U.S. Labour Board to Seek Injunction against Covanta Energy

Braintree, Massachusetts, USA. Leaders of Utility Workers Union of America Local 369 have hailed a decision by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board to authorize federal court proceedings against Covanta Energy, which owns and operates Covanta SEMASS in West Wareham, Massachusetts. Covanta generates energy from solid waste at the SEMASS facility and at more than 40 other locations across the U.S., and is also aggressively pursuing plans to build similar facilities in Britain, Ireland, and Canada.

The Union was informed yesterday by the NLRB regional office in Boston that the agency’s General Counsel in Washington, D.C. has authorized the Region to pursue an injunction against Covanta in U.S. District Court. The NLRB invokes the rare procedure only in cases considered egregious enough to warrant federal court intervention.

In May 2008, 140 workers at SEMASS voted for union representation by Local 369. In the ensuing 18 months, efforts by these workers and their union to negotiate a labour contract have been frustrated by a battery of unfair labor practices committed by management, including by withholding nearly 11% of SEMASS employees’ pay in bonuses and wage increases because they formed a union.

“These workers have long known that Covanta retaliated against them for standing up to demand dignity and a voice at work,” stated Local 369 spokesman David Leonardi. “The fact that the NLRB is seeking an injunction means that it’s also clear to the federal government the damaging effects Covanta’s actions have had on workers’ rights.”

Covanta’s illegal conduct is the subject of a trial already underway before an administrative law judge, which is set to resume on November 30 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The power of the NLRB to seek injunctive relief comes from section 10(j) of the U.S. National Labor Relations Act, which authorizes the agency to pursue injunctions in cases where unfair labor practices have been committed, and where real harm will arise for workers before an administrative trial and appeals can be concluded.

The NLRB’s decision to seek a federal court injunction is exceedingly rare. For example, during 2008 the Board authorized only eighteen Section 10(j) injunction requests. According to NLRB data, this represented only 0.22% of the 8,036 cases in which the Board found merit in charges filed with the agency and either issued an administrative complaint or negotiated a settlement.

Local 369 represents over 3,000 working men and women in the utility and related industries throughout Massachusetts, and is affiliated with Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO. Additional information concerning the Union’s campaign for justice for Covanta workers is available at www.cjcw.org.