NLRB to Seek Injunction against Covanta Energy
The Union was informed yesterday by NLRB Region 1 that the Board’s General Counsel in Washington, D.C. has authorized the Region to pursue an injunction against Covanta in U.S. District Court in Boston. The NLRB invokes the rare procedure only in cases considered egregious enough to warrant federal court intervention.
As you are all aware 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. The power of the NLRB to seek injunctive relief comes from section 10(j) of the 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.
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Cape Cod Times Reports |
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SEMASS owner faces labor chargesBy STEVE URBON
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May 26, 2009 6:00 AM ROCHESTER — The National Labor Relations Board has filed formal charges over workers rights against the parent company of the SEMASS waste-to-energy plant, according to the Utility Workers of America, Local 369. The complaint, filed Friday, alleges that the Covanta Energy employee handbook, which is used in 46 of the company's locations across the United States, violates employees' civil and workplace rights. Among other things, the NLRB challenged a company rule that forbade employees from soliciting or distributing "unauthorized" material anywhere on "company property" or "company time." whole story here: |
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wickedlocal.com - rochester |
By Chris Reagle Thu Jul 02, 2009, 05:35 PM EDTRochester - The union representing Covanta Energy Corporation’s SEMASS employees have fired up their own incinerators by enlisting some help from across the Atlantic Ocean. A resolution condemning Covanta Energy’s labor and environmental violations in the United States has been filed in British Parliament, according to a British Parliament Web site. The Early Day Motion, filed by Member of Parliament John McDonnell, of Britain’s Labour Party, last month urged the British government to deny any Covanta application to build facilities in the United Kingdom unless the company “demonstrates full compliance with environmental and labor standards in all countries in which it conducts business.” |
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Covanta Charged |
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The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint charging Covanta Energy with violating labor law at 46 locations across the USMay 22, 2009 – Utility Workers Union of America and its Local 369 announced today that the National Labor Relations Board in the U.S. issued a complaint this week charging Covanta Energy with violating labor law at 46 Covanta locations across the U.S. The complaint names the parent corporation and every Covanta subsidiary in the U.S., and challenges numerous illegal rules maintained by Covanta in its employee manuals.
“The Board’s complaint confirms our charge that this company routinely violates employee rights guaranteed by U.S. labor law,” stated Gary P. Sullivan, President of UWUA Local 369. “We urge Covanta to immediately end its illegal conduct, and to negotiate a fair collective agreement for our members at the Covanta SEMASS plant in Massachusetts.”
The U.S. government’s complaint cites numerous illegal Covanta policies, including rules restricting employee solicitations and distribution of literature, prohibiting employees from discussing their wages or other information the company claims to be “confidential,” and forbidding employees from providing information about Covanta to “outside representatives” without management’s permission.
The complaint challenges rules in three different versions of Covanta’s employee manual.
“Covanta has publicly claimed to have cleaned up these unlawful policies, but this complaint shows that every time the company has issued a new handbook, it has included patently illegal rules designed to intimidate employees from exercising their rights,” declared Sullivan.
Workers at the Massachusetts facility voted for representation by UWUA in May 2008, but have been unable to win a first union contract because of unfair company bargaining demands. The Labor Board complaint and other information concerning the Union’s campaign for justice for Covanta workers is available at the Union’s website at www.cjcw.org.
Covanta operates waste incinerators and related facilities throughout the U.S., and is seeking to develop new projects in Canada, China, Ireland, the U.K., and the Netherlands. UWUA Local 369 represents over 3,000 working men and women in the utility industry throughout Massachusetts, and is affiliated with Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO. |
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