MEBA Article XX violation on M/V Cort upheld by subcommittee of AFL-CIO Executive Council

MEBA Article XX violation on M/V Cort upheld by subcommittee of AFL-CIO Executive Council

A subcommittee of the AFL-CIO Executive Council in February upheld the ruling of an impartial umpire that the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association violated Article XX of the AFL-CIO Constitution by manning the M/V Stewart J. Cort for Interlake Leasing III after American Maritime Officers members working aboard the vessel refused to switch unions and were terminated by the company.

The AFL-CIO has already imposed sanctions on MEBA for its prior and continuing violation on the Interlake tug/barge Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder. MEBA violated Article XX when it claimed to represent the officers working aboard that vessel, despite the fact that AMO was their exclusive collective bargaining agent. Under Article XX, one AFL-CIO affiliated union cannot encroach upon the established bargaining and/or work jurisdiction of another affiliated union.

In a report dated Jan. 7, 2008, Impartial Umpire Howard Lesnick determined MEBA had violated Article XX a second time by manning the M/V Cort for Interlake Leasing III.

MEBA, led by current President Don Keefe, appealed Lesnick's ruling. A subcommittee of the Federation's Executive Council considered the appeal, and upheld the ruling of the impartial umpire.

"The determination of the impartial umpire will go into full force and effect as provided in Section 13(a) of Article XX," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney wrote in a letter dated Feb. 13. "President Keefe shall advise me, within 14 days of receipt of this letter, what steps MEBA intends to take to comply with the determination."

Under sanctions from the AFL-CIO, MEBA no longer has protection or recourse under Article XX if its fleets are "raided" by rival unions.

AMO represented the officers and stewards aboard the M/V Cort under a full-bodied agreement with Interlake Leasing III. The agreement expired in 2006 and was extended indefinitely while a successor agreement was negotiated. In February 2007, Interlake and AMO reached an oral agreement on a contract covering the M/V Cort.

Early in March of 2007, Interlake held a company meeting at a resort in Florida and had senior officers of the M/V Cort and their families attend. At the resort, Interlake Chief Executive Officer James Barker told AMO members they would have to sever ties with AMO and join MEBA to keep their jobs on the ship. Interlake offered $10,000 bonuses to some AMO members to switch unions, and offered others more. In the end, all except one refused and were fired by Interlake.

In a letter dated March 5, 2007, Interlake notified AMO that it would not sign the agreed-upon contract.

AMO went on strike against Interlake Leasing III March 10, 2007, and MEBA sent its members to work on the M/V Cort behind the AMO and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers picket line.

In his report on the M/V Cort, Lesnick determined MEBA had violated Section 2 of Article XX. He cited MEBA's claim that "AMO could have made a different offer than the one it made" and "Interlake chose to go another route." Lesnick pointed out that "Section 2 seeks to prevent a rival affiliate from making it possible for an employer to 'go another route' while remaining a union shop."

The Seafarers International Union of North America, of which AMO is an affiliate, had also appealed a portion of the determination on behalf of AMO, and sought to expand the ruling for the M/V Cort to include a violation of Section 3 of Article XX. The Federation subcommittee upheld the impartial umpire's determination as it was written without granting either appeal.

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