Workers say Pennsylvania plant, eligible for $2 billion in state funds, is union-busting

When Stan Upshaw got a job at Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. in 2020, he was hoping for good pay and benefits, like those enjoyed by the union workers who built America’s manufacturing industry decades ago. After all, Eos’ zinc battery plant in the Pittsburgh suburb of Turtle Creek had already received a nearly $400 million conditional loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, as well as millions of dollars in grants under the Inflation Reduction Act.

At Eos, Upshaw said he didn’t see the “good, clean jobs” the law was supposed to create. Instead, he saw management ignore seniority and force workers to train new supervisors rather than promote them from within, he said. The work also seemed dangerous. “We have people getting their fingers pinched (under batteries and) working in very hot and humid conditions (where) we’re almost tripping over each other,” he said.

Earlier this year, Upshaw and some of his colleagues began lobbying for representation from the United Steelworkers union. In early August, they filed a petition to hold a union election; on Thursday, they voted 88 to 39 to be represented by the United Steelworkers union, testing whether the reality at Turtle Creek matches the rhetoric about good jobs under the Inflation Reduction Act.

In the run-up to Thursday’s election, the union filed six unfair labor practice complaints against Eos with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging, among other things, that the company retaliated against workers who supported the union’s efforts with layoffs and disciplinary changes. The charges are pending.

In an emailed statement, Chad FitzGerald, Eos’ vice president of strategic partnerships and public affairs, said the company is “a pro-union company,” adding, “We respect the right of our employees to choose whether or not to have a union representative.”

But just a week after being interviewed, Upshaw and another union organizer were fired.

Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 represents a multi-billion dollar public investment to fight climate change while creating “good-paying union jobs.” The potential effects are enormous, observers say. The Inflation Reduction Act and other federal laws will create 8.5 million jobs by 2032, or 849,000 per year, according to a recent study by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

As for what types “The labor standards built into President Joe Biden’s industrial policy are designed to better protect workers’ rights and help ensure that these federal investments translate into more good, union jobs,” said Stephen Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg. “That’s what should happen.”

When U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) announced the Energy Department loan, he called Eos “the kind of project we had in mind” when Congress passed the bill. (Casey had successfully lobbied for good-paying clean-energy jobs as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.) He went on to call the loan “an investment not only in cutting-edge technology, but in hard-working Pennsylvanians.”

The investment has clearly benefited Eos, which has benefited from the 45X tax credit provided by the law, which is designed to encourage the production of alternative energy systems such as batteries. If Eos increases its production capacity as planned with the $398.6 million loan from the Department of Energy, the company will be eligible for a 45X tax credit of up to $1.98 billion between 2026 and 2032 alone, according to estimates.

Workers’ complaints

Workers pushing for a union at Eos say the company’s focus on “green” jobs has not created good jobs.

Eos workers say entry-level wages are about $18 an hour, well above the state minimum wage of $7.25. But workers say pay isn’t the only thing on their minds. While many union supporters want higher wages, especially for senior employees, they also say they want to be treated well and with respect.

“You can’t even take a hard breath without (Eos management) telling you they want to ticket you for something,” Upshaw said. Originally, he said, the company had a seven-minute grace period for clocking in and out of work. Then, shortly after the union’s efforts began, Eos eliminated the grace period; that change is now cited in an unfair labor practice complaint the union filed against Eos in June.

“Our attendance policy has not changed with respect to union organizing,” FitzGerald said in an email, explaining that the company adopted the new attendance policy because of “the launch of our new manufacturing line and the expected dramatic growth in our production.”

Accusations of unfair labor practices

By late August, the steelworkers had filed five unfair labor practice complaints on behalf of Eos workers with the National Labor Relations Board, which governs union activity.

Three of the charges involved the firing of union supporters. In May, the Steelworkers alleged that the company fired one of the union’s most vocal supporters in retaliation for her union work. In August, the Steelworkers filed a complaint alleging what they called the illegal firings of Upshaw and her co-worker, LaToya Hampton, for union activity.

The union also alleged that the company retaliated against organizing by refusing to pay workers when it shut down production for a day without notice. Union supporters said the company learned of organizers’ plans to speak to workers outside the plant and canceled shifts and sent workers home to prevent them from doing so.

Eos’ FitzGerald denied the reports, saying in an email that the shifts were canceled to facilitate the transition to a new production line and that the affected workers were reimbursed for lost wages or given paid time off. (Union supporters point out that the reimbursement came after the union filed unfair labor practice complaints.) FitzGerald also said, “Eos has not taken any action against any employee in connection with the union campaign.”

This article was produced by Capital and mainIt is published here with permission.