. They remain blissfully ignorant of the real-world engineering and science that combines to make sure that when they flip the switch the light comes on.
There are organizations out there who take full advantage of this lack of knowledge and stoke fear and loathing of anything to do with fossil fuels. They raise money from this, pay powerful lobbyists, file lawsuits and injunctions to squeeze every drop of money they can from this topic.
All of us want a clean environment, and there’s no doubt that one day we will find a better way to meet our energy needs, but, until then, we have to let the technology for such energy to evolve and mature. It’s the sensible and responsible thing to do.
The old saying goes, “dance with the one who b’rung ya”.
Coal has been powering this country for over a century. It has pulled us through two world wars, helped us put a man on the moon, and allowed America to become the super-power that it is.
What Is A West Virginia Workers Life Worth?
What is a West Virginia workers life worth?
According to the West Virginia Legislature, as stated in the narrowly passed House Bill 3270, a worker’s life is worth $500,00 total. The bill in question is to amend the deliberate intent statute in workers compensation to limit noneconomic damages to $500,000. Pulling back this thin veil reveals that this bill is yet another attempt to cheat West Virginians by radical tort reform which caps awards to employees injured or killed from an employers willful violations of safety practices.
The most serious of these violations fall under the category of “willful intent”. This is when an employer knows of a safety issue and chooses to ignore it, intentionally putting workers at risk and placing profit over safety.
Advocates tout this as a necessary pro-business step that would bring West Virginia more in line with our neighboring states and decry the high price of workers compensation insurance as burdensome to small businesses in our state. Proponents of this legislation paint a broad and misleading picture of greedy, high flying attorneys who reap the rewards of large verdicts that enrich them and cheat the victim.
This bill would restrict victims attorneys to a 20% cap on fees from an award or settlement. Many injury attorneys spend much of their own money in investigation, forensic tests, and expert witnesses, relieving the victim of these burdens. These same lawyers know that they often go up against industry titans who keeps a large contingent of legal talent on staff.
Maybe the most galling fact of this bill is the five-hundred thousand dollar ($500,000) cap. This amount is PER OCCURENCE. In other words, if you and a buddy get killed in the same accident, the capped amount is split between all those affected. In other words, your family would get two hundred-fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for your life.
Consider this, using the metrics this bill would mandate; the 51 workers killed in the Willow Island Cooling Tower Collapse on April 27th, 1978, would’ve been worth just a shade over nine Thousand-eight hundred dollars per workers. Upper Big Branch miners killed on April 5th, 2010, would’ve fared a little better at 17K apiece, since there were only 29 of them, but the 78 Consol #9 miners killed in Farmington on November 20th, 1968, would only be worth a little over six-thousand dollars each. Thirteen Hundred dollars would’ve been considered a large amount of money in 1906, if you were one of the 362 miners killed in the Monongha Mine Disaster, but still not enough for a widow to raise kids on, even back then. Of course if you were one of the unfortunate workers who helped dig the Hawks Nest Tunnel, your life would be worth a paltry five-hundred dollars, based on the estimate of a thousand men who died from breathing deadly silica.
This bill would also be applied to Black Lung compensation, something miners fought for decades to win.
A public hearing on this measure was held recently at the Capital and many testified for and against the measure. If you watch the testimony, you may even recognize a familiar face. To watch the hearing, click this link.
Life has always been cheap here in West Virginia, and laws were enacted to try to level that uneven ground. They were paid for by the blood and sweat of workers. The UMWA has come out against this bill, as has every organization that holds the lives of workers above shareholder value.
Anyone who has worked in any decent sized industry know that an employer will chance a half-million dollar settlement if he can run a wore out machine that has a replacement cost of four-million dollars for another year.
Here is a list of how each West Virginia Legislator voted in narrowly passing this anti-worker HB 3270. We urge you to write, call, and/or e-mail them to let them know that YOU stand with working West Virginians!
Get the WHOLE story by clicking on the highlighted links!