by Tom Price

San Francisco—This year’s Long-shore, Clerk and Walking Boss Caucus took stock of the unrelenting efforts by employers and the federal government to undermine the union. The 81 delegates, representing all the Longshore Division locals, spent the week of May 17-22 in San Francisco reviewing the past year’s work and passing resolutions to turn back these attacks, strengthen the union internally and build relations externally.

The Coast Committee, consisting of International President Jim Spinosa, International Vice President Bob McEllrath, and Committeemen Ray Ortiz Jr. and Joe Wenzl, led off the meeting with its report on the Division’s overall work since the May 2003 Caucus. Then the committees, which are the Caucus’ main working groups, elaborated on the work they did in their areas.

Longshore Local 10’s President Henry Graham (left, with bullhorn) and ILWU International President Jim Spinosa (right, with sign) joined Communications Workers of America Local 9410’s Vice President Gayle Crawley (far right) at the CWA picket line in San Francisco May 21. The Longshore Caucus took time out from its meetings to rally with striking telephone workers. The four-day CWA strike against SBC saved employer-paid healthcare, maintained jurisdiction on high-tech jobs, and provided a 2.3 percent per year pay hike over the five-year contract. Crawley was glad to see 50 longshore workers show up with the Local 10 Drill Team. “It really showed our members what unionism is all about,” she said.

TECHNOLOGY

The Coast Committee reported that the Clerks’ Technology Committee is continuing negotiations with the PMA to protect ILWU work. The PMA and the government have used the post-Sept. 11 emphasis on port security to try to shift work away from ILWU members.

Over the past year the employers have shown little desire to use union clerks for work created by new technology, according to Coast Clerk Technology coordinator Glen Ander-son of marine clerks Local 52, who reported for the committee. In 16 technology arbitrations, the union won 11 to the employers’ one, with two partial victories and two ruled outside of the arbitrator’s jurisdiction.

The union has the right to all the yard and rail planning work, and has won arbitrations on both in the last year. Work at terminal control centers is also the union’s work, but the employers continue to outsource it.

The contract mandates the employers must disclose all new technologies to the union before implementation, so the union can make sure they aren’t being used to outsource its work. But the union discovered in February that some PMA member companies planned to put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a truck/container radio tracking system. These employers set up the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators’ Discussion Agreement group, an organization outside the PMA.

The union took the matter to arbitration March 24, claiming the companies violated the contract by taking this action outside the union-employer technology framework in the agreement. Coast Arbitrator John Kagel ruled it was not a violation for the companies to put out an RFP for the technology, but warned that implementing the technology outside the framework would be.

“To fight the employer and win this battle we need our members to stand up and challenge an employer when he or she feels someone is doing our work,” Anderson said.

WELFARE AND PENSIONS

The Coast Committee reported that federal regulatory agencies approved the way the pension increase negotiated in the last contract will be financed. Many retirees and survivors got benefits restored in the last year.

Coast Benefits Specialist George Romero emphasized the need to work for a single-payer health insurance system. The Welfare and Pension Committee recommended that the Caucus urge the AFL-CIO to conduct a national petition drive for single-payer and that the Coast Committee request the ILWU International Executive Board to do the same.

In a side letter attached to the 2002 contract, the PMA agreed to work with the ILWU to lobby for single-payer. A year and a half later the PMA has done nothing, although the Coast Committee continues to push them to follow through.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION AND PORT SECURITY

The Coast Committee praised the ILWU Washington, D.C. office and the Legislative Action Committee for their diligence during and since the 2002 negotiations and elections. They have followed through on several recommendations of the 2003 caucus by holding a rank-and-file legislative conference in D.C.; working to build Political Action Fund contributions to $500,000 per year; and increasing Division participation in District Councils, the ILWU’s local political action arms. The Coast Committee has done some lobbying in D.C., as recommended, and plans to do more. Arrangements for sending teams of rank-and-filers to key national electoral campaigns in October are being worked on now. The Coast recommended that another legislative conference be held in 2006, and every two years thereafter.

Realizing the union needed a voice in drafting port security laws, last year’s Caucus directed the Legislative Action Committee to get a seat at the table. Since then ILWU members have met with legislators, testified before the Senate and established relationships with regulators and the Coast Guard.

The ILWU places great emphasis on the role of workers as the first line of defense against terrorism, reported longshore Local 13’s Mike Mitre, ILWU Port Security Director and Legislative Action Committee member. They are the eyes and ears of the waterfront and their vigilance can help prevent attacks.

The vast majority of cargo shipped to the West Coast goes through only five ports. An attack on any one of them could cripple U.S. trade since there are no contingency plans to redirect cargo.

