ILWU

PORTLAND, OR (May 18, 2013) – A Portland longshore worker is recovering at home after being struck by a Marubeni-Columbia Grain customer that was crossing an ILWU picket line at the Port of Portland on May 16. The worker, a member of ILWU Local 92, was knocked to the ground after the semi truck’s driver confronted picketers and then allowed his semi to lurch forward into about a dozen picketing workers.

“It was scary to watch one of our brothers knocked to the ground by a truck that towered over everyone in its path,” said Martin Nelson, who was ILWU Local 8’s picket captain at the time of the incident. “The semi driver lost his cool, made threats toward the picketers, and without warning, his truck lurched forward into the crowd and knocked one of us over.” Bruce Holte, ILWU Local 8 president, said, “The District Attorney’s office is reviewing video of the semi truck driving into the picket line, and we believe any fair process will result in charges bring brought against the driver. There’s no excuse for driving into picketers and putting their lives at risk.”

The injured longshore worker was knocked to the ground and remained there until medical staff arrived. He was brought to the hospital and found to have minor injuries to his knee, elbow and back. The union is not identifying the worker out of respect for his privacy. The truck belonged to a dairy in Bellfountain, Oregon.

ILWU members are volunteering to staff round-the-clock picket lines to protest the employer-initiated lockout at the Port of Portland’s Columbia Grain, which is owned by Japan-based Marubeni. The lockout began on May 4 and results in about 75 local workers being left unemployed each day. Marubeni has hired Delaware-based strikebreaking firm J.R. Gettier and Associates to provide security and replacement workers during the lockout.

Marubeni is a member of the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers’ Association, which also includes United Grain in Vancouver (which is owned by Japan’s Mitsui, and which locked out ILWU Local 4 members on February 27); Louis Dreyfus Commodities in Seattle and Portland (LDC is French-owned but presently headquartered in the Netherlands to avoid French tax increases on the wealthy), and Tacoma-based TEMCO, with facilities in Kalama, Tacoma and Portland. All of the employers except TEMCO imposed a concessionary agreement in December that had been rejected by 94% in a union membership vote; TEMCO continued to negotiate with the ILWU and reached an agreement that was passed by the membership by a 74% yes vote and ratified in February. The ILWU has called on Marubeni and the other foreign grain employers to return to the negotiating table and consider the TEMCO agreement for negotiations.

 

Scrap TWIC? GAO report slams port credential program

By Charlie Morasch, Land Line contributing writer

Truck drivers and others who work at U.S. ports have grumbled for years about the expenses and hassles of obtaining a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC.

TWIC – a biometric security card capable of storing fingerprints, residency documents and other information – was designed to make ports and major warehouse areas less vulnerable to potential terrorists.

A federal investigative report released this week says the TWIC program’s efforts to implement a remote card reader system haven’t worked, and said Congress should consider scrapping the 10-year-old billion-dollar program altogether and starting over with a new credential.

The Government Accountability Office slammed TWIC in a 12-page statement released Thursday, May 9. The GAO listed eight weaknesses tied to TWIC’s remote reader program that port security could theoretically use to examine workers’ credentials. The statement also slammed TWIC generally.

GAO issued a report on TWIC to congress in 2009 that said Homeland Security “didn’t have a sound evaluation methodology to ensure information collected through the TWIC reader pilot would be complete and accurate.”

In 2011, GAO said the internal control weaknesses in the program’s enrollment, background checks and use “limit the program’s ability to provide reasonable assurance that access to secure areas … is restricted to qualified individuals.”
 Read the full article at Land Line

 

A 40-day strike of more than 500 dockworkers at the Port of Hong Kong ended yesterday with a settlement that included a 9.8 percent wage increase, non-retaliation against strikers, and a written agreement, all of which had been fiercely resisted by the four contractors targeted in the strike.

Strikers accepted the offer by a 90 percent vote.

The four contractors also agreed to work through the port manager Hong Kong International Terminal (HIT) to provide meal and toilet breaks, which had been lacking even for workers on 12- or 24-hour shifts. Crane operators laid off during the strike will be rehired.

Workers see HIT—owned by Li Ka-shing, one of the world’s wealthiest capitalists—as the real power at play, as the interview below demonstrates.

Though members of the Union of Hong Kong Dock Workers (UHKDW) had been holding to their demand for a double-digit wage increase, they had growing concerns about contractors’ use of scabs and the relative ease with which shippers could reroute from Hong Kong to the nearby mainland China port of Shenzhen. After the breakthrough accomplishment of forcing the contractors to negotiate, and clearly winning the battle of public opinion, strikers were ready to return to work.

The strike was notable in that dockworkers across multiple sub-contractors first self-organized, from the bottom up, before seeking affiliation for their union with the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU).

The political environment in Hong Kong allows inter-union competition between HKCTU and the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU). Workers have the chance to see the differences between the HKFTU’s pro-corporate brand of unionism and the HKCTU’s anti-corporate stand—but are also caught between the antagonistic interests. During the strike, HKFTU carried to workers the employers’ low-ball wage-increase offer (5 percent). These negotiations exposed HKFTU’s relative illegitimacy.

The support of students, particularly through the group Left 21, was critical to engaging Hong Kong society as a whole. More than HK$8.5 million (US$1,105,000) was raised for a strike support fund which stood at only HK$30,000 (US$3,900) at the outset. Financial contributions and solidarity resolutions came from the West Coast longshore union in the U.S. (ILWU), the International Federation of Transport Workers, and transport workers unions in Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Solidarity actions such as informational pickets, slow-downs, or rallies didn’t materialize, however—although in the U.S. and Canada, the Steelworkers were considering action at facilities owned by Husky Energy, a subsidiary of Li Ka-shing’s vast empire.

Interview with Hong Kong Dockworkers Leader

Stephen Philion, associate professor of sociology at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, conducted this interview with the dockworkers union Secretary Wong Yu Loy last week in Hong Kong. Philion also translated.

The battle of the Hong Kong dockers, as union Secretary Wong Yu Loy reveals, was important not only because of the rarity of strikes in Hong Kong, or because it was a pitched battle with Hong Kong’s wealthiest corporate magnate, but also because of the way corporate globalization set up the terms of the battle and the importance unions around the globe attached to it.

As Wong suggests in the interview, the strike was followed closely and supported by labor activists and sympathizers in mainland China. The strike thus has potentially powerful implications for a global labor movement much in need of a sign that resistance to global capital remains not only relevant but possible.

Click here for more information and updates on the strike.

Q: To start with, what are the key issues that that have brought about the Hong Kong International Terminal (HIT) dockworkers’ strike?

Wong Yu Loy: Wages and workplace conditions. From 1995 to 2011 wages for stevedores had been constantly cut to the point where the wages were less than in 1995. In 2011 the union finally succeeded in securing a HK$200/day (US$26) wage increase, which still meant daily wages were HK$150 less per 24-hour shift than in 1995. As for crane drivers, they are paid much less if they are hired by subcontractors than by HIT directly.

This current conflict started brewing around March of last year. We attempted collective bargaining, sending a letter to all the terminals demanding a salary adjustment for workers across the industry, but this was met with rejection. We were basically ignored by the dock owner (Hong Kong International Terminals), a unit of multibillionaire and Asia’s wealthiest person Li Ka-shing’ s Hutchison Port Holdings Trust.

Subcontractors used various measures to repress the union, most notably insisting on direct negotiations with individual groups of workers. But from the outset dockworkers had insisted that negotiations be conducted with union representatives. These negotiations met with no success. Now, for the 10 years prior to 2011 there had been no wage adjustments, and it’s in the last year that the conflict reached a boiling point. Workers had waited a long time for changes and were frustrated with attempts by subcontractors’ strategy of negotiating with groups of 100, 200 workers. How do you conduct such negotiations?

 

Read the full interview at Labor Notes

Hong Kong port strike is over

Workers fighting for improved pay and decent working conditions at the Port of Hong Kong have voted to call off their industrial action after accepting an improved wage offer and promises of further negotiations on working conditions – as well as an assurance that there will be no retaliation against workers who participated in the strike. Fulldetails of the settlement are included in a statement from the Union of HongKong Dockers (UHKD) below.

