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Fighting Cuts
At the national level, American Water seeks steep concessions in the National Benefits Agreement, including a 52% increase in employee health premiums for family coverage, and elimination of its contribution to retiree health insurance coverage for new hires.
The company seeks these concessions despite record profits and exorbitant compensation packages to top executives. For the first nine months of this year, American Water boasted $228 million in net profits on $2 billion in total revenues. Net profits for the third quarter were up 35% over last year.
Meanwhile, the company’s board of directors has bestowed huge executive pay packages on top executives. During 2009, the board awarded nearly $7.5 million in total pay to only five top bosses, including $2.4 million to former CEO Don Correll. UWUA and its members are standing up to the company’s intransigence because of management’s refusal to be fair to the workers and consumers who make the company profitable.
Making the Company a Responsible Employer
“We have dealt successfully with such hostile companies before, Covanta being the most recent,” says UWUA President Mike Langford. “We have the time, commitment and resources to help make American Water a responsible employer and do what’s right for its employees and customers. Union workers at American Water care deeply about the customers and communities they serve.” The unions involved in national benefits negotiations passed a strike vote in June by a 92% margin, and rejected the company’s “last and best” offer in October by 89%. Eighteen UWUA locals as well as locals from various national and international unions participated in the strike authorization and contract ratification votes, representing the company’s entire unionized workforce.
On November 19, UWUA members joined other unions under contract with the company to conduct worksite demonstrations, executive neighborhood leafleting and other job actions at 13 locations in seven states (NY, NJ, PA, WV, IL, MO and CA). This kind of coordinated action across state lines was a first for both the UWUA and American Water, as unionized workers in ten different national and international unions ramp up the campaign to turn American Water into a good corporate citizen. The protests highlighted the company’s rip-off of consumers and workers alike, and its demands to impose major concessions on hourly employees during negotiations for a new national agreement.
The lead picket line of some 75 workers took place at a company facility near Pittsburgh, PA, in conjunction with a national meeting of all local unions representing the company’s employees.
People Before Profits
“American Water’s actions placing corporate profits and executive compensation ahead of the best interests of consumers and working families are simply unacceptable,” stated Kevin Booth, president of UWUA Local 537, who led the informational picket line in Pittsburgh.
On November 5, UWUA members and union allies conducted an informational picket outside American Water’s corporate headquarters. During the demonstration, a delegation of UWUA members hand-delivered an official notice to corporate officials informing them of the overwhelming rejection of the company’s offer for a new National Benefits Agreement.
“We are here to serve notice on American Water that its unfair bargaining conduct and its demands for huge takeaways from the employees who work hard every day to keep water flowing to customers’ homes and businesses are unacceptable,” stated Shawn Garvey, UWUA national representative.
Food & Water Watch Join Campaign
The demonstration was also joined by members of Food & Water Watch, the nation’s leading grassroots organization promoting clean, affordable, and publicly owned drinking water.
“We are pleased to join with UWUA members to protest this hugely-profitable company’s unfair conduct toward working families,” said Jim Walsh, Eastern Region director for Food & Water Watch.
“American Water’s poor treatment of its employees does a disservice not only to those workers but also to consumers and the community at large.”
The next day, picketing and leafleting actions took place in the residential neighborhoods of two corporate officials in New Jersey. Both events were well attended by UWUA members and had a noticeable impact in the neighborhoods.
In addition, union members are engaging the public in the struggle for fairness at American Water. Campaign materials are being distributed to elected officials and community leaders about huge ratepayer increases and unfair attacks on workers. The company has filed for increases across the country, including 13% in West Virginia, 7% in New Jersey, 22% in Virginia, 28% in Tennessee, 35% in California, 29% in Kentucky, and an astonishing wastewater increase of more than 160% in southeastern Pennsylvania.
In June, the UWUA worked with community groups in Trenton, NJ to help defeat the company’s bid to take over the suburban water system there. Voters rejected the deal by a 4-1 margin, despite more than $1 million spent by American Water promoting the takeover.
UWUA had a very visible presence in the “No” campaign, featuring the Local 1-2 mobile office and UWUA volunteers from Local 1-2, Local 601, Local 424, and others.
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· www.uwua.net
