PACE International Union Opposed to Texas Governor's 'Grandfathering' Legislation

HOUSTON, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Byrd, vice president of Region IV of the Paperworkers, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE), today announced the opposition of his union to legislation supported by Texas Governor George W. Bush. This legislation would give so-called facilities at grandfathered plants, such as Crown Central Petroleum, further incentives to violate pollution laws and thereby jeopardize jobs and the health and safety of surrounding communities.

Byrd issued the following statement:

"As the union representing the vast majority of oil refinery workers in Texas and elsewhere in the United States, PACE International Union is strongly opposed to legislation to continue a voluntary compliance program that provides huge loopholes to private industry and thereby allows them to pollute the environment. We need stronger laws, not weaker ones, that will protect the environment and at the same time safeguard jobs. "To date, the supporters of these bills and the governor have made only minimal efforts to contact workers who are affected most by industrial pollution. When grandfathered facilities are spewing industrial toxins into the environment, workers are the first to be affected by them. If communities rightly organize to stop deadly pollution by shutting down plants, workers can pay a heavy price with the loss of their livelihoods. "We believe, contrary to the governor, that this legislation is strictly designed to benefit polluters. Our experience with Crown Central Petroleum tells us that the voluntary compliance program is not working. "Crown, the governor's poster child of the voluntary compliance program, received in August 1998 the largest air pollution fine in Texas history. While the penalty was large ($1.1 million), Crown received a $14 million economic gain by not complying with environmental laws. "Are we expected to believe that voluntary compliance will work, if there is a greater economic gain from not complying -- even after polluters are caught? Companies, like Crown, that do not respect the rights of employees or the public will not voluntarily comply with a law. To make laws voluntary is to undermine their sole purpose. "We have been left out of the process which led to the governor's bill. The Texas Natural Resource Commission (TNRCC) advisory committee on grandfathered pollution, picked by the governor's TNRCC appointees, included no representation from organized labor. The governor's bill, which reflects the committee's recommendations, does not address our concerns. "Good union jobs, the environment and our communities should not be sacrificed to meet the demands of rich political contributors. We believe that carefully crafted legislation can strike a balance between protecting jobs, the environment and the lives of workers and residents who live in the shadow of plants with grandfathered facilities. Not only does the governor's bill not provide this balance, it will make the current situation worse. "We will not fall victim to job blackmail. We know that operating oil refineries and other plants cleanly and safely is our best assurance that we can keep both our jobs and our lives. We are ready to work closely with our friends in the environmental community and the legislature to craft a real law protecting both jobs and the environment."