Responding to the news, ITF president Paddy Crumlin commented: “The Union of Hong Kong Dockers, supported by the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, has won a real victory: a pay rise and promises of continuing dialogue on working conditions and health and safety. Their bravery has been rewarded. We in the ITF and the wider union movement are proud to have been able to mobilise the international support they deserved and needed.”

He continued: “We trust that Hutchison Port Holdings will now address the issues around the dignity and working conditions of the workers at the port.”

Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation), added: “This is an important result for the dock workers of Hong Kong. We congratulate them on their resilience and determination to get a fair deal, and we are proud to have been able to give international solidarity in their quest for justice at work.”

The Union of Hong Kong Dockers has issued the following statement:

Members of UHKD decided in the meeting held this evening to call an end to the 40-day strike in the HIT terminals.

 

Written confirmation of the new salary plan 2013-2014

On 6 May, UHKD received a written confirmation jointly signed by the four contractors of HIT, Everbest, Comcheung, Lem Wing and Pui Kee via the Labour Department. The four companies confirmed the new salary plan of 9.8% increase in the basic wage for all their employees at different works in Kwai Chung Container Terminals, effective for one year from 1 May 2013. In the workers’ meeting called by UHKD in the evening, members considered the written assurance by the four contractors with the Labour Department a stepforward compared to the verbal, unilateral announcement these companies made on 3 May. Although the strike has not secured a collective bargaining agreement with the employers, the 40-day industrial action has broken the “tradition” of unilateralism and succeeded in forcing the contractors to seal a written confirmation about the pay and working conditions. UHKD believes that this is the first step towards building a mechanism of communication and negotiation between the employers and the union representing a large section of the contractual workers in the Hong Kong terminals.

The four contractors’ written confirmation also gives details committing the employers to “improve the occupational safety and health protection with the terminal companies”, as well as providing the crane operators the right “to stop the machine to take lunch”, and “leave their workplace for toilet” as necessary. Members of UHKD consider that these concrete commitments are important basis for the union to further engage the contractors and HIT in good faith in the future.

Re-employment of the crane operators

While calling an end to the strike, the union is now working to assist the re-employment of its members, particularly the hundred crane operators employed by Global Stevedoring which announced its closure on 18 April. The union is pressing the Labour Department to negotiate with all the contractors for the soonest possible re-employment of these members.

Non-retaliation

UHKD will see to the end that the contractors abide by their promise of non-retaliation; and that none of its members will be penalized in the future for having taken part in the strike. The union willfollow up to demand the contractors and HIT for a mechanism to schedule therest and lunch breaks, enforce the safety and health provisions, review thesalary regularly and eventually establish a collective bargaining mechanismthat includes the contractual workers in the terminals.

Back-up from the community and international support

The passionate support and generous donations of the Hong Kong community, the international trade unions and organizations have helped us to sustain the strike for forty days. On behalf of our members, UHKD is thankful to all of you who have been giving us unwavering support. Together with you, we have demonstrated again the importance of workers’ unity in fighting not only for reasonable pay, but also our dignity and our future.

Collective bargaining is a must for Hong Kong trade unions

It is the time for Hong Kong SAR government to re-table the legislation on collective bargaining, scrapped by the government in 1997, in obligations under the ILO Convention No98. The working people in Hong Kong must have an internationally recognized mechanism on collective bargaining to ensure the right to fair negotiation of their working conditions and protection of the unions they belong to.

6 May 2013

Members of UHKD decided in the meeting held this evening to call an end to the 40-day strike in the HIT terminals.

On 6 May, UHKD received a written confirmation jointly signed by the four contractors of HIT, Everbest, Comcheung, Lem Wing and Pui Kee via the Labour Department. The four companies confirmed the new salary plan of 9.8% increase in the basic wage for all their employees at different works in the Kwai Chung Contrainer Terminals, effective for one year from 1 May 2013. In the workers’ meeting called by UHKD in the evening, members considered the written assurance by the four contractors with the Labour Department a step forward compared to the verbal, unilateral announcement these companies made on 3 May. Although the strike has not secured a collective bargaining agreement with the employers, the 40-day industrial action has broken the “tradition” of unilateralism and succeeded in forcing the contractors to seal a written confirmation about the pay and working conditions. UHKD believes that this is the first step towards building a mechanism of communication and negotiation between the employers and the union representing a large section of the contractual workers in the Hong Kong terminals.

The four contractors’ written confirmation also gives details committing the employers to “improve the occupational safety and health protection with the terminal companies”, as well as providing the crane operators the right “to stop the machine to take lunch freely”, and “leave their workplace for toilet”. Members of UHKD decide that these concrete commitments are important basis for the union to continue the engagement with the contractors and HIT in good faith in the future.

While calling an end to the strike, the union is now working to assist the re-employment of its members, particularly the hundred crane operators employed by Global Stevedoring which announced its closure on 18 April. The union is pressing the Labour Department to negotiate with all the contractors for the soonest possible re-employment of these members.

UHKD will see to the end that the contractors abide by their promise of non-retaliation; and that none of its members will be penalized in the future for having taken part in the strike. The union will follow up to demand the contractors and HIT for a mechanism to schedule the rest and lunch breaks, enforce the safety and health provisions, review the salary regularly and eventually establish a collective bargaining mechanism that includes the contractual workers in the terminals.

The passionate support and generous donations of the Hong Kong community, the international trade unions and organizations have helped us to sustain the strike for forty days. On behalf of our members, UHKD is thankful to all of you who have been giving us unwavering support. Together with you, we have demonstrated again the importance of workers’ unity in fighting not only for reasonable pay, but also our dignity and our future.

It is the time for Hong Kong SAR government to re-table the legislation on collective bargaining, scrapped by the government in 1997, in obligations under the ILO Convention No98. The working people in Hong Kong must have an internationally recognized mechanism on collective bargaining to ensure the right to fair negotiation of their working conditions and protection of the unions they belong to.

From the Columbian:

The action against members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union follows a lockout already under way at the Port of Vancouver by United Grain. The number of workers impacted by the lockout was not available.

Columbia Grain issued a statement early Saturday accusing workers of engaging in what it called “inside game tactics” – including slowdowns, work-to-rule, and demands for repeated inspections of the same equipment – “all designed to negatively impact Columbia Grain’s operations.”

Bruce Holte, president of ILWU Local 8, said Columbia hired replacement workers last fall, when talks were in early stages, showing that the company never intended to reach agreement.
“Unfortunately, Marubeni-Columbia Grain has done what it’s wanted to do all along, and locked out local workers who have made this company profitable for decades,” said Holte, who is also a Port of Portland commissioner. “Rather than reach a fair agreement, the company has hired an out-of-state strikebreaking firm, attorneys and a publicist to make allegations against local workers who simply want to do our jobs and support our community.”

More in the Columbian

Like Mitsui-owned United Grain in Vancouver, Marubeni-owned Columbia Grain profits from America’s farms, roads, railroads and public ports

PORTLAND, OR (May 4, 2013) – Washington and Oregon-based longshore workers who have exported grain from Portland since the 1930’s were locked out this morning by the current owner of the facility at Terminal 5, Japan-based Marubeni, which operates under the name Columbia Grain.

“Unfortunately, Marubeni-Columbia Grain has done what it’s wanted to do all along, and locked out local workers who have made this company profitable for decades,” said Bruce Holte, President of ILWU Local 8 who also serves as a Port of Portland Commissioner. “Rather than reach a fair agreement, the company has hired an out-of-state strikebreaking firm, attorneys and a publicist to make allegations against local workers who simply want to do our jobs and support our community.”

Holte said the company hired replacement workers last fall, while negotiations were still in the early stages, showing that the company never intended to reach an agreement.

“Northwest taxpayers invest in our roads and public ports to create good jobs, and here’s a profitable Japanese company spending enormous resources to take away good local jobs,” Holte said. “Marubeni is hurting the Northwest’s economy by putting local union workers out on the street instead of allowing us to go to work.”

