West Coast Longshore Contract Campaign

Weekly Member Update:  Aug. 22, 2002

This is the first of our weekly updates.  You will receive one each Thursday for the remainder of the campaign.  The purpose of these updates is to ensure that all of our members are aware of the work being done every day to secure the best possible contract.  In addition to this weekly update, all members should be aware that we update our website on a daily basis with the very latest news on the ongoing bargaining negotiations and related topics.  Please be sure to check the site frequently at www.ilwu.org

Work Continues, Negotiations Resume Monday:  ILWU representatives continue to conduct subcommittee work and various other preparations this week.  The big table negotiations between ILWU and the PMA resume on Monday.  Negotiations were put on hold last week after the death of ILWU International President Jim Spinosa’s father. 

Safety Committee update: The ILWU Safety Committee is negotiating our safety code with their PMA counterparts in parallel talks with the big table negotiations. The union Safety Committee is working on three main issues: (1) diesel emissions in the workplace, (2) defibrillators (AEDs) and (3) port security. The employers still have not moved to an acceptable approach on these issues. Instead, they are insisting on discussing floating the load, mounting and dismounting of equipment and how to place and remove cones during a bombcart operation. The ILWU Safety Committee feels the employers are focusing on these issues to lay the legal groundwork to selectively punish workers and to controvert injury claims.

            In violation of the negotiating process, the employers took the issue of mounting and dismounting equipment, made a flyer on the subject and sent it out attached to ILWU members paychecks. The union Safety Committee wants to remind members to get their information from the union and to be suspicious of anything the employers put out, especially during these contentious negotiations.

            The ILWU Safety Committee is also raising the matter of the employers’ obligation to issue safety shoe vouchers by July 1. The employers have responded that since there is no new contract they are not required to provide the vouchers. However, we have been working with a contract renewed day-to-day, so the voucher requirement is still in effect. The union committee will continue to press this point.

            The ILWU Safety Committee is ready to address all the employers’ issues and continue banging on ours. It has been pushing to meet with the PMA committee, but the employers said they are too busy doing research for the big table this week to meet. They also declined a union proposal to meet on the weekend since we are so far behind in getting through these talks.

SF Chronicle Editorial Calls on Bush to Stay out of Contract Negotiations:  An excellent editorial by columnist Stephanie Salter appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday, Aug. 18.  In the editorial, Salter rips President Bush for attempting to intimidate longshore workers with threats of federal intervention.  The entire editorial can be found on our website at www.ilwu.org.

Dockworkers Demonstrate Against Maersk:  PMA member company Maersk Sealand held an event this week to celebrate the opening of its huge new facility in the Port of Los Angeles .  ILWU members, however, were in no mood to join the party.  Instead, dockworkers protested outside the event, demanding a fair contract with no outside intervention from the Bush Administration.  The protests drew significant attention, and made it clear once again to Maersk that a fair contract for ILWU members is critical to the continued success of Maersk and the other PMA member companies.  For more information on the Maersk action, go to the website, or read the article in the latest issue of The Dispatcher.

Bush Agenda Attacked at Hearing:  Hundreds of ILWU longshore workers piled into a hearing room in Wilmington this week to watch elected officials scrutinize the plans of the Bush administration to intimidate ILWU workers with threats of intervention.  Under heavy questioning, a PMA spokesperson claimed that PMA has never asked the Bush Administration to intervene.  However, he refused to commit to a request by members of the committee to formally ask Bush not to intervene.  All elected officials participating in the hearing condemned the Bush administration’s anti-worker agenda.  “This administration sees legal union action as a threat,” declared California Assembly member Paul Koretz, Chair of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.

400,000 International Port Workers Pledge Solidarity with West Coast ILWU:  More than 200 leaders of dockworker unions worldwide pledged support for the ILWU in its bargaining with the PMA and signed a letter to President Bush demanding he stop interfering in the negotiations.

At its annual Congress in Vancouver , British Columbia last weekend, the International Transport Workers Federation Dockers Section, representing 400,000 dock workers in the sea transportation industry in 170 countries, passed a strongly worded resolution committing themselves to a successful conclusion to the ILWU’s negotiations.

Support Continues to Grow:  Our effort to secure a fair contract without government intervention is gaining new support every day.  We have enjoyed the active support of U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle in recent days.  In addition, a group of U.S. Senators, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy has sent a letter to President Bush demanding that he stay out of our business.  Dozens of other federal, state and local officials have shown support as well. 

Website Updated Daily:  It is extremely important that ILWU members stay up to date on the important developments in the ongoing campaign to secure a fair contract for our members.  This is why we urge all members to check the website frequently.  We update the site on a daily basis with the latest details on the status of the bargaining campaign.  Please go to www.ilwu.org on a regular basis for the latest news.  And don’t forget to pick up the latest copy of The Dispatcher for more information on major issues affecting ILWU members.

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