Local 724 Is Third District’s First New Charter in Decades
More than 200 hourly workers at one of the largest U.S. petrochemical plants are now members of the IBEW’s newest local after a successful organizing election vote May 23.
Monaca, Pa., Local 724 is the first new local chartered in the Third District in at least two decades and is the new home of operations and maintenance workers at Shell’s plastics production plant in Monaca.
At peak, more than 1,700 members of Beaver Local 712 were building the plant, which converts the abundant natural gas from the Marcellus Shale into tons of polyethylene pellets, an ingredient in a vast range of products from potato chip bags to car parts.
But after a nearly all-union construction workforce built the facility, the plant’s permanent workforce was nonunion starting when production kicked off in 2019.
Many of the new hires were former union members, said Third District Lead Organizer Mike McGee, including many IBEW members laid off after the Beaver Valley power plant and the Bruce Mansfield coal powerhouse were shut down.
But when Regional Organizing Coordinator Steve Rockafellow, and later McGee, began approaching the workers about forming a union, not only was there no enthusiasm — there was fear.
“People were getting fired all the time, for stupid things — not following policies that had been promulgated the day before and that they’d never seen. The powerhouses cut a lot of people loose, and the Shell jobs paid well,” McGee said. “They were scared of being on the street. They were scared to try to change it. They were just scared.”
They heard from people wanting to organize, but they tended to disappear after a few calls or texts.
“I got a text that said: ‘Couple guys got fired. Everybody is scared. Workers are upset. We need to try and organize. This is the time,” McGee said. “I wrote back, ‘Do you have any co-workers that are interested?’ and he says, ‘I’ll talk to some people.’ Then… nothing. I called him once, ‘What’s the feeling?’ and he says, ‘I’m still working on talking to people.’ I never heard back.”
Which is normal.
Shell is a quarter-trillion-dollar multinational oil and gas behemoth with 103,000 employees. A blue-collar job that pays six figures in western Pennsylvania is treasure.
“By the end of June, we gave up on it,” McGee said. “We will have to sit and wait until they get more angry than scared.”
They heard nothing for six months.
As summer turned to fall, McGee, Rockafellow, Third District International Representative Kris Anderson and district International Vice President Dennis Affinati developed a plan for a stealth organizing campaign, fast and silent.
And there it sat until January, when an operator at the plant reached out to McGee.
They scheduled a first meeting at his house for Jan. 19.
Four people showed up.
“I told them about the need for speed and stealth. I want management to find out we’re here when we file for the election,” McGee said. “And whatever you do, I said, only talk to people who are friends or people you trust, and never promise something we cannot deliver.”
Three of the four people who met in that basement — Rick Hinds, Shaun Butler and Jeremy McWithey — became the backbone of the volunteer organizing committee. Hinds was former IBEW. Butler and McWithey were ex-Steelworkers. They all worked in different departments, and the signatures of support for a union came pouring in: 30 in the month, 75 by March. They held meetings, now not just in basements, and many more than four people came.
Rockafellow and McGee settled on a 190-member bargaining unit. Before heading into an election where you need to win by 50% plus one vote, 75 cards simply wasn’t enough. They needed to risk a higher profile.
“At that point, we decided to call every unit member and say: ‘I’m sure you are aware — we are organizing. You have questions or concerns, I would be happy to address them, one-on-one or in the meetings,’” McGee said.
They got 22 more cards in a few weeks — for a total of 97 — and no more. Was it enough to hazard an election vote?
“In the end, we took a risk. An informed risk, but a risk,” Affinati said. They set up a meeting with the plant manager.
“He was so surprised when I said we had majority support and asked for voluntary recognition. Mum was the word,” McGee said. “They opted for an election, and we filed immediately.”
Then Shell did something unexpected. It didn’t go to war. Management held captive-audience meetings, but they weren’t scorched earth and the company didn’t start firing organizers. It didn’t slander unions. It didn’t fight the unit structure or attempt to delay the election. Shell even asked the election date to be moved up.
“They weren’t neutral, but they weren’t nuclear either,” McGee said.
The election was held over two days, May 23 and 24, to make sure every shift had a voice. In the end, it wasn’t even close.
About 30 new unit members have been hired since, bringing the new local to about 220 members. Negotiations for the first contract began in late July, Affinati said.
“I’m so proud. In my career, it’s often been closing a local or merging a local. I can’t tell you the last time we chartered a local,” Affinati said. “But this should be the first of many. By the time I retire, I want to be able to do it in my sleep.”
