For Immediate Release:        September 26, 2002

For Information Contact:       Steve Stallone  415-775-0533 x 114

                                                Jeremy Prillwitz  415-286-0555

Technology issue is over, ILWU turns to rest of contract

The latest position by Pacific Maritime Association CEO Joe Miniace rejects the compromises offered by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union over the last month of intensive bargaining over technology issues.

“The PMA has exhausted the technology discussion,” said James Spinosa, International President of the ILWU.  “We worked with them to try and give them everything they wanted and they gave nothing in return.  Now we have to turn to the issues important to our members including safety, pensions, and wages.”

The members of the ILWU bargaining team have turned their attention to developing their position on other key contract issues and to making sure that members up and down the coast will be able to work safely as cargo volumes continue to increase and congestion begins to clog port operations.

As cargo levels have increased over the last months by as much as 30 percent, according to the Journal of Commerce, ILWU members up and down the coast have stepped up their activity to insure that cargo continues to flow.  Union workers have been speeding up their work to make sure that containers don’t pile up at terminals. 

To make sure that cargo moves off ships, some union members have been working “double back” shifts.  And in the new mega-terminals run by international shippers Maersk and Hanjin in the Port of Los Angeles, many ILWU members have been forced to work without proper safety equipment such as radios that have reception throughout the expanse of the huge new facilities.

In a resolution from the Negotiating Committee released today, all longshore workers covered by the contract have been asked to stop any unsafe practices to make sure that the rash of industrial accidents plaguing longshore workers stops.

“Longhsore workers and marine clerks should work safely in strict accordance with all provisions of the Pacific Coast Marine Safety Code and all federal and state health and safety regulations, including but not limited to all speed limits and safe practices,” the resolution stated.

The huge volume of cargo has required many terminals to move to “grounded operations,” stacking containers four high, instead of the previous “wheeled operation” where containers are kept on chassis for easier movement out to waiting trucks. The grounded operation causes further delays and because ILWU workers have to pick through the stacks for the container and truckers have to wait, the chances of accidents are increased.

Congestion in the terminals from the crowded stacks of containers and the increased truck traffic makes moving around the yards in the large power industrial trucks that move cargo an increasing hazard.  Despite all these problems, more cargo has been moved recently than in any time in the history.  This speedup is raising the potential for accidents, injuries and fatalities. After a recent rash of accidents and deaths at West Coast ports, ILWU workers are paying special attention to safety and trying to adhere to posted speed limits.

Several factors related to the peak season are combining to make productivity lag despite efforts by dock workers.  In Southern California two of the largest shipping companies—Maersk and Hanjin—are moving from their old terminals to new ones, causing further disruptions.  Some terminals have had to close their gates early because of truck congestion inside.  And most terminals refuse to extend their gate hours beyond the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. day shift.

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