CHAPTER 6
OIL AGE DISCONTENTS
In early 1974 Alyeska Pipeline Service Company lawyers negotiated a far-reaching labor agreement with the international unions whose members would build the Alaska oil pipeline. They offered generous wages and comfortable living conditions in exchange for a no-strike pledge. With the national economy in recession and unemployment rising, the agreement was a coup for the unions. Accordingly, in March a delegation of satisfied leaders presented the contract to their local organizations in Anchorage. Soon after they began their presentation, Jesse Carr, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 959, interrupted. “This is a bucket of shit. … I don’t know what in hell you’re all standing here saying this stuff for, because ...
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