Baltimore, MD – Licensed deck officers at Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) and Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) are fighting to turn their overwhelming 2024 union votes into first contracts. The companies, both owned by Saltchuk, have met the workers’ decision to organize with prolonged resistance and delays.

The officers, known as mates, voted to join the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P). They are seeking enforceable protections covering pay, benefits, safety and working conditions. Nearly two years after choosing their union, they are still fighting to get those agreements.

These mates are responsible for navigating large tanker vessels and handling the cargo, which can include up to 1.3 million barrels of oil on a single ship. They navigate tankers carrying the fuels that supply gas stations, airports and industry, and oversee the hazardous transfers that bring those cargoes ashore. Their labor connects the petroleum supply chain from port to port, and their decisions carry consequences for everyone aboard, as well as the ports and coastal communities along their routes.

In March 2026, the National Labor Relations Board unanimously affirmed the officers’ right to union representation in separate decisions involving ATC and OSG. MM&P renewed its demand to bargain, but the companies are challenging these decisions in federal court, as if the NLRB doesn't matter.

“Our commitment to our members is steadfast, and we will never falter in the battle to defend their rights,” said MM&P International President Captain Don Josberger.

The fight exposes a familiar obstacle facing newly-organized workers such as at Amazon and Starbucks: winning an election does not automatically make an employer negotiate a contract. Delay leaves management under control of working conditions while workers must keep organizing to enforce the decision they already made.

Despite that resistance, the mates have demonstrated that acting together can force the companies to retreat. In September 2025, management moved to downgrade healthcare coverage and increase workers’ premiums and co-pays. Officers challenged the changes directly while MM&P demanded bargaining over the unilateral cuts.

Within two weeks of the union’s demand, ATC and OSG reversed course, maintaining the existing health plans, premiums and copays. A September 19 campaign update from the union credited the reversal to the combined pressure of officers questioning management and the union demanding negotiations.

The healthcare victory protected workers and their families from higher costs. It also showed what collective action could accomplish before the first contract was in place. But the officers’ organizing extends beyond defending a single benefit. They are fighting for agreements that establish lasting protection.

MM&P has called for support from the broader labor movement. They have organized politicians, other unions, community organizations, academics and leaders of faith into a broad coalition. Through the Mates United campaign, officers and supporters are building public pressure on Saltchuk. A public petition demands that the company respect their choice and bargain first contracts. A separate faith solidarity letter invites clergy and lay religious leaders to join that demand.

Supporters can sign and share the public petition. Faith leaders can add their names to the faith solidarity letter. Academics can sign the academic solidarity letter. Everyone can follow the campaign on Facebook and Instagram.

Ultimately, winning first contracts will depend on the mates’ collective action and the power they build aboard the ships. The officers are building organizing committees and bringing more coworkers into the fight, turning their overwhelming union votes into an organization capable of sustaining pressure across both fleets. Support from the broader labor movement strengthens that effort, but its foundation is the workers themselves. Saltchuk owns the tankers; the mates’ labor keeps them moving. By organizing together, they can turn that indispensable role into the leverage needed to win.

#BaltimoreMD #MD #Labor #MM&P #Contract

Rockville, MD – On August 14, Teamsters Local 639 at Verbal Beginnings, an education center for autistic children, held a rally as they entered their fourth week on strike. The workers at Verbal Beginnings organized just a little over a year ago and have garnered attention from the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) community due to being one of the first workplaces in their field to unionize.

The striking workers held signs reading, “Fair pay in ABA!” and chanted “What do we want? Contract!” Members of Montgomery County Educators Association, city council members, and several community members and activists joined them on the picket line in solidarity.

“To see just how much the community supports the struggle of the workers, it’s really incredible,” said Jane Bruno, one of the workers from Verbal Beginnings and a member of Teamsters Local 639. “And I think a lot of people feel this way, but they're afraid to speak out. They're afraid to try to rock the boat. But I think we’re showing them that, ‘hey, you can come together. You can. You can fight for these things because you do deserve better.’ It’s really powerful.”

The fight for a decent contract at Verbal Beginnings has been going on for over a year, with key issues centering around pay to keep up with Maryland’s high cost of living, proper PPE for the workers, and safeguards to address basic needs such as fixing holes in the walls of the workplace. “I shouldn’t have to work three jobs just to make a living,” said another worker with Verbal Beginnings, “we deserve to be able to make a living in this field.”

Though the workers have sent several proposals to management, the bosses have refused to move on most of the workers’ demands, including those around wages.

“We're definitely still pretty far off,” said Bruno, “We're still not there as far as what they're offering, and what we would be able to accept, that actually allows us to come back to work and for us to be able to make a living wage and pay all of our bills.”

Many workers have expressed repeatedly that at the heart of the strike is the desire to return to and to be able to take care of the children, while shining a light on the hypocrisy of the leadership that claims the same.

“VB, you say you care about these kids and us, that that’s your mission,” said Bruno, “Well, actions speak louder than words! Ball’s in your court now, go out and prove it.”

#RockvilleMD #MD #Labor #Strike #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal639

Rockville, MD – In the early morning of July 20, Teamsters Local 639 at Verbal Beginnings, an education center for autistic children, went on strike in order to get a decent contract.

Formed a little over a year ago, the union has come head-to-head with the bosses as Verbal Beginnings has failed to meet their demands and provide fair pay for their workers.

The strike has garnered attention from the Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy community, as Verbal Beginnings is one of the first workplaces in the field to both unionize and go on strike.

The union won the strike vote in May 2025 and has been in negotiations with Verbal Beginnings since September 2025. While steady progress has been made on some issues, the company has been unwilling to reach an agreement on raising the wage rate.

The current wage rate does not keep up with the cost of living in the area, which is among the highest in the state. Since the center opened four years ago, the company has not adjusted wages for cost of living increases.

The registered behavioral technicians are the backbone of Verbal Beginnings and what keeps it running.

“So much of what we’re doing is for the children,” said Jane Bruno, one of the striking workers at Verbal Beginnings. “What’s good for us is good for the kids. If they really do care about the kids as much as they say they do, we’re offering a way to help those children. Help those children by helping us.”

The striking workers marched right up to the doors of the community center, shouting slogans of “Who are we? Teamsters!” and holding signs saying, “No ABA without fair pay!” and “Stop the war on workers!” As of the time of this writing, the workers are still on strike and will continue to demand competitive wages from Verbal Beginnings.

#RockvilleMD #MD #Labor #Teamsters #Education #Teachers #Strike