In 1993, the 5,000 workers at Avondale voted to form a union. But the company and its owner, Al Bossier, have refused to bargain. Instead, Bossier has waged war on his workers and their rights, both before and after the vote. The company held 15,216 hours of captive audience meetings to badmouth the union--all billed to you via the U.S. Navy. Avondale punished some union supporters with job transfers and fired others.

The company's behavior was so egregious that a federal administrative law judge ordered the company to pay $3 million in compensation, rehire 28 workers and hold meetings to apologize to the workers face-to-face. None of it has happened. Avondale has tied up the case with endless appeals, exploiting the vast loopholes in this country's weak labor laws.

Meanwhile, life for the workers hasn't gotten any better, either. Those workers had some serious problems when they voted for the Metal Trades union, and those problems have only gotten worse.

Uppermost are unsafe working conditions. Avondale has a death rate three times higher than at other shipyards with major Navy contracts. On average, over the last three decades, one worker has died each year. Last July alone, two more workers died. Yet the company did not hesitate to refuse entry to government safety inspectors, and forced the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to go to court to access medical and other records.

Pay and benefits at the shipyard are substandard. On average, these skilled workers earn 29 percent less than workers at other private contractors for the Navy, and 48 percent less than workers at the nation's federal shipyards. The average pay of workers performing similar work in the New Orleans area is higher than the top pay at Avondale.

All this while the company has enjoyed record business. Since 1993, the company has won more than $3.1 billion in Navy contracts. It is the largest private-sector employer in Louisiana. It garners even more tax monies through millions of dollars in federal, state and local subsidies for training and capital improvements.

Corporate attacks on worker rights are not new. We've known for a long time about the disgraceful status of U.S. labor laws. But the idea that our government is allowing a contractor to get away with this type of behavior, let alone paying the contractor's costs for union busting is simply outrageous.

The good news is that Avondale has announced a merger with Newport News Shipbuilding--where the Steelworkers have represented workers since 1978. So there might be some hope for a change in attitude.

In addition, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has written Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig to question Avondale's safety and health practices and billing policies. But that is not enough. We all must express our disgust and horror when a private company uses public money to keep workers from winning a safe workplace and decent wages. Because somewhere some other company was, is and will be doing everything they can--including charging American taxpayers--to keep unions off their property. That is not the policy we the voters want, and we must make it clear.

We have seen in the CSX - NS merger, and the SP/UP merger, that we must diligently prepare to close ranks and show our solidarity in the upcoming round of negotiations. As each of you can see, we cannot depend on the government, arbitrators, or even the courts to support our cause. Let us learn from the lessons in this Avondale episode.

The future depends on our solidarity, cooperation and new and innovative ideas...all of which must begin with each of us, standing together, in unity, to accomplish our common goals.