The proposed agreements for the sale of the Water And Power Authority to Southern Energy would completely eliminate the representation of the working men and women by a collective bargaining unit if the bill becomes law.
I would like specifically to draw attention to Section 213(c) of the proposal, which states that the provisions of Title 24, Chapter 13, are to be eliminated from the V.I. Code. This means that if a strike is threatened or becomes actual, the management of the new corporation could go to a court of law and seek a restraining order or a permanent or temporary injunction, something which could not now happen under the law of the Virgin Islands.
Even more detrimental to the working men and women within WAPA is Section 214, paragraph 2, of the bill, which directs the governor to nominate a board of inquiry when a dispute occurs within the new company between management and employees. The union is completely eliminated from the collective bargain process.
Instead the board of inquiry shall submit its report to the governor, who in turn shall submit it to the attorney general, who then shall submit it to the commissioner of Labor, who shall then have the workers accept the final and best offer of management. To say the least, this is union busting and puts the cause of the working men and women of these islands four or five decades back. It will not stand. It cannot be allowed to stand!"
Glen J. Smith
President, Local 1825
American Federation of Teachers