The ILWU has worked since the 1930s under the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers’ Agreement, which currently covers six grain terminals owned by:

 

• Japan-based Mitsui (United Grain in Vancouver)
• Japan-based Marubeni (Columbia Grain in Portland)
• Netherlands-based Louis Dreyfus Commodities (elevators in Seattle and Portland)
• US-based TEMCO, owned by Cargill and CHS (elevators in Tacoma, Kalama and Portland)

The Grain Handlers’ collective bargaining agreement expired on September 29, and all of the employers except Tacoma-TEMCO imposed a concessionary agreement in December that had been rejected by 94% in a union membership vote; TEMCO continued to negotiate with the ILWU and reached an agreement that was passed by the membership by a 74% yes vote and ratified in February.

About 500 members of ILWU Locals 8, 40 and 92 work at the Port of Portland’s grain, bulk, auto and container terminals.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents 50,000 men and women on the docks and in other industries in Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Panama.

– ILWU Coast Longshore Division news release

Honoring George Cobbs: Local 10 pensioner George Cobbs (center) was presented with a bronze hook for his work
in establishing the ILWU-PMA Alcohol, Drug and Rehabilitation Program. “I’m just blessed that I was able to do something in life
to help other people,” Cobbs said. In the photo from left to right are: Coast Committeemen Ray Ortiz, Jr. and Leal Sundet,
George Cobbs, ILWU International President Bob McEllrath and Caucus Chair Joe Cortez.

Eighty-one delegates elected from Longshore, Clerk and Foremen Locals attended the Longshore Division Caucus that was convened in San Francisco from April 15-19. Among the key issues discussed were the ongoing lockout of grain handlers in Vancouver, WA; new technologies and mechanization; efforts to resolve the ongoing problems with ILWU-PMA Coastwise Indemnity Plan’s new third party administrator, Zenith-American Solutions; preparations for the 2014 Coastwise Longshore Contract negotiations; and international solidarity efforts as employers increase their attacks on wages and working conditions of dock workers around the world. Shortly after the Caucus started, delegates got word of the tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon. The Caucus paused for a moment of silence to honor those who were killed and injured by the brutal and senseless act of violence.

Health and Welfare

The Coast Committee reported on continued challenges in the area of health and welfare. In 2008 contract negotiations, the parties agreed to replace Cigna as the administrator of the ILWU-PMA Coastwise Claims Office (CCO) in San Francisco. After negotiations, a study was conducted regarding the feasibility of bringing the administration of the CCO in-house. PMA refused to bring this function in-house. A “request for proposal” (RFP) process was initiated in order to find a replacement for Cigna as required by 2008 negotiations. The field of potential third-party administrators was narrowed to two companies.

The Union moved to hire BeneSys, and the Employers moved to hire Zenith-American Solutions. This deadlock was arbitrated, and the Coast Arbitrator agreed with PMA over the strenuous objections of the Union Trustees. Zenith began operating as the new third-party administrator of the CCO on January 1, 2013, and problems with claims management were immediately evident.

In addition to having to find a new third-party administrator of the CCO to review and pay medical claims, the replacement of Cigna also required the parties to find a new Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network in California – since Cigna refused to continue supplying the network if it would not be allowed to retain the contract to administer claims processing at the CCO. Since it became necessary to replace the Cigna network, the Union and the PMA Trustees directed the Welfare Plan Consultant (Milliman) to conduct a search for a new PPO network for California enrollees. After eliminating several companies due to mandatory pre-authorizations and less than adequate access to providers and facilities, it was agreed to select Blue Shield’s PPO network in California.

This company was selected because they had the largest network coverage for providers and facilities in the areas where members reside. Blue Shield is only providing a network of providers and facilities who agree to charge certain negotiated fees. These fees are negotiated and set in a process that is wholly independent of the Union and PMA. The ILWU/PMA Indemnity Plan remains a fully independent, non-profit organization run for the benefit of ILWU members and pensioners, and is not controlled by Blue Shield or any other private insurance company. Today’s problems of CCO management (review and payment of claims) is a problem associated with Zenith-American Solutions and not the Blue Shield of California PPO network.

At the Caucus, the Coast Committee and delegates had lengthy discussions about how to solve the now intolerable problem with PMA’s pick, Zenith. See the cover story about the April 9 protest outside of PMA headquarters in San Francisco.

New technology

The Clerk’s Technology Committee and Longshore Technology Committees made presentations that included updates on information technologies, remote off-dock control centers, and web portals that allow employers to control information flows in ways that undermine job security for all dock workers – not just Clerks. The Committee concluded their presentation by summarizing the challenges – and offering solutions for future consideration and action.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) is organizing a conference at the end of April on automation and new technologies in Sydney, Australia. Many ILWU officers and representatives from Longshore Division locals will attend the conference. The Dispatcher will have a full report in the next issue.

International solidarity Vice President Ray Familathe delivered the international relations report and introduced speakers General Secretary Joe Fleetwood of the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and Assistant Branch Secretary Will Tracey from the Western Australia Branch of Maritime Union of Australia (MUAWA) which recently signed a solidarity agreement with ILWU Local 23.

“There’s a war on militant dock workers around the world by employers,” said Fleetwood. “All of us are under attack; the ILA and ILWU, the MUA and MUNZ, European and Hong Kong dockers. Why? Because of the good terms and conditions we work under, and because we aren’t afraid to fight.”

MUA-WA Asst. Branch Secretary Will Tracey discussed efforts by the MUA and other Australian labor unions to secure good paying jobs for Australian workers in the country’s mining and mineral development projects. He explained how companies are circumventing Australia’s visa system to undermine wages and working conditions in the country.

He pledged to support ILWU struggles and closed by saying: “We have a slogan in the MUA that is very similar to yours,” he said, pointing to his shirt that read, “Touch one, touch all!”

International Vice President (Mainland) Ray Familathe gave an update on the ITF meetings in London he attended immediately before arriving at the Caucus in San Francisco in order to spread the word about the grain handlers lockout in Vancouver, WA to the 4.5 million

ITF affiliated-transport workers around the world. The ITF sent out an e-mail bulletin to their affiliates about the lockout that generated 6,000 letters of protest to Mitsui within 24 hours from around the world.

Familathe also reported on a recent trip to Peru where he chaired a meeting of the ITF’s Latin American Dockers Section meeting. He said that the privatization of Latin American ports is stripping the rights of dock workers throughout the region and driving down wages and working conditions.

The Caucus passed a resolution standing in solidarity with ITF-affiliated dock workers in El Salvador, STIPES, who are struggling against a proposed privatization scheme that would threaten their right to exist as a union.

Solidarity with Hong Kong Dockers

International President Bob McEllrath introduced a motion for the Longshore Division to donate $20,000 to support the Hong Kong dock workers who have been on strike for several weeks at the world’s third busiest port. The resolution passed unanimously.

The dockers are striking for fair wages, better working conditions and the right to form a union. They currently earn about $90 for a double shift which is less then they earned in 1997. Crane operators work 12-hour shifts during which they aren’t able to leave their cranes, even to use the bathroom. President McEllrath and Vice President Familathe met with the Hong Kong dockers on a recent trip to China.

The ITF has had a 4-year campaign to pressure the terminal operator, Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT), to recognize the collective bargaining rights of the dockers. HIT is a subsidiary of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which is part of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. That company is owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing – one of the richest men in the world.

Honors for George Cobbs

Caucus delegates gave special recognition to ILWU Local 10 pensioner George Cobbs for his work in establishing the ILWU’s Alcohol, Drug and Rehab (ADRP) program, noting that he has been instrumental in making the program a success.

“The ADRP program has saved the lives of a lot of people,” said Local 63 President Mike Podue. “From the families that you brought back together, there are not enough words of gratitude and ways to express what you have done for this union.”

Other resolutions passed by the Caucus included $100,000 allocated for the James R. Herman Memorial Advisory Committee that will oversee the design, creation and maintenance of a memorial for the former ILWU International President who succeeded Harry Bridges, serving from 1977 to 1991. San Francisco’s Pier 27 cruise ship terminal will be named in Herman’s honor.

