Big shipping companies, investors, and port operators are increasingly interested in Mexican ports, so there was plenty to talk about when ILWU and Mexican dockworkers got together last month in Southern California.

“Now’s the time for dockworkers from both countries to be talking and making plans for the future,” said International President Bob McEllrath as he kicked-off a week of meetings beginning October 15th with Mexico’s Federation of Marine and Transport workers. The union represents most port workers along Mexico’s west coast, including the country’s largest at Manzanillo.

This is the second time in less than a year that union leaders from both countries have met to discuss common challenges. ILWU leaders met 15 years ago with their Mexican counterparts, then again last year at Manzanillo in December, 2006.

“We learned a lot about the push to privatize Mexico’s ports during our 1992 visit,” says ILWU Coast Committeeman Leal Sundet who participated in the first gathering, as well as the recent meetings this past year.

Coast Committeeman Ray Ortiz, Jr. says that “The Mexican union members are now dealing with the same companies that we face here everyday, so it’s real important for us to be sharing information that can help union members in both countries,” he said.

Cecilio “Lepe” Bautista, General Secretary of the Mexican longshore union, told ILWU members that his union continues to be concerned about the impacts of privatization, new technology, and the powerful corporations that are now big players in Mexico’s ports.

Leaders from both unions held a joint meeting with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on October 16th. The Mayor is encouraging port officials in Los Angeles to work together with their counterparts in Mexico to help both countries plan for the future.

The City is co-sponsoring a conference on port issues later this month with the government of Mexico. Leaders from the ILWU and Mexico’s longshore union will attend the Southern California event.

“We need to develop a global strategy with unions in Mexico and other countries so we can stay ahead of the curve,” says International President McEllrath. “I want us to be looking ahead at least a decade or two, because investors and big companies are making plans now that could radically change the way all of us work in the future.”