by Tom Price

ILWU Canada’s negotiating team began an eight-day round of contract talks Aug. 22 with the British Columbia Maritime Employers’ Assn. According to the union, the BCMEA hasn’t moved much. But the ILWU is holding out hopes for a new contract replacing the one that expired March 31. When bargaining recessed in June the employers still had many proposals on deck that the union had rejected. Foremen’s Local 514, ILWU Canada, will also return to negotiations with their employers.

“The worst employer demands include changes to the dispatch system,” ILWU Canada President Tom Dufresne said. “We’re concerned with just how far they want to go. Local 500 has agreed to explore different options to facilitate dispatch, but are not willing to change the whole system.”

The BCMEA wants to use a larger portion of steady employees. That means fewer jobs dispatched out of the hiring hall, bringing up issues of fair access to jobs.

“The employer wants a greater say on who will be in the workforce,” Dufresne said. “And they want to cut the union out of that part of the decision making process. We’ve had this in place for 30 years and it works very well. While there can be improvements, we’re not going to cede control of the dispatch of a regular workforce. All members are equal, we’re not prepared to create a special elite force within the union chosen by the employer.”

The union’s trustees have worked on a number of issues, including the benefit plan. Everyone in Canada has healthcare, but pensions, drugs, and other health services are open for bargaining. The union wants a new benefit plan for casuals, but the BCMEA is reluctant to agree. ILWU Canada’s longshore caucus is determined that anyone working in the industry for any length of time deserves to be covered by a health and benefit plan, Dufresne said

“If BCMEA wants people to come into our industry and stay, then they should treat people equally,” he said. “It’s important that with the current labor shortage we keep people working. That means good wages, benefits, and the hiring hall.”

The union is interested in protecting the industry against corporate raiders, Dufresne said. Recently, companies with no real connection to the maritime industry have bought out many of the BCMEA employers. Some of these firms are known to slash costs and “flip” the company by selling it for a short-term profit. That might be one thing for real estate, but it could be a disaster for the ports in the long-term.

“We’re getting less and less optimistic that we’ll achieve an agreement without going into concilliation,” Dufresne said. “The BCMEA have hired a new president-CEO who will take over as of Oct. 1, and he has a checkered history in labor relations on the provincial level. We’re cautious about him and the problems he’s caused in other industries.”