Boarding agents at two Long Beach companies have opted to join ILWU Local 63 OCU (Office Clerical Unit). The agents at Schenker-Stinnes Logistics voted 3-1 for the union March 1. Two days later those at Merit Steamship Agency voted 3-0 to join.
Though Schenker operates all over the world and Merit is a smaller West Coast firm, their boarding agents do similar work and face similar problems.
The agents work in offices, on the docks and around town. They board arriving and departing ships to handle immigration paperwork for the crew as well as customs and Agriculture Dept. forms for cargo. While ships are in port, they take care of all the necessities for the vessel and the crew, arranging for repairs, medical appointments and transportation and dealing with other problems as they arise.
"We’re on duty 24/7," said Merit agent Dennis Tsui. "Any time of the day or night, if they need us, they will call.
"And ships do not come in at working hours," Tsui said. "They come in at three, four or five o’clock in the morning and leave at seven, eight or nine at night."
The agents miss sleep and time with their families—and don’t even get paid for all their hours. Merit didn’t pay overtime and would weasel out of paying anything for small tasks done at odd hours, like late-night supply pick-ups. Schenker routinely had people working off the clock.
"Our workload would have us in the office until 7:30 or 8:00 p.m.," Schenker agent Luis Villegas said. "They would say, ‘It’s not our fault you fell behind.’"
The company also failed to reimburse workers for mileage and other expenses till they complained—and it failed to give pay raises. By January the Schenker agents were ready to quit. But they’d heard about the OCU, and decided to organize instead.
"Agents from the different companies run into each other at the customs office and at the terminals," Local 63 OCU President John Fageaux said. "Non-union people work shoulder-to-shoulder with union members and see the difference."
Villegas had a friend at Inchcape, the first independent boarding agency to join 63 OCU—and a father who knew the difference between working union and not. "My dad always said, ‘The best thing that ever happened to me was when I got into the Ironworkers.’ That was a motivator for me," Villegas said.
Both Schenker and Merit put on strong anti-union campaigns, like more than 90 percent of employers do when facing union drives. Company higher-ups dished out an assortment of pleas, promises and threats. Schenker gave a $600 "operations bonus" to each agent the day before the election. Merit at first threatened to close up shop. Later the CEO apologized for that remark and switched to asking for "just 365 days" to improve.
"That all put a little pressure on the colleagues," Tsui said. "Our emotions were like a roller-coaster, up and down."
But they resisted the pressure and voted union unanimously. The three Schenker agents also held their solid majority.
"Now I tell people, ‘If we can do it as a small office, you can too,’" Villegas said.
The Monday after the Merit vote, ILWU International Organizer Carlos Cordon met with boarding agents at InterOcean Steamship Company. Tuesday a majority signed union cards. Wednesday they filed for an NLRB election. They don’t yet have a date to vote.
—Marcy Rein
