PHOTO BY: WCTC
By John Showalter
During the week of July 19-23, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to speak with top Department of Homeland Security officials and United States Coast Guard commanders about enforcement of the Code of Federal Regulations governing port security. The ILWU is particularly concerned that the port security plans each terminal operator was required to submit by December 31, 2003 are not being enacted in compliance with current federal law. In legal documents and in Congressional testimony given earlier this year, the ILWU states that employers’ failure to enforce many of these port security rules jeopardizes the health and safety of thousands of men and women working on the ports as well as families in communities surrounding them.
Peter Peyton, Secretary/Business Agent with Local 63 in San Pedro, California and Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee, and ILWU Legislative Director Lindsay McLaughlin held person-to-person meetings with Rear Admiral Larry Hereth, Director of Port Security in the Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection Directorate at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters and with the Department of Homeland Security’s Undersecretary for Border & Transportation Security Asa Hutchison. Each official was given an overview of the current port security conditions under which ILWU members work.
Peyton and McLaughlin spoke with Admiral Hereth first in the week. They informed him that the ILWU believes that terminal operators are not complying with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for port security, especially with regards to the physical, visual inspection of cargo containers against the manifest as they enter and leave terminal yards. When Peyton suggested that terminal operators were using their individually-devised Facility Security Plans (FSP's) in place of, and not as a complement to, the federal regulations, Hereth replied, “regulations are regulations,” and assured union representatives that he would see to it that these codes were being enforced to the letter at the ports.
Hereth then indicated that the Coast Guard was in the process of writing a directive on empty containers. They are leaning toward requiring the inspection of empty containers. Hereth was also concerned to learn that cameras were not able to adequately detect whether there was any evidence of tampering of seals. Checking seals and other methods used to prevent tampering and checking corresponding documentation is a central part of the port security regulations.
The next day, Peyton and McLaughlin met with Department of Homeland Security’s Undersecretary Hutchison and provided him with an overview of what is happening at the West Coast ports, where things stand with the security status of containerized cargo and implementation of technologically advanced, so-called “smart-containers.” When Peyton informed the Undersecretary that, under current security conditions, an individual could easily pack a container at his or her own house and drive it directly into the ports without much concern of a receiving a thorough visual inspection at the gates, Hutchison turned to his aide, surprised, and asked, “We allow this?” Hutchison then asked for a copy of the ILWU Safety Committee's full report on the Tra-Pac container explosion which occurred at the Port of Los Angeles in April 2004 and pledged his efforts towards enforcing port security regulations.
During the week, Peyton also held a meeting at the Department of Transportation with U.S. Maritime Administration’s Administrator Captain William G. Schubert. The two discussed how to alleviate infrastructure congestion that is troubling west coast ports. Reasons behind this infrastructure congestion were described in an audio news briefing that week with ILWU officers, experts and members of the press. Peyton said Schubert was very interested in hearing workers’ viewpoints on the congestion issue.
