Court Orders New Union Election at Avondale Industries

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit has ordered the National Labor Relations Board to conduct a new union election at Avondale Industries Inc.'s shipyard in New Orleans, LA. The panel found the process used by the National Labor Relations Board to conduct union elections was flawed.

In 1993, a majority of the workers at Avondale voted for a union. They cited safety, wages, and benefits as their main reasons for desiring union representation. Following the election, Avondale refused to recognize the union and was cited for violations of federal labor law by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

"The (5th Circuit) judges' opinion appears to be at odds with 60 years of established labor law. We are reviewing all of our legal options, and we intend to continue to take all the steps necessary to best protect Avondale workers' rights," said Bill Lurye, an attorney for the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, the union approved by Avondale workers.

"We voted to form our union to get justice, dignity, and safety on the job, and we will fight until we win," said Harry Thompson, a 21-year pipefitter at Avondale.

Jim Evans, Avondale campaign coordinator, said he found the ruling requiring another union election disturbing, because the NLRB has been using the same procedure to hold elections since 1936 and because workers already held an election and approved the union.

Efforts to protect workers at the facility "will continue on schedule," he added. "If we need to hold a new election; hell, we're not worried about it. The court action doesn't excuse the 407 health and safety violations OSHA found [at Avondale] a few months ago, or the 700 recordkeeping violations OSHA found this month," said Evans. A new owner recently purchased the shipyard, and Evans said he hopes to see an improvement in management's attitude toward safety and worker rights as a result.

OSHA charged Avondale Industries Inc. on July 2 with willfully failing to properly record hundreds of injuries and illnesses and proposed $180,000 in penalties for the alleged violations. On April 5, the agency cited the shipyard for numerous alleged safety and health violations and proposed penalties totaling $537,000. Avondale contested the citations.

There is no word yet if the NLRB will appeal the 5th Circuit decision.