Funding of $60,000 in each of the next two years was approved for the Labor Archive of Washington State University which has become an invaluable resource for the preserving labor history. Approval for up to $100,000 a year was approved for after-school activities at the Harry Bridges Span School in Wilmington, CA. Delegates also approved a resolution sponsored by Bay Area locals allocating $7,500 for events related to the 150th Anniversary of the Port of San Francisco.

Battling blood cancers

Local 13 delegate Dan Imbagliazzo introduced guest speaker Michael Guglielmo, who is the donor recruitment coordinator for DKMS, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding the nation’s base of blood marrow donors. The effort will save the lives of those stricken with blood cancers, including leukemia. Guglielmo took up the cause when his own son, Giovanni, struggled five years with the disease that finally took his life in April of 2012. Guglielmo will be working with Imbagliazzo and ILWU locals to organize a Coast-wide registration drive for potential blood marrow donors. More information about DKMS can be found at http://www.deletebloodcancer.org/

As The Dispatcher goes to press, Hong Kong dockworkers are approaching the first month of a strike for better pay and working conditions. The Union of Hong Kong Dockers is squaring-off against one of China’s wealthiest and most powerful tycoons: Li Ka-shing, owner of HutchisonWhampoa, Hutchison Port Holdings, and Hong Kong International Terminals.

The Hong Kong dockers are mobilizing within their own ranks and reaching out to win public support. On April 6, 4,000 marched and rallied outside Hutchison’s headquarters in Hong Kong with family members, union supporters, students, community members and representatives from the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). Two days later, ITF President and Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) National Secretary Paddy Crumlin was walking on the picket line and meeting with union leaders to coordinate international solidarity. Within a week a delegation of MUA dockers arrived from Australia to lend their support. On April 17, the Hong Kong strike leaders presented a report to the ITF Dockers Section meeting in London, attended by

ILWU Vice President (Mainland) Ray Familathe who also serves as 2nd Vice Chair of the ITF Dockers Section. Familathe immediately flew back to attend the conclusion of the ILWU Longshore Caucus meeting in San Francisco where he updated delegates on the Hong Kong struggle and other international developments.

ILWU International President Bob McEllrath presented a motion to Caucus delegates for a $20,000 contribution to help the Hong Kong dockers which was unanimously adopted.

On April 22, workers at Hong Kong International Terminals agreed to end a “work-to-rule” campaign after their employer finally agreed to pay an overtime rate of 140%. The strikers, most of whom are subcontracted employees, are still refusing to work until Hutchison agrees to better pay and basic improvements that include bathroom breaks.

On April 25, efforts by Hutchison to secure an injunction banning demonstrators outside their headquarters was rejected by the court. The Dispatcher will follow this story and provide an update in the next issue.

Protest at the PMA: A busload of ILWU members and pensioners from Local 13 drove all night to protest at PMA headquarters on the morning of April 9. They were joined by Pensioners and members of ILWU Locals 10, 34, 75 and 91.

Dozens of longshore workers joined with ILWU officers on the morning of April 9 in San Francisco to tell waterfront employers: “Stop fooling around with our health benefits and start paying our medical claims!” Dozens of Local 13 members made their point by travelling all night on a bus from the Los Angeles harbor area to the headquarters of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) on Market Street in San Francisco where they were met by Pensioners and members of ILWU Locals 10, 34, 75 and 91.

ILWU International officers, Coast Committeemen, Coast Benefits staff and local officers greeted members as they arrived and thanked everyone for joining the protest.

“Members and pensioners have every right to be fed-up with all these delays and denials when it comes to paying legitimate medical bills,” said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath who mingled with members in front of the PMA headquarters. “We won’t tolerate any members or pensioners being abused by a claims processing company that can’t do their job properly.”

McEllrath then led a delegation of ILWU officers up to the third floor of a high-rise office building where PMA executives were braced inside with officials from Zenith American Solutions, the controversial claims processing company that was handpicked by the PMA and sanctioned by the Coast Arbitrator, over the vehement objections of the ILWU. The company that the Union Trustees wanted to select to replace CIGNA for processing medical claims had a much better reputation for working well with Taft-Hartley Healthcare Plans, according to Coast Benefits Specialist John Castanho. He said the problems ILWU members are currently experiencing with claims processing are the same issues that have been experienced by other healthcare plans managed by Zenith in the past.

In the meeting inside PMA’s office, ILWU officials confronted PMA and Zenith executives, demanding that they end the delays and red tape that have frustrated so many families because of unpaid or delayed medical bills. As ILWU officials pressured Zenith and PMA on the inside, members outside grew restless. At one point a large group of ILWU members left the plaza and headed up to PMA’s offices where they filled the hallway, making their presence known, and sent company officials scurrying in response to the commotion.

The protesting members eventually left the PMA office entrance after making their point, as did ILWU officials after several hours of meeting to demand action steps by Zenith to address the claims processing problem.

By the end of the meeting, it was agreed that Zenith would deploy more staff and send a delegation of claims processors to meet in person with concerned ILWU members and pensioners at Local 13’s dispatch hall.

“We intend to hold the PMA and Zenith accountable and take care of the mess they created for so many of our families with unpaid medical bills,” said ILWU Local 13 President Chris Viramontes. “Having all that pressure on the inside and outside made a difference on April 9.”

When Zenith claims processors came to the Local 13 hall in mid-April, they got an earful from angry members with unpaid medical bills, some of whom brought piles and files of unpaid bills with them. Local 13 member and Caucus Delegate Frank Ponce De Leon had firsthand experience with the frustration caused by Zenith’s bungling of his family’s medical bills.

“My son needed an important operation that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that Zenith refused to pay,” he explained, noting that some of the bills were heading to collection agencies that could compromise his credit rating.

“It’s a mess that has to be straightened-out fast,” he said. De Leon got his chance to keep up the pressure because he was one of 81 Longshore Caucus delegates who met in San Francisco on April 15-19, where they discussed plans to keep pushing PMA and Zenith to fix the problems and pay members’ medical claims.

According to Dan Imbagliazzo, Southern California Area Representative for the Coast Welfare and Pension Benefits Committee, the problem started when employers chose Zenith to handle claims processing for the ILWU-PMA Coastwise Indemnity Plan.

The union wanted another company to do the job, but PMA refused, so the matter had to be resolved by Coast Arbitrator John Kagel who sided with the company’s preference for Zenith. Imbagliazzo says he has received many reports that Zenith lacked enough staff to handle the claims for ILWU members and Pensioners. “That’s something they promised to fix, but people want to see more results and fewer promises from Zenith,” he said.

Local and International union officials will be monitoring Zenith’s work to see if there are signs of progress or further problems. Earlier this month, President McEllrath asked International Vice President Ray Familathe and Coast Committeeman Ray Ortiz, Jr., to attend Local 13’s “stop-work” meeting so they could gather the concerns of members. Familathe and Ortiz, Jr., listened respectfully as many members came forward to voice their complaints and frustrations with medical bills that were not being paid by Zenith.

“The PMA is responsible for fixing this mess and we intend to hold their feet to the fire,” said President McEllrath.

Local 13 Pensioner Manuel Torres

ILWU Local 13 pensioner Manuel Torres is a decorated World War II veteran. He received the Combat INF Badge, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, WW II Victory Medal, Asia Pacific Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and Occupation of Japan Medal. He never received his Bronze Star from the military and his other medals were destroyed in a house fire years ago.

In March 2012, Torres was attending a memorial service and ran into Congresswoman Janice Hahn who represents the Southern California Harbor- area and he told her about the lost medals. Earlier this year at Representative Hahn’s victory celebration, Manuel was presented with all of the medals he earned for his military service.

In early 1944, Manuel was a student at San Pedro High School. He, along with other students were met by members of the Selective Service and directed to report for induction into the US Army. Manuel Torres had been drafted and was soon on a bus to Camp Roberts for basic training.

