FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 22, 2002

Dockworker Volunteers Step Up to Plate

Longshoremen volunteer to assist in making sure World Series goes as planned.

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today crews of longshoremen in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach offered to volunteer their free time to help the World Series avoid a disappointed crowd at Wednesday’s game in San Francisco. 

“Although our crews have been working around the clock to untangle the backlog caused by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) locking us out of work, many of our dockworkers are diehard baseball fans who when asked eagerly volunteered their off time to help out,” said ILWU Local 13 President Ramon Ponce de Leon.

The Major League Baseball Association contacted the ILWU on Monday explaining that a shipment of promotional cameras with “World Series 2002” stamped into every frame and meant to be given away at Wednesday’s World Series game were stuck in the backlog of goods anchored off the port of Los Angeles and not scheduled to be unloaded until after the game.

“Since this merchandise isn’t perishable or considered to be a ‘priority,’ we obviously can’t request to bump up the cargo’s current schedule to be unloaded,” said Ponce de Leon.  “However, after a few simple inquiries, we found that the merchandise container is easily accessible on the ship and that with a volunteer workforce it could be quickly off loaded without causing any disruption to the current docking schedule. We have lined up a port pilot and a tug boat to bring the ship in and located an empty berth at the Port of Long Beach to do the unloading The whole job could be done in half an hour. All we need is PMA’s cooperation.”

Ponce de Leon called PMA CEO Joe Miniace yesterday and made the offer to do the work free. “I even offered to go drive the crane myself,” Ponce de Leon said. But Miniace would give no assurances, responding that there was only a 10 percent chance of getting it done. If the okay doesn’t come before afternoon today, it may be impossible to get the cameras to Pac Bell Park in time for Wednesday evening’s game.

For more information call ILWU Communications Director Steve Stallone at 415-775-0533 (office) or 510-390-4748 (cell) or visit www.ilwu.org.

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