This very well written explanation was presented by Sister Vivian Jacqueline Williams Malauulu from ILWU Local 13. Much respect. Please share. Thank you to our family and friends who have reached out to us in the past few days regarding the ongoing situation at the twin ports complex of Long Beach/Los Angeles. We appreciate your concern and interest. Per our international headquarters, we are not allowed to discuss the details of our contract negotiations which are happening behind closed doors through a federal mediator in San Francisco. However, I would like to share a few things with you to better help you understand what is happening, which is affecting all of us, near and far. Heres my (emphasis on MY) take on the situation in lay terms. Fair warning, some of yall might need a bookmark to get through this. 1) The ILWU represents thousands of longshore workers in dozens of locals along the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, and Panama. In addition to longshore work (import/export of vessel, rail, and truck operations as dockmen, marine clerks, and foremen), we are also warehousemen (distribution centers), watchmen (security), boatmen (port pilots), and other entities such as port police. George and I are both registered with Local 13 (longshore) which is based in San Pedro and dispatched out of Wilmington. 2) We have been working without a contract since our last contract expired on July 1, 2014. Our last contract was good for 6 years (2008-2014). Since our contract expired, our employer, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) which represents some 70 member companies has been systematically making decisions which are proving costly and harmful to our national economy. Member companies are those whose names you see on cargo containers on the freeway: APL, China Shipping, Evergreen, Hanjin, Matson, NYK, SSA, Yang Ming. 3) PMA acts on behalf of these companies on ALL matters regarding labor (us) from payroll to contract management. For the past few months, PMA has been gradually employing various punitive tactics against us with the biggest offense being ordering less workers and cutting shifts. This has caused a tremendous gridlock throughout the LA/LB harbors. Right now, some 30 ships are floating idle, off dock, waiting for a spot to berth. Every berth is already taken by ships that usually operate around the clock, with as many as seven ship gangs employing about 30 workers per gang. BUT NOW, these ships are only working during the day, with less than three gangs each. A large vessel that usually takes 2-3 days to discharge and load containers is now taking 10-12 days. Think about what this is doing to our environment while the ships sit idle; the water, the air. 4) Think about the shipmates who are stuck at sea, needing food and water delivery to sustain them for longer periods of time. They’re not getting their off time because theyre stuck on those ships. Theyre already away from their families for months at a time, who knows when their vessels will get back to a routine schedule. I spoke to a shipmate from Singapore two days ago who said his ship was supposed to be on its way back home by now. Yet, hes got at least another week here, plus Oakland, then Tacoma, then home. Poor guy. 5) Think about our local retailers who are standing by waiting for supplies. What about large supply chains who need to replenish their post-Christmas stock? Even China is experiencing backlogs of export cargo shipments. Some of those companies are already considering using East Coast ports. That means less work here. Higher unemployment for California means higher taxes for us. 6) Our local ports are responsible for moving 40% of the nations cargo. If we lose that work, our local economy will collapse because so many of our jobs are connected to the import/export goods movement industry, which includes tourism. The PMA website states that 9 million American jobs are directly connected to the maritime industry, yet they are holding our local ports hostage by refusing to work at the capacity and rate to which we (ILWU) can handle. Our employer blames us for port congestion, yet many of us are not working because they are ordering LESS workers. We are here, ready to work. The longer those ships sit idle, the worse the situation will become for all of us. Our local community thrives because of port-related jobs, which is why so many businesses in the harbor area are coming to our support against our employer. The ILWU built this community, not PMA. Our values represent hard-working Americans, not corporate greed. This week, one company (PASHA) broke ranks from PMA and ordered night vessel work against direct orders not to. The ILWU proudly filled that work order. Bravo to PASHA for taking a stand against the economic terrorism that is threatening our immediate community. 7) The ILWU has consistently been one of the strongest unions in the world because we support EVERY WORKER, whether he is union or not. Fair wages, health benefits, and pensions are among the gains we have helped other workers secure through collective bargaining and organizing. Our generosity in terms of goods and volunteerism extends beyond our local communities. When the ILWU succeeds, every worker succeeds because we protect and represent the rights of every laborer, everywhere. Numerous articles written about our union credit us as “breathing life into workers worldwide” and one named the ILWU as the “most inspiring” union. We take pride in our blue-collar work, but most of all, we take pride in the fact that we have not allowed corporate greed to overcome us, like so many other industries in this country. Remember the automotive industry? Manufacturing? Even if the maritime industry is the last job representing solid middle-class American work, then we will be the last union standing making it happen. Again, this is MY take on the situation written for our family and friends with hopes to educate you about what is happening in our own backyard. God bless you, God bless our community, and God bless the ILWU.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 05:07:06 +0000
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