After completing basic training, he spent a few days at home before waving good bye to his mother and father at Union Station in Los Angeles. That was the last time he saw his father, who passed away a short time later.

Torres boarded a troop transport in San Francisco that was bound for the Philippines for an assault to retake the islands. Torres’s first order was to give up his M1 rifle for a Tommy Gun and become the forward scout. His actions in this operation earned him the Bronze Star in Leyte. He received the Purple Heart for injuries in Luzon. After recovering in Manila, Torres was deployed to other Pacific Islands and then to Tokyo Bay where he witnessed the signing of the Japanese surrender and the end of the Second World War.

Even in retirement, Manuel remains an active part of the ILWU as a dedicated member of the Southern California Pensioners Club.

Well done, Sargent.

– Jerry Garretson, Southern California Pensioners.

Active and retired longshore families in the ports where members have a choice can change medical and/or dental plans during the Open Enrollment period

May 1 to May 31, 2013. The change will be effective July 1, 2013. In addition to the May Open Enrollment period, members may change their medical plan and/ or dental plan once at any time during the Plan Year (July 1-June 30).

The July 1, 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the IL WU and PMA provides that new registrants in the ports where members have a choice of medical plans shall be assigned Kaiser HMO Plan or Group Health Cooperative HMO Plan for the first 24 months of registration. After 24 months, those registrants who have qualified for continued eligibility under the Mid-Year/Annual Review hour’s requirement will have a choice of medical plans. New registrants in San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton, Los Angeles, Portland/Vancouver and Washington will have a choice of dental plans on the first of the month following registration, and may change dental plans during the Open Enrollment period and one additional time during the Plan Year.

MEDICAL CHOICE: The medical plan choices are Kaiser Foundation Health Plan or the IL WU-PMA Coastwise Indemnity Plan for Southern California Locals 13, 26,

29, 46, 63 and 94; Northern California Locals 10, 18, 34 (San Francisco), 34 (Stockton), 54, 75 and 91; and Oregon-Columbia River Locals 4, 8, 40, and 92. In the Washington State area, the medical plan choices for Locals 19, 23, 32, 47, 52 and 98 are Group Health Cooperative or the IL WU-PMA Coastwise Indemnity Plan.

DENTAL CHOICE: For Los Angeles Locals 13, 26, 63 and 94 the dental plan choices are Delta Dental of California, Harbor Dental Associates or Dental Health Services.

For Southern California Locals 29 and 46 the dental plan choices are Delta Dental of California or Dental Health Services. For San Francisco Locals 10, 34, 75 and 91 the dental plan choices are Delta Dental of California, Dental Health Services, or Gentle Dental San Francisco. For Sacramento and Stockton Locals 18, 34 and 54 the dental plan choices are Delta Dental of California or Dental Health Services. For Portland/Vancouver Locals 4, 8, 40 and 92 the dental plan choices are LifeMap-Willamette Dental, Oregon Kaiser Dental Plan or Oregon/Washington Dental Service. For Washington Locals 7, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 32, 47, 51, 52 and 98 the dental plan choices are Washington Dental Service or Dental Health Services.

Information on the medical and dental plans, and forms to change plans, can be obtained at the Locals and the IL WU-PMA Benefit Plans office.

All Medical and Dental Program Choice Forms and enrollment forms, as applicable, must be completed and received by the Benefit Plans office by May 31

for the enrollment change to be effective July 1.

Below is an open letter from striking dock workers in Hong Kong to Li Ka-shing, billionaire owner of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., and one of the richest men in the world. The dock workers striking for fair pay and better working conditions including bathroom breaks. Currently they make $90 in US dollars for a grueling 12-14 hour shift.

 

Li Ka-shing, do you know how bad the conditions of your workers are??

In a staggering publicity stunt last week that included several newspaper ads and public remarks by Hutchison Whampoa’s managing director Canning Fok Kin-ning, Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT) and its subcontractors sought to smear the striking workers and their union. Thus today, we must present the truth and correct their distortions; we must reveal to society the exploitation suffered by the workers as these ruthless capitalists—who clearly have no regard for the basic rights of the labor class—reaped their excessive profits.

A raise for the family

Yes, we demand wage increases—but only to compensate for 18 years of exploitation and continuous inflation. The striking workers are mostly divided into crane drivers and stevedores. In 1995, loaders made HK$1,456 for every 24 hours of work; fast-forward to 2013, they now only make HK$1,315 for the same amount of work. (Table below) Given a cumulative inflation rate of 28.5% during the 18 year in between, the workers’ real income fell 29.7%; our demand for a 20% raise can’t even match inflation. As they struggle to survive and support their families, these workers have chosen to fight for the justice and dignity they deserve. In the subcontractors’ statement, they only dared say the workers’ current salary is higher than that in 1997, intentionally evading the 1995 numbers in a numerical ruse to fool the public.

Year Wage (24 hours’ work) Hourly wage Year Wage (24 hours’ work) Hourly wage 1995 $1,456 $60.66 2008 $1,060 $44.16 1996 $1,150 $49.71 2010 $1,115 $46.45 2003 $1,090 $45.41 2011 to now $1,315 $54.79

 

HIT claims that the dock workers’ income is higher than the median income in Hong Kong (HK$12,000), but they have neglected to mention that the city’s median working hours is 45 per week and the mean hourly rate is around HK$61.50, which is at least 9.75% higher than that of the dock workers. HIT’s true intentions are for all to judge.

As for the crane drivers, the union’s only hope is that workers with the same job can earn the same wage. Why is it that despite having identical jobs, workers hired directly by the company make twice as much as those hired by subcontractors (Table below) and, unlike the latter, are given time to eat, go to the bathroom and rest? Why have all subcontracted workers been stripped of these basic rights?

  Crane operators hired by subcontractors Crane operators hired by HIT

Workers can only urine inside the operator cabin

Comparison Average hourly rate $60-71 $92-180* 50-150% more Monthly working hours 312 hours 173 hours  

*Including shift premium pay and bonus

Please treat us like human beings!

HIT and the subcontractors have also said that the dock workers take up 24-hour shifts voluntarily—they are either oblivious to the plight of their own frontline workers, or intentionally misrepresenting reality. The truth is, when the subcontractors demand that these loaders work for 36, 48, 72—or even more—hours straight, the workers do not dare refuse in fear of punishment. Even under the typhoon signal no. 8, they must risk their lives climbing to the tip of cargoes nine-story high and fastening them tightly in the absence of any safety measures. In contrast, working under the scorching sun or amid raging rains and thunderstorms is just another day for these workers.

Required to stay in the small operator cabin- for 12 consecutive hours, the subcontracted workers often have to eat and urinate inside the crane—a widely known fact within the industry and one of which Fok is clearly ignorant. In addition, having to lean forward for extended periods of time has led to occupational injuries in the necks and backs of numerous workers, many of whom have had to undergo treatment and surgeries. Backed by true examples, these appalling stories cannot be denied.

The shutdown – just a dodging of responsibility! 

The striking workers were prepared for the shutting of Global Stevedoring Service; unlike more than a decade of one-year contract renewals, this year, the company only renewed the workers’ contract for half a year, which suggests that it had been planning to close down for a while. We suspect that the firm took advantage of the strike’s timing to blame its shutdown on the workers and exit negotiations, leaving their crane drivers jobless.

The union has always emphasized HIT’s inexorable responsibility. We hope to directly negotiate with HIT and resolve this labor dispute.

Where’s the trickle-down? A microcosm of Hong Kong society

Hutchison Whampoa’s profits have continued to rise in recent years. In 1996, the before-tax profits of the corporation’s port-related operations totaled HK$4.6 billion; in 2012, the number reached HK$7.8 billion, surging as much as 70%.

Now let’s turn to Hutchison’s executives. Canning Fok, “the king of all workers”—who, having raised his own salary by almost 20% more than once, currently makes more than HK$100 million a year—is now apparently concerned that the raise demanded by the workers will bring down the economy. Such baseless threats show that Hutchison has entirely disregarded the contributions these workers have made to the local economy. A report by Citibank estimates that Hutchison has lost $100 million from the strike. Why would Hutchison rather suffer losses than face the workers’ reasonable demands? Again, its intentions are clear for all to judge.

