CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

How These Oil Workers Claimed Their Power

Image Source: NASA – Public Domain

Bryan Goode and his coworkers perform demanding, hazardous jobs producing oil in one of the most unforgiving places on earth.

They work on Alaska’s North Slope, above the Arctic Circle, logging 12- to 18-hour shifts, often in whiteout conditions, with wind chills plunging to 100 degrees below zero—all the while keeping a sharp lookout for the bears prowling the bleak and barren landscape.

These are tough people. So they weren’t going to just shut up and take it when ConocoPhillips began cutting wages, slashing benefits, and eliminating jobs about a year and a half ago.

Instead, they mounted a tenacious union drive that united 267 workers across a handful of remote sites, culminating in a landslide vote in February to join the United Steelworkers (USW).

Their victory in spite of daunting challenges shows all of us how to fight back. As working people, we wield remarkable power, the power to band together and seize control of our own futures.

Goode and his colleagues are among a growing number of Americans forging this strength right now in the face of skyrocketing economic inequality and out-of-control corporate greed that continue to push basic dreams, like home ownership and retirement security, further out of reach.

Nearly half a million workers joined unions in the past year alone to leverage the higher wages, better benefits, and other advantages that........

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