"United Metro Energy Workers On Kingsland Avenue Continue Nearly Year-Long Strike," 2 Mar. 2022

Oil workers at United Metro Energy Corp, located at 500 Kingsland Ave, have been on strike in favor of better pay and benefits since April 2021, after years of being denied the right to form a union by owner John Catsimatidis.

“[Workers] voted to form a union about three years ago because they’re paid significantly less than other workers in the industry, and they have far inferior health and retirement benefits in comparison to other workers doing the same job at other oil terminals in the city,” Alex Moore, communications director of Teamsters Joint Council 16, explained.

... Moore notes that the National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating the firings [of eight striking employees], as it’s illegal to fire workers as retaliation for protected union activity.

... “We’re paying, or have offered to pay a wage commensurate with the rest of Long Island. What the teamsters are saying to us is ‘Oh, we want something commensurate with your competition across the street. And what does that have to do with our business on all of Long Island?'” owner John Catsimatidis told Greenpointers over the phone. “We did a survey of all the companies at Long Island that we service, and we have offered raises commensurate with those numbers, and we’re sitting down every couple of weeks and bargaining in good faith, and we said look we offering everything, the fair amount that these other people are making,” continued Catsimatidis.

... [Catsimatidis said] “We want our people back! If they want their jobs back, come on back!”