Bosses press attacks on OCAW in oil negotiations

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...Strategy for antiwar movement Carl Finamore is a steward at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif He is a member of Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union Local 1-5.

National oil negotiations were extended a few days past the Jan. 8 contract expiration date until company pressure finally compelled the OCAW leadership to agree to Gulf Oil's package-a mere 20 cents the first year and 35 cents the second year of a two-year contract.

OCAW's National Oil Bargaining Council had initially rejected Gulf's first offer of a wage freeze and vetoed all company attempts to downgrade existing work rules. But it eventually accepted Gulf's last proposal, portraying it as a "no concessions" contract which should set the pattern for all OCAW locals to follow.

This pattern-setting agreement, however, means few gains for oil workers. The 1.5 percent wage increase is below the rate of inflation. But it is significant HELL 91075 (Continued from page 2) has proved a powerful obstacle to the use of nuclear weapons by the United States. And the Soviet Union certainly has the right to defend itself from a hostile capitalist world. But in the long run, as the crisis of the imperialist system deepens, the "balance of terror" will prove to be less and less of a deterrent to an imperialist-launched nuclear war.

The Soviet leaders seek above all to reach some kind of lasting accommodation and understanding with imperialism. They sit on a self-satisfied, topheavy bureaucracy that desires nothing more than to keep things as they are. But the wish of the bureaucracy to preserve the status quo is perpetually upset by the mass struggles and revolutions that remain a permanent feature of social reality. While the bureaucracy has long given up the struggle for socialism, their power still rests on the planned economy and nationalized production established by the revolution of 1917. Imperialism remains fundamentally antagonistic to the the Soviet workers' state because there are no capitalists in that country!

The only real defense for the Soviet Union is to support the extension of the socialist revolution around the world. But the Soviets place all their cards on secret negotiations and military defense to counter the imperialist threat. The 4 Socialist Action January 1984 that the contract appears to be free of the retrogressive work rules which the oil companies made their top priority.

Several oil companies, particularly Shell, Texaco, Mobil, Union, and Chevron, have not agreed to the terms of the Gulf settlement. OCAW has already struck Union Oil in Rodeo, Calif., and has given Mobil strike notice. The union at Mobil may strike anytime if a settlement is not reached. Most units are working with contract extensions while negotiations continue.

One exception is the large Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif., where union members continue to work without a contract. Management refused to extend the contract and has issued an ultimatum to "accept the company offer or strike."

This stance shows once again that the employers' offensive is not restricted to corporations losing money. OCAW figures show that the 25 largest oil companies have profits four times greater than 10 years ago.

!NI Ai ÄPROFTS STANDAR POBB antinuclear weapons movement around the world is of use to the Soviet bureaucrats only as a secondary adjunct to their narrow diplomatic dealings.

Furthermore, they deny the right of their own people to organize an independent peace movement that could link up with antinuclear weapons groups in the West. Such an international movement against nuclear weapons "from East to West" would strengthen the international struggle against nuclear weapons in every country. This would certainly aid the defense of the Soviet Union. But the Soviet bureaucrats cannot see beyond their own privilege and power, which they maintain by means of a system of pervasive repression.

Joseph Hansen, a long-time leader of the Socialist Workers Party until his death in 1979, observed in 1977:

"To me it appears quite clear that the Kremlin, by participating in this mindless race, is dealing terrible blows against the defense of the Soviet Union. For no matter how huge the Kremlin's stockpile might be or how accurate its delivery systems, the Soviet Union cannot escape the fate of the rest of humanity once the bombs begin to be exchanged."

In this sense the military defense of the Soviet Union is rather meaningless. Hansen suggested that a revolutionary leadership, by contrast, could begin by Most of the hold-outs are demanding a wage freeze and/or some workforce reductions. With labor costs accounting for less than two percent of refinery costs, this is a transparent attempt to divide workers and undermine the common wage structure.

Contracting out and cross-crafting Two industry proposals on work rule changes are at the heart of the drive to "streamline" refinery operations. They are: contracting out work to non-union companies, and cross-crafting the maintenance section.

Most refineries have always contracted out large-scale maintenance work. But many OCAW contracts have prohibited them from bidding out any work normally done by refinery workers in the bargaining unit. The companies have been violating this clause consistently wherever they can.

The Texaco and Shell contract proposals want the "unrestricted" right of management to contract out bargaining unit work. Chevron and other companies have somewhat different language, but the intention is the same-replace union labor with non-union labor and weaken the strength of OCAW in the refineries.

Cross-crafting is an attempt to displace unionized workers who specialize in one craft. As in the steel industry, the oil companies want to have "jacks of all trades and masters of none." This is a form of speed-up that involves less training and is inherently unsafe. It will also lead to layoffs as fewer people do more work.

OCAW's potential strength

Twenty-five refineries with OCAW contracts have closed since 1981. Union membership has therefore declined from 150,000 to 120,000 members today. Unfortunately, our union represents only 50 percent of oil workers in this country.

Still, OCAW has had considerable impact on the lives and working conditions of oil workers. For example, the long and bitter 1980 strike won a dental plan. Even without a cost-of-living proposing that both sides reduce their nuclear stockpiles to "Armageddon One" where each side would possess the capacity to destroy human life once over. If the Soviet Union began to carry out such a move, one the imperialists could never accept, the political blow to imperialism would be enormous. But such a tactic makes sense only in the framework of an understanding that the socialist revolution in every country is the prerequisite for a peace that can endure through time. It is exactly here where the reactionary policy of the Soviet bureaucracy weakens the defense of the Soviet union from a nuclear attack. As long as capitalism exists the possibility of the world being blown to bits in a nuclear holocaust will remain a grim reality.

Last year an estimated $660 billion was spent worldwide for military purposes. Capitalism not only threatens the extinction of our species but holds back the full development of our culture and technology. Just a 10 percent reduction in annual military spending could eliminate hunger in a world where 450 million people are undernourished. Another 10 percent would enable 400 million children to attend school in a world where illiteracy now stands at 800 million and is rising. Total reconversion of the world IN U clause in the contract, wages have kept pace with inflation.

Nevertheless, our union is still weak. Most refineries are open shop, even outside the right-to-work states. Contracts often have clauses which allow workers to periodically drop their union membership.

As the employers' offensive continues, new members can be won to the union. Where the union launched a "close the ranks" program in the Richmond Chevron plant, membership jumped by 10 percent. By extending this type of organizing drive nationally, the union will be in a better position to resist company assaults.

arms industry, according to the International Labor Organization would immediately create 5.5. million jobs.

The structural crisis of imperialism results from its inherent drive to expand its dominion over ever wider markets, raw materials, and goods of the world economy. The life-blood of the capitalist economy, private profit, is also at the heart of the historic dilemma of the corporation owners. The world economy today is a highly refined, complex system of interdependence rooted in the fundamentally social nature of production. Against this reality the private ownership of the principal industries and banks stands as a historical obstacle to the creation of a rational system of planned economy, producing for the human needs of the majority rather than the private profit of a wealthy but marginal minority.

"Socialism or radioactive ashes" is the alternative humanity will face in the years ahead. Socialism is the only way out from the terrifying prospect of nuclear annihilation. The resolution to this crisis will be decided in the course of the momentous class battles working people will confront today and tomorrow. The outcome of this struggle will determine our right to a future.

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