Chelsea Wauson has been working in labor relations for almost twenty years, representing management as the Senior Vice President of Labor Relations for the West Gulf Maritime Association.
She attended college at Texas Lutheran University with a BA in Political Science – Pre Law. She then went on to receive her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin and was licensed to practice law in 2005.After working for two years for the Texas Real Estate Commission as an enforcement attorney, she moved to the W.G.M.A. and assumed her current position.
Wauson is responsible for handling all grievances in the west Gulf ports, which includes all Texas ports, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Gulfport, Mississippi, as well as overseeing investigations of harassment and discrimination complaints for all ILA workers. Wauson is instrumental in the collective bargaining process, negotiating contracts for stevedoring companies with ILA workers in those ports. She also oversees physical and d rug testing programs for ILA workers, to ensure a safe and productive working environment on the waterfront. Wauson also processes all EEOC and NLRB complaints on behalf of the WGMA members. She is the Co-Administrator of the Container Royalty Trust Funds and is also the Chair for the ILA employee benefit plan, which oversees a billion-dollar fund for all ILA medical, vacation, and retirement benefits.
In addition to her vast work duties, Wauson is on several boards including the Buddy Raspberry Scholarship Fund, which provides thousands of dollars in college and vocational school scholarships to the children and grandchildren of those in the industry, and the Friendswood Mustang Band Boosters, acting as the current Vice President. In the past she has participated in numerous philanthropic activities, including serving on several HBA Committees, on church boards, NCL, and handling pro-bono work through Kids in Need of Defense.
For fun, Wauson enjoys working out, dancing, and failing at gardening, but nothing is more important to her than her time with her two children, Caleb and Hallie. She and her husband Dallas currently reside in the Houston area.
Senior Vice President Labor Relations
West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA)
Houston, TX 77029
chelsea@wgma.org
www.wgma.org