Run no more, HIT, and negotiate in good faith!!

The strike has lasted 26 days. Still, the workers battle on. The union and workers all know that this is not just the struggle of several hundred or several thousand dock workers—but the struggle for the dignity of every one of Hong Kong’s workers and citizens. The dock workers have stepped forward to fight for justice and fairer distribution from a corporation that has monopolized the Hong Kong economy for more than a decade, and it is the support of our fellow citizens that keeps us going. Action speaks louder than words—please join us at:

Date: 26 April 2013 (Friday)Action to surround Cheung Kong Centre

Time: 7:30pm

Venue: Main entrance of Cheung Kong Centre

The Strike Fund: Hang Seng 295-8-067833

Lastly, we implore the world’s richest Chinese, Mr. Li Ka-shing, to show sincerity, realize social corporate responsibility, and bear responsibility for this labor dispute.

Union of Hong Kong Dockers

(Tel) 27708668   (website) http://www.hkctu.org.hk/cms/index.jsp

The Chained CPI is deceptively portrayed as a reasonable cost of living adjustment. But it is a cut to Social Security that would hurt seniors. Robert Reich explains the problem with the Chained CPI in the short two minute video below.

 

A delegation of ILWU officers and members attended the convention for the Western Branch of the Maritime Union of Australia the week of February 26th. The ILWU delegation included International President Robert McEllrath, Vice President (Mainland) Ray Familathe, Vice President (Hawaii) Wesley Furtado, Secretary Treasurer Willie Adams, Local 23 President Scott Mason, and Local 23 members Liz Jimenez, Ryan Whitman, Local 4 member Brad Clark and Local 40 member and International Executive=  Board member George O’Neil.

At the convention, ILWU Local 23 and the MUA-Western Australia branch signed a solidarity agreement that strengthened the ties between the two organizations and demonstrated the growing international solidarity efforts between maritime workers and their commitment to broaden campaign efforts across international borders.

President McEllrath presented a short video to convention delegates that featured dramatic highlights from the EGT struggle in Longview, WA. He noted that the dispute with three northwest grain companies is continuing and will require strong solidarity and support. “These big grain companies are powerful international players, and our strategy has to be global as well,” said McEllrath.

Scott Mason, president of ILWU Local 23, explained that the pact signed between the WA branch and his local came after visits of solidarity between the two unions. “We talked about the similarities, about the waterfront,” he said. “We are off to a really good start. This won’t just be a piece of paper. This is going to be a work in progress and we ‘ve already started laying out our next steps, short term goals, medium goals and long-term goals.”

Willie Adams, ILWU International Secretary-Treasurer and a member of Local 23, added: “It’s for the rank and file, by the rank and file. My local has that same passion so it was a natural fit for us to come together. Our friends are here.”

The solidarity agreement reads in part:

“The alliance between our two organisations at this time represents the necessary commitment to  international solidarity required for labour to be successful in this time of corporate globalisation. Both branches are militant and progressive and share an approach to rank and file campaigning that unites us.

“As the world becomes smaller with fewer and fewer industrial conglomerates controlling more and more of the world’s capital and resources, we must be innovative in our strategies to protect and enhance the wages, hours and working conditions of our members.”

The WA Branch also signed a solidarity agreement with the Wellington Branch of the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

Liberals are mounting strong criticisms of President Obama amid news that his budget will include a Social Security benefit cut — an official endorsement of a policy compromise he’s offered Republicans for years — and warning Democrats not to dare vote to cut the cherished retirement program.

A trio of progressive advocacy groups issued scathing statements Friday in response to reports that Obama’s proposal will include a policy called “Chained CPI,” which would re-index Social Security cost of living increases to a lower rate of inflation — a benefit cut the president has included in deficit offers to Republicans since 2011.

“President Obama’s plan to cut Social Security would harm seniors who worked hard all their lives,” said MoveOn.org’s executive director Anna Galland. “That’s unconscionable. It’s even more outrageous given that Republicans in Congress aren’t even asking for this Social Security cut. This time, the drive to cut Social Security is being led by President Obama and Democrats.”

Stephanie Taylor of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee accused Obama of “proposing to steal thousands of dollars from grandparents and veterans” and threatened to subject any Democrat who votes for a Social Security benefit cut to a primary challenge.

“You can’t call yourself a Democrat and support Social Security benefit cuts,” Taylor said in a statement. “The President has no mandate to cut these benefits, and progressives will do everything possible to stop him.

Read the full article at Talking Points Memo

Striking Hong Kong dockworkers remain steadfast in their weeklong strike for fair wages and safe working conditions. The job action is slowing cargo shipments at the world’s third busiest port.

Hundreds dockworkers and community supporters have been camped out on the road in front of the Hutchison International Terminals (HIT) container terminal, which is owned by by Asia’s richest person, billionaire Li Ka-shing.

Hutchison operates 12 berths at four of Hong Kong’s nine container terminals and two others with a joint venture partner. The company is controlled by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., the flagship company of billionaire Li’s sprawling Hong Kong business empire which also has retail, mobile phone and property businesses spanning the globe.

Workers are seeking also demanding resolution of health and safety problems, such as lack of bathroom breaks.

Striking workers like crane operator Cho Wai-kei said they earn about $90 a shift–less then they were getting in 1997.  He and other workers operating the cranes complained of arduous 12-hour shifts during which they weren’t allowed to leave their operator cabins high above the ground, even to use the bathroom.

“When you get into that metal cage, there’s no difference between you and a dog,” Cho said.

“The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is calling on HIT and on Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust), to put health and safety, decent working conditions and respect for union rights first,” said ITF President  Paddy Crumlin. “The dockers have the full support and backing of the 4.5 million member strong ITF global union. Dockers in global network terminals around the world are watching closely, as are transport workers along the supply chain. Global network terminal operators in the stevedoring industry in particular have a critical responsibility to work with their employees to ensure basic labor rights are acknowledged and respected.”

 Click here to send a letter of protest to HIT.  Click here to send a letter of solidarity to the dockers.

Office clerical workers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ratified a new contract in late February that covers 450 members of Local 63’s Office Clerical Unit (OCU).  The workers won their contract after striking for 8 days from November 27 to December 4, 2012 because employers refused to curtail the outsourcing of good jobs.

Solidarity was central

The strike victory was possible because of a powerful show of solidarity from 10,000 ILWU members at Locals 13, 26, 56, 63 and 94 – along with support from other union members and non-union workers, including port truckers, who honored the picket lines.

International union support

Local 63-OCU asked for help from the ILWU International Union more than a year ago. International President Bob McEllrath assigned Vice President Ray Familathe to assist the Local with negotiations that continued during the strike. “It was important for employers to understand that the ILWU International was supporting these members,” said McEllrath.

Outsourcing threat

The predominantly female Local 63-OCU workforce spends most of their time on computers doing logistics planning work that is closely monitored by management and easily outsourced to non-ILWU locations in other states and countries. “They can outsource jobs with the push of a button to Texas or Taiwan,” explained ILWU International Vice President Ray Familathe.

No strike-breaking injunction

When the strike started, employers refused to bargain seriously because they were lobbying the Obama White House and hoping to break the strike with a Taft-Hartley injunction. In the end, employers didn’t get their injunction and had to negotiate a settlement with the union that included new outsourcing restrictions.

Jobs vanish to Costa Rica

Outsourcing controls were a critical part of the new agreement. During the previous contract, one company transferred work from the Harbor-area to Costa Rica, transforming a formerly minor operation with a few office workers into a bustling new facility with cubicles for 100 employees – many doing work that had previously been performed by ILWU employees in the Harbor area. The workers in Costa Rica were ordered not to talk with their better-paid counterparts in Los Angeles – and threatened with termination if they made contact with ILWU members.

