On February 5, members of Local 106 ratified a new three-year contract with Buckeye Pipeline. The contract includes the highest raises the local has received from the current company, which took over the operations of the Port Reading terminal in 2013. In addition to wage increases of up to 12 percent, the members won contract language on new job classifications that they have been fighting for since Buckeye took over.

The members went into the contract fight knowing that their top issues were wage increases and better job classifications. When Buckeye took over the yard from the previous owner, Hess, the previous job titles were eliminated. Almost all members were reclassified as “general operators” and required to know how to do all other jobs at the facility. This policy was unreasonable and members argued that there are actually many different jobs, and that some jobs should earn higher pay. The requirement that all workers should know how to do multiple jobs, so that the boss could decide to reassign them, was inefficient because each job takes over half a year to train for with no guarantee that the training would get put to use.

In the new contract, the members won new job classifications which create opportunities for members to train into new pay tiers. “This is a good contract, the best we have ever gotten with Buckeye since the acquisition,” said Local 106 President Richard De Blasio. “We have been attempting to get multiple tiers of pay for different skill sets since we were acquired in 2013. It really feels like the company heard us and responded after years of being dismissed.”

The new job classifications are split between A, B, and C tiers. “A” operators received a 12 percent pay increase in the first year. The contract raises wages for “B” operators by five percent and for “C” operators by 3.5 percent in the first year. Each tier also won better increases in the second and third years than in prior contracts. Members are now able to access training to move up to higher tiers without limitations. The local also negotiated much higher raises for the head operators than in prior contracts – 4.5 percent in the first year, four percent in year two, and four percent in year three.

The local also won new contract language to ensure fairer shift assignments, implementing a new rotation so more members get the chance to work the weekday day shift rather than leaving it up to management’s choice. There is now more specific language on internal job postings. The members also earned backpay to the expiration of the last contract.

De Blasio said, “Our most qualified operators are moving into a nearly 12 percent raise in year one and that feels like justice. The last contract in 2022 left a dark cloud and the membership gave us certain mandates about their expectations. We held our ground on those commitments.

“For the junior operators, there is real hope, upward mobility and we're finally in reach of our peers in the industry,” De Blasio continued. “We still have a long way to go in future contracts, but this one feels like real progress.”

During the contract fight, Bob Pearson, a longtime member of the local and worker at the yard was terminated for a simple mistake during a short-staffed and busy night shift. The members immediately banded together to demand that Pearson be reinstated, arguing that after nine years working, it was unfair to fire him over one mistake during a night where many external issues were at play, including a computer malfunction due to cold temperatures. The members created a petition [1] and received hundreds of signatures which they delivered to the boss on February 21. (The fight to reinstate Pearson was still ongoing at the time that this article was published).

After Pearson was fired and while bargaining was still ongoing, the members began taking the time to follow every operational procedure to the letter. The result of the members following every Buckeye procedure was that very little work got done.

Buckeye is owned by IFM Investors, a private equity firm that began as a means to manage the investments of Australian union pension funds. With the help of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project [2] (PESP), Local 106 met with and gained the support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. PESP works to hold private equity companies accountable, with a focus on climate and energy, workers and jobs, housing, healthcare, and detention and surveillance.

Meeting with the Australian Council of Trade Unions by Zoom in December. Local 106 President Rich DeBlasio is at the upper left.

The local wrote a letter to IFM Investors informing them of “significant labor issues that are ongoing at this facility, as well as a great opportunity to invest in the Buckeye workforce, improve job satisfaction, lower turnover, and save the company significant resources in the long run that we believe will improve investment returns for IFM Investors’ limited partners.”

The members prioritized communication throughout negotiations. After each bargaining session, President De Blasio created a comprehensive video update about what happened throughout the day to send to each member. Both he and Vice President Kevin Vavra met with members individually to answer questions, give updates, and get opinions about the proposals. The local also held multiple membership meetings to keep everyone informed.

“Our operators have felt frustrated, ripped off and demoralized by the conditions over the last three years and that reflected in their motivation, ability to train, and turnover rate,” said De Blasio. “It was slow going and painful over a long span of time but the guys stuck to their commitments of holding the company accountable for under-paying and under-recognizing good work, and that applied real pressure. There is more to do in the next [contract] but I feel like we have real leverage with a more unified membership who understand the importance of flexing that unity.”

The Local 106 negotiating committee consisted of President Richard De Blasio and Vice President Kevin Vavra. They were assisted by International Representative Tara McCauley.