Carlos Rivera’s death on April 4, 2008 at the Port of Long Beach confirms that west coast longshore workers have some of the most
dangerous jobs in America

More than a dozen longshore workers have been killed on the docks in less than six years since the current contract became effective on July 1, 2002. 

By comparing records of ILWU job fatalities with U.S. government records of “fatal occupational injuries” it is possible to compare death rates of west coast longshore workers with other occupations.

The analysis reveals that west coast longshore work is extremely hazardous, with a higher fatality rate than firefighters or police officers. During the past six years, longshore workers have suffered a fatality rate of 17.3 deaths per 100,000 employees, compared to 16.6 deaths for firefighters and 14.9 deaths for police officers.

Families suffer most

ILWU Local 10 member Robert Padgett’s family was devastated by his death on the docks. Padgett died in 2005 when the catwalk he was using collapsed at the Port of Richmond, California. He left behind his wife, Donna Little, their six-year-old daughter Becka, and their grandson, Kaj.  Padgett spent much of his free time building things with his daughter. On the day of his tragic accident, he was looking forward to Becka’s first after-school carpentry class that afternoon. 

“When someone leaves in the morning to work on the waterfront, they should be able to return to their family in the evening,” Little said. “We were a very close family. Telling our six-year-old daughter that she will never see her daddy again was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”

    Other fallen longshore workers who have been killed during the past six years include:
•    Kimberley Kuchman-Miles of Local 23 in Tacoma was the first longshore woman to be killed on the docks.  Kimberley was crushed by a container at the Evergreen terminal in Tacoma on August 13, 2005.  She was survived by her 10-year-old son Joshua, her 14-year-old daughter Brittany, and her partner of eight years David Zahradnik.

•   Richie Mraz of Local 13 in San Pedro died on May 1, 2004, after he was hit by a truck. Richie left behind his wife Adrianna, his 14-month-old daughter Addison, and two step sons; 14-year-old Joe and 13-year-old Roy.
• Joseph Aliseo of Local 19 in Seattle was run over by a top-loader at the port’s APL terminal on April 19, 2007.  Joseph was survived by his partner Kym, their six-year-old son Aydin, and stepsons Ryon and Hawken.
 
Better rules for safer docks

“Workplace deaths are devastating for families and leave co-workers shaken-up for a long time,” says ILWU Longshore Safety Committee Chair Tim Podue. “Many safety experts refuse to use the term ‘accident’ to describe workplace fatalities because most can be
prevented with better rules and enforcement – but that requires management to agree that safety must be a higher
priority.” 

Podue says the ILWU Safety Committee is pressing employers right now to adopt better safety rules as part of the longshore contract negotiations. “We’re pushing as hard as we can at the negotiating table, but it always comes down to a struggle about time, money, and profits – versus our need for better rules that will save lives.” 
Pensioner perspective on safety

Every year, the ILWU Southern California Pensioners Group joins with Locals 13, 63 and 94 to honor more than 60 fallen longshore workers who have died on their docks since 1934 by hosting a memorial on May 15 in San Pedro’s John S. Gibson Memorial Park. So Cal Pensioner President Al Perisho, who spoke at last year’s ceremonies and plans to attend this year, feels that the ports are as dangerous now as in the old days when break-bulk was the norm before containers were used.  Perisho says the pace of work and massive equipment can make the docks even deadlier. 

“The nature of the job has changed.  The cargo isn’t human-scaled anymore.  With today’s heavy equipment and speeding trans-tainers, if you get hit on the job, you’re dead.”

– John Showalter