Employer double-cross

While the outsourcing issue had festered since the contract expired in June of 2010, the problem went back further, to the depths of the 2008-2009 recession. That’s when companies pleaded for “flexibility,” claiming they needed relief to remain solvent. Local 63-OCU agreed to ease staffing requirements then to help the companies during the hard times, but the companies refused to return the favor when the economy recovered – and there was no “snap-back” provision in the contract to restore the status quo. Employers took full advantage of the relaxed staffing requirements during those three years to outsource 51 full-time positions – more than 10% of the workforce. With employers refusing to limit outsourcing, and another 70 jobs likely to disappear in the coming years without controls, OCU members decided they had no choice but to strike.

Politicians choose sides

The strike revealed which politicians were willing to stand with workers – and which ones were more comfortable with employers and big business lobbyists. U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer issued a disappointing joint statement with a sub-headline that screamed: “Closures of Ports During Holiday Season Could Hurt the Economy of the Los Angeles Region and Nation.”

In fact, there was little or no impact on the holiday season because most of the seasonal goods had been delivered long ago. And the economic impact of the strike was widely exaggerated. But claims that the strike was “harming the economy of the Los Angeles Region and Nation” were used to prod pro-corporate White House officials closer to imposing a Taft-Harley injunction.

Billion dollar baloney

Business lobbyists, along with many reporters and politicians, repeated the false claim that the strike was costing the local economy “$1 billion a day.” The figure came from a reporter who misunderstood the comments of economist Jock O’Connell, who was stunned to see his own misleading figure go viral.  O’Connell quickly issued a clarification and tried to correct the error, but it was too late to control the hype that was fed by big business lobbyists and politicians who used the figure as a dramatic talking point – and reporters who unknowingly included the phony figure in many of their stories.

De-bunking a myth

Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik devoted a column to de-bunking the bogus billion-dollar figure, along with other employer myths that he saw circulating in the media, including some in his own newspaper.  Hiltzik explained that the value of goods moving through the ports may amount to roughly $1 billion per day – but the value of those goods didn’t become worthless because of the strike, which merely delayed deliveries for a week or so. The cost of those delays could eventually be estimated, but it was very small compared to the “billion dollar-a-day claim,” and had no more than a tiny impact on the national economy.

Some stood with workers

Several members of Congress weren’t fooled by the employer hype and took a courageous stand by affirming the efforts of clerical workers to save jobs from being outsourced. Congress members Janice Hahn, Judy Chu, Linda Sanchez, and Grace Napolitano called on both sides to reach a settlement – while expressing concern over the outsourcing of good jobs.  Similar sympathetic statements came from Congress member-elect Alan Lowenthal, State Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal, and others. Janice Hahn also made a special effort to visit with workers on the picket line, as did City Council member Joe Buscaino who expressed concern about the outsourcing problem on radio interviews.

Message control

After several days into the strike, the union began sending a clear, consistent message that explained the conflict in terms the public could understand and support:  “clerical workers are standing up to save good jobs that support working families in our community.  We want the good jobs at the port to stay here and we want the outsourcing to stop.” A team of Local 63OCU members were quickly trained to deliver the union’s message to millions of TV viewers, radio listeners and newspaper readers. Member Trinie Thompson conducted interviews with the NBC Nightly News, the Los Angeles Times and FOX national news. Members Sal Lopez and Maggie Ladesma did television news interviews in Spanish that reached millions. Member Pin Tse reached out to the Chinese language media.

Reaching a settlement

As the strike neared the one-week mark on December 3, both sides edged closer to an agreement when the companies finally agreed to put controls on their outsourcing. The final deal took another 12 hours to finalize, but was reached shortly before 11pm on December 4 with a joint media event hosted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who cut-short a South American trade mission to assist the negotiations.

ILWU International Vice President Ray Familathe said “this fight came down to saving good jobs for the entire community, but it was difficult because we were dealing with powerful multi-national shipping companies, 21st-century technology, and an outsourcing problem that’s been out-of-control in America for decades.”

“This victory was possible because of support from the entire ILWU family and the strong backing from the Harbor community,” said ILWU International President Robert McEllrath, who praised the unity and solidarity of union members, their families and community supporters.

Two hundred Local 6 members went on strike at three Waste Management facilities during the early morning hours of March 15, shutting-down the company’s East Bay operations for six hours. Members organized multiple picket lines beginning at 2am in three locations: the company’s headquarters in Oakland, a recycling facility in San Leandro, and the massive regional landfill in Livermore/Altamont. The picket lines were honored by nearly all Teamster drivers and many mechanics from the Machinists Union who also work at Waste Management.

The company’s blatant violation of federal labor laws sparked the action, including Waste Management’s retaliation against many ILWU members who are immigrants. Waste Management has been trampling on the rights of ILWU-represented workers who are organizing to solve problems and resolve open union contracts that have languished for years. Local 6 and the ILWU International have joined forces to help workers organize for more respect, win improvements and protect their rights.

Diverse workforce
The ILWU workforce at Waste Management has been represented for several decades and is divided into three units, each with separate contracts. About 65 workers operate the company’s landfill operations, and several dozen provide clerical and customer service assistance.

Many are low-paid
The largest group of ILWU members are the company’s lowest-paid who operate Waste Management’s East Bay recycling operation. The predominantly-immigrant employees are paid roughly half what recycling workers earn in San Francisco and San Jose for doing the same work, while residents in those cities pay roughly the same rates for their garbage and recycling services as do East Bay residents.

Community campaign

Efforts to improve the low-pay and dangerous working conditions for recycling workers are being supported by a coalition of community groups known as the Campaign for Sustainable Recycling, which includes the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), religious leaders, environmental organizations and recycling experts who are committed to winning better recycling services for the public along with better working conditions for employees. EBASE members were on the picket lines early Friday morning to support the striking workers.

Building support

Several days before the strike, community leaders convened a meeting at the Bay Area Christian Connection church in Oakland, where workers explained Waste Management’s retaliation against immigrant employees. And a month before the strike in early February, 200 workers convened a historic “Recycling Workers Convention” with employees from four major recycling operators in the East Bay. Much of that meeting was conducted in Spanish, and was chaired by workers who are taking a leadership role in their campaign to improve industry conditions in Alameda County. Supporters at the Convention included a host of elected officials, church leaders, environmental groups, industry experts and community organizations. The convention concluded with workers ratifying a plan to improve industry conditions. Political leaders signed a statement calling for better jobs and improved recycling services in the East Bay.

Legal action

In the days leading up to the strike, workers filed formal charges against Waste Management with the National Labor Relations Board that included:

• Threatening and intimidating employees;
• Implementing workplace policies without bargaining with the Union;
• Mistreating immigrant workers.

Using E-Verify against immigrant workers

One nasty charge involved the company’s improper and illegal use of the federal “E-Verify” system to retaliate against immigrant recycling workers who were organizing to protect their rights on the job. The company began by bypassing a legal obligation to first negotiate with the union before using the E-Verify system. Waste Management also improperly used the E-Verify system against long-term employees instead of new-hires or applicants. And Waste Management also used E-Verify in a retaliatory manner by deploying it immediately after workers planned to take collective action – a serious violation of federal labor law. The company spokesman claimed that their timing was merely a coincidence, or as he told the San Francisco Chronicle, “an unfortunate chain of events that overlain one another.”

In addition abusing the E-Verify system, Waste Management also engaged in other violations of the National Labor Relations Act, including unlawful surveillance and interrogation of employees.

“America won’t work if big companies like Waste Management can break the law with impunity and violate workers’ rights,” said Fred Pecker, Secretary-Treasurer of ILWU Local 6. “All workers deserve respect on the job and the right to be free from illegal threats.”

Positive media coverage

The strike generated intense media coverage that was sympathetic towards workers. Five television stations carried the story, beginning with early morning reports that ran throughout the day, including live coverage from reporters on the picket lines and in helicopters overhead. Some of the interviews were conducted by workers themselves, including Manuel Christy, a 23-year Waste Management veteran who told Channel 5 news that the strike was about “respect and fairness.” More than 60 TV and radio reports aired on Friday that reached over 1.5 million residents. The San Francisco Chronicle published an article the following day that provided details about the company’s illegal retaliation against immigrant workers.

