The campaign by UWUA and Local 369 to win a fair contract for workers at Covanta Energy’s SEMASS plant in West Wareham, Mass. continues to make headway, both in the U.S. and overseas.

The company has refused to agree to a first union contract at the waste incineration facility, despite workers there voting for UWUA representation in a May 2008 election. Covanta’s hostility to workers’ rights has resulted in the company being slapped with a nation-wide complaint by the National Labor Relations Board, not to mention condemnation by political and trade union leaders in the U.S. and overseas.

‘Rogue Employer’ Hit with NLRB Complaints

“Covanta is a rogue employer with no respect for workers’ rights,??? declares Gary P. Sullivan, president of Local 369. “Management still hasn’t learned that the UWUA will never give up until we win a fair contract for Covanta employees.???

In June, the NLRB issued a complaint charging Covanta with numerous illegal actions at the SEMASS plant, including withholding wage increases and bonuses from workers because they voted to form a union. The Board’s action follows an earlier complaint challenging illegal work rules at more than 50 Covanta plants across the U.S. The NLRB has scheduled a hearing on both complaints, commencing October 19 in Boston.

Dutch and British Solidarity

Meanwhile, the Union’s campaign is also attracting crucial support overseas.

In May, publiclyowned Dutch utility firm Essent abruptly canceled a proposed sale of its waste management unit, amid a storm of controversy provoked by UWUA publicity criticizing Covanta’s labor and environmental record in the U.S. Covanta had been one of only two remaining bidders in the proposed $1.4 billion transaction. Numerous Dutch political and union leaders voiced strong opposition to any sale to Covanta, citing the UWUA campaign.

In June, British M.P. John McDonnell and two other members of the British Parliament filed a resolution condemning Covanta’s illegal conduct and its failure to agree to a contract with the UWUA. The resolution attracted new attention to Covanta’s anti-worker record in the U.S., at a time the company is aggressively bidding to build new incinerators across the U.K.

In late August, moreover, one of Britain’s largest trade unions dispatched a top national officer to Massachusetts to observe first-hand the company’s unfair bargaining tactics. GMB National Secretary Gary Smith visited Boston at the request of Local 369 to attend negotiations with Covanta and to meet workers at the SEMASS plant.

The GMB – which represents over 600,000 workers throughout the U.K. – delivered a strong message to Covanta’s bargaining team urging a prompt resolution to negotiations. In a follow-up letter to top management, Smith declared the GMB’s unequivocal support for the UWUA, if necessary by a “campaign to highlight the Company’s employment practices at every level of government across the U.K.???

“Covanta’s lawlessness in the U.S. risks earning the company a reputation as an international pariah,??? Sullivan observes. “We are grateful to have the support of the GMB and indeed union and political leaders across the globe for our campaign for justice for Covanta workers.???

For updates visit the Campaign for Justice for Covanta Workers website: http://www.cjcw.org/