The ILWU’s testimony at Congressional port security hearings has affected the drafting of legislation. Congress now looks to the union as one of the few experts on cargo handling and terminal operations. (See “ILWU lobbies Congress for port security,”)

PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Coast contracted the Lincoln Crow public relations firm to conduct media trainings at the local level. Working with Lincoln Crow’s Michael Perri, the Coast Public Relations Committee started a series of local workshops to train rank-and-file members as media spokespeople. The Caucus resolved to expand this approach in each area and ensure resources would be available.

Local 13 President and Coast PR Committee Chair Dave Arian reported that his committee also followed up on the renovation of the ILWU Web site, fulfilling an important mandate of the last Caucus. International Research Director Russ Bargmann demonstrated the redesigned site (www.ilwu.org) for the delegates.

JURISDICTION

Last year’s Caucus commissioned research from the University of California’s Institute for Labor and Employment on changes in the cargo-handling industry. At this year’s Caucus, ILE Associate Director Peter Olney and four colleagues presented a rather sobering picture of the challenges and opportunities these changes create for the ILWU.

The last 20 years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of non-union cargo-handling jobs as employers, including members of the Pacific Maritime Assn., shift work away from the docks and ILWU jurisdiction. They do this in various ways. They may establish off-dock “container freight stations,” which handle stuffing and unstuffing containers, or they may spin off “logistics providers,” which can arrange all phases of cargo movement, from planning to managing warehouses and distribution centers. These spin-offs are not bound by the longshore contract.

Adopting a resolution from marine clerks’ Local 34, the Caucus committed to renew efforts to secure the lost work. The longshore and clerks’ locals will collaborate with the Warehouse Division on these organizing efforts, and help bring the work into warehouse if it falls outside longshore jurisdiction.

Local 13’s Joe Donato reported that a lot of ILWU jurisdiction had been lost on cruise ships. Non-ILWU watchmen often guard the ships, and crews often load their own ships.

The Caucus resolved to set up Coastwise cruise ship standards and discuss ways to resolve issues with the employers. The Caucus also resolved to send an officer and another experienced member to help the new Alaska Longshore Division Unit 60-W safeguard its cruise ship work. (See page 8.)

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The caucus gave a round of applause when Spinosa announced that the Coast Committee facilitated the registration of 933 new longshore workers since March 2003. These new members will need to learn more about the challenges of globalization, outsourcing, technology and jurisdiction and the contract.

The Coast Education Committee has worked hard over the last year, said committee chair Dennis Brueckner of longshore Local 54. Nearly 80 members participated in an education conference last August in San Francisco. They learned grievance and arbitration handling, legal rules and studied marine clerks’ special issues on technology.

The committee also held workshops in all four areas on the Coast last November and December on the 2002 contract struggle. Committee members and the Coast officers explained the issues and conflicts between the union and the employers and the need for continued political action and community relations work in preparation for the next contract.

The Education Committee is working with the International Research and Education Dept. on a series of new seminars. (See President’s Report)

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The Coast Committee reported the officers appointed Local 13 member and former International Transport Workers Federation West Coast Coordinator Ray Familathe to be the union’s new Director of International Affairs, in charge of building global solidarity for the ILWU.

Familathe noted the employers see the union’s connections with dockers worldwide and realize their strength. The deregulation, privatization and casualization that threaten dockworkers in Asia, Europe and Australia menace the ILWU as well, he said. In the last year, ILWU officers and rank and filers attended the Maritime Union of Australia’s convention and a demonstration in Rotterdam, The Netherlands to march with dockers defending their jobs and jurisdiction. Familathe urged the Caucus to continue building stronger international relations in preparation for the upcoming 2008 contract struggle.

SAFETY

Coast Safety Committee Chair Mike Freese of Local 13 reported the committee had made progress on many issues. The committee continues to resist employer demands that longshore workers drive UTRs through the VACIS (Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System) radiation beam used to check container contents. The committee maintains that long-term exposure to the machine’s gamma rays is unsafe.

The committee also leads the union’s opposition to Vertical Tandem Lifts (VTLs), the dangerous practice of lifting more than one container at a time. The committee will present the union’s position at OSHA hearings.

The Caucus passed a resolution requiring the use of bio-diesel fuel in an effort to fight environmental racism in port communities and protect workers from toxic emissions from petroleum diesel engines.

Budget Committee Chair Steve Hansen reviewed the Division’s finances for the Caucus. The 2002 lockout and the contract negotiations dragging on for nine months devastated the Division’s reserves. But, Hansen reported, they are well on their way to getting back on track.