History of abuse

Waste Management has a history of mistreating Bay Area workers. In 2007, the company was engaged in contract negotiations with Teamsters and Machinists when they issued a demand for cutbacks. When workers refused, the company “locked-out” the drivers and mechanics. The 200 ILWU workers respected the picket lines during the 28-day lockout, going without pay and putting a heavy burden on their families who made a dramatic show of solidarity. During the lockout, the company mobilized their professional team of in-house strike breakers from around the country, known as “the green team,” but many East Bay customers had little or no garbage service for the month, triggering heavy fines and sanctions against the company. When the lockout ended, Waste Management retaliated by suing the ILWU and outsourcing 38 customer service positions in November of 2009.

Deep pockets

Waste Management is the nation’s largest waste and recycling operator. The company is highly profitable. In 2012, Waste Management reported profits of $817 million and paid stockholders another $658 million in dividends. While the company demands concessions from workers, Waste Management’s CEO has been collecting $7.4 million in compensation.

Waste Management workers in the East Bay shut the company down for six hours on March 15 to protest abuse.

Workers and supporters, including the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), went to the Oakland City Council on February 5, to warn officials about Waste Management unlawful retaliation against immigrant workers.

Striking worker Manuel Christy, a 23-year union member and Waste Management veteran, told Channel 5 news that the company should obey the law and respect all workers.

Photo by Dawn Des Brisay

Hundreds of ILWU members and supporters marched and rallied in Vancouver, Washington, on March 8 to protest the lockout of ILWU Local 4 workers at the port’s grain export terminal operated by Mitsui-United Grain. The Japanese-owned company initiated the illegal lockout on February 27.

“It was great to see so many members supporting us from all over the region and also from Los Angeles, the Bay Area and even Alaska,” said Local 4 President Cager Clabaugh. The Friday morning rally created some commotion in Vancouver’s quiet downtown, as members rallied at Esther Short Park then marched several blocks to the headquarters of Mitsui-United Grain in a spirited display of union solidarity.

Union leaders were on hand to lend their support, including ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, Vice President (Mainland) Ray Familathe, and Coast Committeeman Leal Sundet. Washington State AFL-CIO President Jeff Johnson was also in attendance. Additional speakers included Inland Boatmen’s Union President Alan Cote and Secretary-Treasurer Terri Mast, Local 13 representative Luke Hollingsworth, a regional Teamsters representative, and local Episcopal minister Jeremy Lucas.

As rally speakers were winding up, McEllrath held up a copy of an interim collective bargaining agreement that another big grain exporter, U.S.-based TEMCO, had recently approved that was ratified by ILWU members. The new interim agreement with TEMCO was overwhelmingly approved in a ratification vote several days earlier by the combined eligible membership from Locals 4, 8, 19, 21 and 23.

At McEllrath’s invitation, rally participants marched several blocks toward the Mitsui-United Grain offices. While supporters cheered, McEllrath, Sundet and Clabaugh attempted to deliver a copy of the interim agreement with TEMCO to Mitsui-United Grain, but company officials saw the crowd coming and locked the doors to their high-rise building. After a brief standoff and some chanting, arrangements were made to deliver the interim TEMCO agreement to officials inside. The grain association’s spokesman told reporters that he expected to have the document e-mailed instead of personally delivered by hundreds of supporters.

Background 

ILWU members have been loading grain onto ships at Northwest ports since the 1930’s. In the decades since, agreements with the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association were reached without major conflicts. That changed in 2011, when a new, overseas-based grain export company, EGT, built a $200 million facility in Longview, Washington, and refused to negotiate in good faith with the ILWU. The company then used Operating Engineers from Gladstone, Oregon, to operate the new terminal – triggering months of protest by ILWU members that eventually resulted in a first agreement with EGT.

Shortly afterward, the four company multi-employer group represented by the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association began demanding concessions to their own successful 80-yearold grain agreement. Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association members include:

• Japan-based Mitsui (United Grain in Vancouver)

• Japan-based Marubeni (Columbia Grain in Portland)

• Netherlands-based Louis Dreyfus Commodities (elevators in Seattle and Portland)

• U.S.-based Cargill and CHS (TEMCO elevators in Tacoma, Kalama and Portland)

Playing hardball

The four companies that constitute the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association multi-employer group negotiated to impasse with Locals 4, 8, 19, 21 and 23 – that also bargained as a group. The companies insisted on hard-line, non-starter proposals and refused to budge before the grain contract expired in September, 2012. By November, they demanded that the Union accept a deeply-concessionary contract. That proposal was rejected by 94% of members who voted in late December. At that point, three companies (not including TEMCO), emboldened by the Taft-Hartley “slave act”, imposed their “final offer”, a concessionary agreement. At this point, the union decided that it was wiser to remain working – even under terms of the imposed contract – than it was to strike. This permitted the union more time to work on other methods of struggle, including rallying domestic and international solidarity along with other legal options.

Meanwhile, TEMCO, a joint venture of an American farmer cooperative and the American corporation Cargill, refused to participate with the three other grain companies that imposed the concessionary agreement. Instead, TEMCO agreed to work under the expired grain agreement while continuing to negotiate an interim agreement.

The union and TEMCO were able to reach terms on a five-year interim agreement that was ratified by members and signed on March 9. The TEMCO/ILWU agreement is subject to modification in order to reflect an eventual agreement between the ILWU and the entire Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association.

The interim agreement does not break up the multi-employer group, and the interim agreement is subject to whatever agreement is finally reached with the whole group.

llegal lockout

While all of the foreign based and controlled export elevators have utilized the services of Gettier, a Delawarebased strike breaking specialist that offers “replacement worker services” and labor strife consulting, Mitsui-United Grain adopted the most hostile approach of the three recalcitrant companies.

Gettier was the firm that Rio Tinto hired during their failed 2010 lockout attempt against 600 Local 30 families Boron, California. Mitsui paid Gettier to use the same tactics in Vancouver that backfired in Boron: hiring expensive replacement workers who were put on stand-by, and stationing security guards around the plant who were dressed in storm-trooper costumes and given video cameras – hoping to provoke ILWU members into doing things that could be used by the company in court.

Just like Rio Tinto, Mitsui imposed an illegal lockout against ILWU workers. Mitsui locked the gates on ILWU members early on the morning of February 27. The company claimed their action was justified because an individual union member allegedly tried to damage equipment at their Vancouver grain terminal two months earlier – a claim that has yet to be backed-up with evidence. The individual they accused was dismissed prior to their lockout, so there was no justification for locking out

the entire ILWU workforce – aside from anti-union retaliation, which is illegal under federal law. Local 4 filed “unfair labor practice” charges against Mitsui-United Grain for retaliating against union members on March 4, 2013.

Towboat companies, Foss and Shaver, have bare-boated three ship assist tugs to the Grain Exporters who have manned those tugs with nonunion workers. The Coast Guard has issued a protective zone of 250 yards around the Columbia River Terminals of Mitsui and Marabeni.

The river pilots, citing legal requirements, are moving vessels with scab towboats through Local 4 picket lines. International Transport Federation (ITF) crewed vessels are being threatened and fined by the elevators when they refuse, pursuant to ITF contracts, to do longshore work such as opening hatches.

Since the lockout, Local 4 members have been staffing the picket line around the clock. The 44 positions at Mitsui-United Grain were often rotated among the 200 members of the local, so almost everyone has worked inside at some point, according to Local 4 President Clabaugh.

He credits Vice President Jared Smith along with members Jared Moultrie, Tommy Boyer and others, for helping to coordinate the lockout support effort. Member Monty Sinclair has been coordinating picketing on the water, using boats to extend the lines into the water where they can be seen by maritime unions.

“The membership support for this effort has been impressive,” said Clabaugh. “We’ve got faith in our International union leadership and are committed to going as long as it takes.” As The Dispatcher is going to press, Mitsui-United Grain, Marubeni-Columbia Grain and Louis Dreyfus have agreed to resume negotiations with the ILWU.