By Lindsay McLaughlin

ILWU Legislative Director

Fifty ILWU grassroots lobbyists will travel to Washington, D.C. March 12 to lobby on the issues important to this union’s members and their families. The goal of the conference is building political power for future struggles similar to the 2002 lock-out and to lobby for issues important to all working families.

The ILWU lobbyists will focus on five key issues:

On the first issue of port infrastructure development and the environment, the ILWU has embarked on a mission to support the movement of goods but deal with the environmental issues that impact our members and communities as well. We must lead the fight for reducing ship emissions while building our infrastructure to handle the growing volume of containers expected to be processed through our West Coast ports.

At a press conference on Jan. 30, 2006, James Spinosa, president of the ILWU, said, "The thousands of men and women I represent and work for raise their families under the cloud of port pollution. They have made a simple demand of their union. While they want to make a good living, they do not want to pay with their lives for a stronger economy."

Studies by the South Coast Air Quality Management District attribute approximately 70 percent of the estimated cancer burden to exposure to diesel particulate matter, and emissions from ships in the ports make up the largest part of that pollution. This is a public health crisis. The ILWU’s goal is to work for at least 20 percent ship emission pollution reduction by 2010 for all carriers that call at U.S. ports. The technology to reduce emissions is available.

President Spinosa said the ILWU will seek to meet these goals by, among other things, encouraging ship builders to use the latest technology in their new fleets, convincing longshore employers to retrofit current ships and harbor craft with cleaner engines and exploring the use of alternative, less polluting fuels.

Secondly, the ILWU supports real port security including the checking of seals and empty containers—not cosmetic fixes that do nothing to ensure the safety and security of our workers. The union favors of the protection of civil liberties and due process rights of its members as the Transportation Security Administration promulgates regulations to implement criminal background checks and issue transportation security cards. Below are some of the bills being considered by Congress on port security that will be a focus at the union’s legislative conference.

The Greenlane Maritime Cargo Security Act (S. 2008), introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to Congress a comprehensive strategic plan to enhance international supply chain security for all modes of transportation by which containers arrive in, depart from, or move through U.S. seaports.

The bill gives U.S. officials in foreign ports the authority to inspect suspicious containers before they are loaded for departure to the U.S. It also mandates that the Department of Homeland Security establish minimum standards for securing containers in transit. The ILWU delegation will insist that the standards include a common-sense mandate to verify seals.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) introduced the Transportation Security Improvement Act of 2005 (S. 1052). As a result of ILWU lobbying, Inouye wrote a provision into the bill that makes it clear that a work stoppage or other non-violent action resulting from an employee-employer dispute does not constitute an economic terrorism disruption. This is necessary because the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 includes a provision that says that any economic disruption at a port is a transportation security incident, possibly criminalizing job actions.

Additionally, the Coast Guard authorization legislation that passed the House of Representatives includes a provision that guarantees longshore workers due process rights during background checks. It also attempts to tie the background checks to real terrorism security risks rather than felonies that have nothing to do with national security. This provision is currently being considered in a conference between the House and the Senate.

Third, the American people need real pension protection. Last summer, the courts agreed to let United Airlines renege on nearly $10 billion of its pension promises to 134,000 of its workers. This is not just about United but corporate American generally breaking promises to workers. Many companies not shirking their pension obligations by filing for bankruptcy are switching their defined benefit pension plans—which promise a fixed monthly check—to riskier defined contribution plans like the 401(k)s that are dependent on the uncertainties of the stock market, or to no plan at all.

Some progressive voices in Congress have raised serious concerns that the two pension protection bills considered by Congress make the problems of underfunding pension funds worse. They also fail in many other respects. Most significantly, the bills do not stop companies like United Airlines from dumping billions of unwanted pension debt onto the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the government agency established to insure workers’ pensions.

The ILWU has attempted to protect the ILWU/PMA pension plan in this legislation. In 2002 longshore negotiators and the PMA agreed to a pension funding schedule that was approved by the PBGC. However, the legislation considered by Congress would alter this funding schedule. Both the union and the PMA spoke to representatives of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) about the importance of the ILWU plan. As a result, Kennedy and Enzi’s amendment in the Senate included a provision grandfathering in the ILWU-PMA plan.

This provision will soon be considered by a conference between the House and Senate. We are lobbying conferees to retain it for our union members.

The ILWU has historically supported single-payer, affordable health insurance for all Americans. Sen. Kennedy is drafting legislation to offer Medicare for all Americans starting with individuals in the age range of 55-65 and to children 18 years old and younger. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has introduced the U.S. National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676) establishing an American a single payer health care system. The bill would create a publicly financed, privately delivered health care program that uses the already existing Medicare program by expanding it to all U.S. residents and residents of U.S. territories. The ILWU will consider endorsing both of these bills after a thorough study.

On the other hand, President Bush proposed expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), his cornerstone health care policy. HSAs allow individuals to save a portion of their income in special tax-free accounts to be withdrawn to pay for medical expenses. These accounts are designed to be partnered with high-deductible health insurance plans. According to Bush, this would empower consumers to shop around for the best prices and would reduce "unnecessary" hospital visits as people weigh the cost versus their need.

The problems with this proposal abound. These changes are like a new coat of paint on the Titanic’s lifeboats: it looks nice, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problems with the nation’s health care or with HSAs in particular. On the most basic level, it seeks to destroy the risk-pooling system of insurance in use since the days of the New Deal. Sick Americans become consumers of health care services, forced to worry about the costs of every procedure and test their doctors recommend. Individuals are left to bargain with hospitals alone instead of with the power of large, comprehensive health insurance plans. When an ambulance is whisking you away to the nearest hospital, it is unlikely you will have the driver pull over while you call around to other hospitals to check prices.

The poor would be the hardest hit by an expansion of HSAs. Millions of Americans simply pay too little in income taxes to make any tax credit an attractive option. Moreover, those who are already uninsured do not have the means to save enough money to make a significant contribution to these accounts.

So Bush and his backers in the financial services industry who stand to earn billions from managing and administering these accounts are forcing this "consumer-driven" health care onto the country. He is doing to health insurance what he failed to do with last year’s failed Social Security privatization.

The American people need guaranteed coverage. Universal coverage would free the economy from the burden of juggling accounts and the impossibility of comparing hospital prices. It is the only fair, equitable and economical solution to our current health care crisis. We will make this position clear to lawmakers during the union’s legislative session.

Finally, the legislative conference will focus on passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1696). It amends the National Labor Relations Act to establish card check recognition during organizing efforts. Identical legislation has been introduced in the Senate

Under the legislation, when a majority of employees sign union authorization cards, they can file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the NLRB must investigate the petition. If the NLRB determines that authorization forms have been signed by a majority of employees, it must certify the union as the employees’ collective bargaining representative.

The legislation also provides for first contract mediation in the event that the parties cannot reach an agreement for a contract within 90 days. If the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services is unable to bring the parties to agreement after 30 days of mediation, the dispute will be referred to arbitration and the results of the arbitration will be binding for two years.

There are strong penalties in the legislation to punish coercive behavior by employers and increases the amount an employer is required to pay to three times the amount of the employee’s back pay when an employee is discharged or discriminated against during an organizing campaign or first contract drive.

The ILWU legislative conference is an important way that the union promotes its values and shared interests to advance the cause of working people. We are scheduling an extensive list of influential lawmakers to address the delegates and answer questions and concerns from our members. Despite the culture of corruption and a corporate agenda that permeates the halls of Congress, the ILWU will continue to advance an agenda that truly represents the interests of workers.