Document G5Q7Z7ENjJqmD3r9xq72xM10Y

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Special Issue No. 3 COMMON SENSE August 14, 1965 Voting of the ships in the current NLRB sec ret ballot election is proceeding apace. As of August 10, ten tanker crews have been voted. A change of signals has been called in the voting procedure for the Esso Miami, Esso Gloucester and Esso Seattle. At first it was agreed that these ships would be voted under the supervision of a U. S. Consul abroad. This plan proved impractical. Instead, the NLRB will now vote the three ships by mail ballot. Voting kits have already been sent out. As the voting in the fleet proceeds the Team sters' Union steps up its campaign of propa ganda. The Teamsters try to compare your hours of work and earnings with those of the refinery workers at Bayway. Every Esso seaman knows very well that in the maritime industry contract negotiations are based on maritime industry practices. Ship owners and unions bargain on the basis of shipboard employment, shipboard work proce dures and prevailing rates and practices as they apply to seamen. By the same token, re finery unions do not pitch their bargaining aims on maritime contracts or shipboard working conditions. One cannot compare apples with oranges. Therefore, any attempt to liken the two for propaganda purposes is only a smoke screen. When an Esso seaman examines his wages and working conditions, he compares them not with refinery people or other shoreworkers but with other seamen. At this time the total earnings of several ratings in the U. S. Merchant Marine line up about as shown in the table on page 3. The Teamsters Constitution You may recall that in our Special Issue No. 2, "The Plain Truth," we raised the question of the Teamsters' constitution. Since that time we have had the opportunity to check it. An in teresting analysis of the 18th Teamsters' con vention was presented in the "Monthly Labor Review" for August 1961. The "Monthly Labor Review" is published by the United States Department of Labor. Some excerpts from the article may be of interest. . . What aroused special public interest in the Teamsters convention was the noto riety with which sundry charges, indict ments, hearings, and court cases had sur rounded many of its leaders over the past 5 years. There was considerable public speculation as to whether the proceedings of the convention would reveal the need for further public concern over the Team sters affairs." * ** "President Hoffa himself assumed the chair manship of the Constitution Committee, and the first change made it easier to amend the constitution, by requiring only a simple majority rather than the previous two-thirds . . ." ;jc s}: "Severe inroads on local union autonomy and considerable diminution of rank-andfile influence resulted from many of the amendments . . ." "The power of the president was increased by a number of constitutional amendments giving him certain administrative pre- EXX-MOR-006934 rogatives and broad appointing authority. Some of these follow: 1. He can appoint, without General Executive Board approval, an un specified number of international or special organizers at salaries up to $20,000 a year. He also sets the salaries of international directors of area conferences. He can desig nate a personal representative who acts in his behalf, with `the right to attend meetings of any subordinate body of the interna tional union'. He also can appoint and fix the salaries of an undes ignated number of assistants to the president. Subject to approval by a majority of the board, he fills vacancies among international officers. 2. He has sole power to determine the order of business of the inter national convention and change it at any time. 3. He can order a referendum or a membership vote in locals or other subordinate bodies on any subject at any time, even though the par ticular group does not wish the vote. 4. He can appoint an international vice president as director of an area conference, and in such in stance the director is an employee of and is paid by the international union rather than the conference. (Or he can assume the director ship himself.) 5. He can impose a trusteeship on his own determination to discip line a subordinate body for infrac tions of rules or in order to assure `the performance of collective bar gaining agreements . . .' 6. He can exercise almost unlimited control over State, multi-State, and area conferences. `They shall be at all times subject to the un qualified supervision, direction, and control of the General Presi dent and they shall function un der rules prescribed by the by laws approved by the General President' who at will can change or amend them. He also has veto power over dues and assessments established by the conference. Affiliation of each local and joint council with the conference which has geographic or awarded juris diction is compulsory. 7. He can change the time and place of nomination and election of local union officers, and `upon a show ing of good cause, by the officers and membership' allow other than the prescribed method of ballot ing, which is by ballot box or vot ing machine. "Among other constitutional changes ap proved was an increase in initiation fees and dues. The former were raised to $2.50. Monthly dues were raised to a minimum of $5, but `all dues, whether below, at, or above the minimum . . . shall be increased by no less than $1 per month no later than January 1, 1962.' Per capita fees to the international were fixed at $1, a 60-cent increase." * ** "For reasons not explained, the necessity for `good moral character' was deleted from the section of the constitution out lining membership qualifications. Simi larly, conviction for a crime which dis credits the union or for engaging in Svhat is commonly termed racketeering' no longer are specific grounds for expulsion. Moreover, at a trial of international offi cers, a two-thirds vote of the General Executive Board is now required to sustain charges instead of a simple majority." *** "These numerous constitutional changes, when viewed as a whole, form a clearly delineated pattern which previous Team ster administrations had unsuccessfully striven for: (1) Both the status and in fluence of the area conference as a bar gaining instrument are markedly height ened and the status and influence of the local union correspondingly lowered; (2) the authority of the president to control the administration and policies of the con ference is made quite complete; . . ." (Editor's note: Underlining and bold face type added for emphasis.) ESA vs NMU and SIU Wages and Benefits AB, Oiler Esso Seamen's Ass'n. Fireman/WT (Humble Fleet) N. M. . S. X. u. Starting After 1 yr. " 2 yrs. " 3 yrs. " 5 yrs. " 10 yrs. $453 per mo. 467 480 493 507 520 $397.74 per mo. $373.84 per mo. Vacation Earnings per month $226.50 to $260 $79.55 $66.67 Approx. O.T. $100 to per month $140 $250 to $330 $260 to $370 Accident Pay 26 wks full pay 26 wks 2/3 pay* Sick Pay 26 wks full pay 26 wks half pay* $30 wk single $40 wk married for 20 wks; then $25 single $35 married 21st thru 52d wk; then $70 to $100 monthly while hospitalized $56 per wk for 39 wks as long as in or out-patient; then $21 per wk while hospitalized only Death Benefits Accidental Death Group insurance plus $500 lump sum plus monthly payments of V2 a month's base pay as follows: Yrs. Service No. of Payments 1 to 2 6 2 to 3 10 3 to 4 14 4 to 5 18 5 24 plus 1 additional pay ment for each year of service over 5. $3,500 Above plus 2 yrs. pay Above plus $3,500 $4,000 Pension $297, 28 yrs. service, age 60 $150 per mo. 20 years service any age $150 per mo. Thrift Plan 3/0 regular plus add'l contrib. None None `With 10 years of Benefit Plan service, special benefits may be payable for up to 2 years more. In addition to Esso seamen's earnings and benefits shown in the table, they also receive a Special Supplement (part of Amendment No. 4). This provides the fol lowing annual supplements to base wages of the ratings mentioned: Effective June 1, 1965 Effective June 1, 1966 Effective June 1, 1967 and yearly thereafter $200. 400. 600. Important features of this comparison are the differences in monthly wages, vacation-paid leave and overtime. One of the big differences is that men in the Esso fleet have negotiated higher base wages and more paid leave instead of the na tional unions' stress on overtime. This choice enables Esso men to have more time at home with their families. The national unions' emphasis on high monthly earnings attempts to offset indefi nite low pay or off-pay periods on the beach waiting in the hiring hall for an other job. Esso seamen have been able to negotiate on the basis of continuous service and uninterrupted pay. Now is the time for some common sense. Some real hard thinking. Your vote in the current election will shape your course for the future. Use it wisely.